A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK T. NOTICE in the current issue of
the Mercure de 1 France an important—and very disturbing—article on defence against air-attack.. The writer, Colonel Bons, was among other things commander of the . anti-aircraft. batteries in the entrenched camp of Paris during the War —which means that he was engaged in defending a capital city like London. Sticking closely to his last, and writing of anti-aircraft fire alone, Colonel Bons (unlike: some soldiers and sailors who believe in nothing but their own particular arm) declares roundly that anti-aircraft guns are practically valueless. They cannot, of course, register on their target—an object swiftly moving in three dimensions—and devices for directing fire by sound at night are worth very little. The most he will concede is that anti-aircraft guns may flurry the attack a little and score an occasional hit by accident.. • His conclusion is the stereotyped one—the only effective defence is to carry the offensive into the heart of the enemy country. There are other views than this—as Colonel Bons admits,--about the value of anti-aircraft artillery, and invention has not stood still in the years since Paris was in a state of siege, • but the article is uncomfortable reading for those who like to think London could be effectively defended.
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