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This is coolbert:

It must have been quite a spectacle to see??!! The nighttime bombing of London during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

A battle reported upon by Edward R. Murrow [real first name Egbert!!].

Indeed, the roof top reporting of Murrow from London in 1940 established his career and made his name a household name throughout America and the world.

Observing from a rooftop, Murrow was able to see the entire panoply of German offensive nighttime bombing action and the British anti-aircraft artillery defensive bombardment.

In response to the German saturation bombing offensive of London, the British DID deploy about one hundred twenty [120] anti-aircraft-artillery [AAA] pieces in Hyde Park, located almost in the center of downtown London. To aid and assist the AAA in locating German bombers at night, batteries of searchlights were also placed at strategic locations all throughout London. This WAS an impressive display of AAA firepower!!

The sight that Murrow was able to report on night after night was unique up unto that point, and perhaps could be described as being even BREATHTAKING!!

Above, invisible in the nighttime sky, were hundreds of German bombers, all intent on bombing "targets" in London. The simultaneous drone of so many bombers all at once must have been of itself impressive. Combine this with the beams of perhaps dozens of searchlights, the firing of those AAA pieces, the bombs exploding, the fires caused by same, all this made for a cataclysmic scene!! A scene duly reported by Murrow.

One thing Murrow did NOT report on!!

All those one hundred twenty [120] British AAA pieces. Firing away night after night at the German bombers. DID NOT HIT OR DOWN EVEN ONE GERMAN AIRPLANE!! FOR WHATEVER COMBINATION OF REASONS, THE BRITISH AAA EFFORT CAME TO NAUGHT!! ZERO!! LET ME REPEAT!! ONE HUNDRED TWENTY [120] MASSED AAA GUNS DID NOT HIT AND DOWN ONE SINGLE GERMAN BOMBER DURING THE MANY MONTHS THE NIGHTTIME BOMBING OFFENSIVE OF LONDON LASTED!!

Was this known to the British military at the time?? Perhaps careful analysis of the AAA effort demonstrated that this was so [not hitting the attackers]. All of what the British was doing at the time in terms of AAA was a total waste?? I am not sure if AT THE TIME this was realized!!

And even if it had been, what would have been the probable response??

"Well, yes, we are not downing the Jerry [Germans]!! We know this!! But, all those AAA guns in Hyde Park are putting on a good show, making a racket all of London can hear!! Even if we do not shoot down one bloody Jerry, we are creating a favorable impression among our people!! WE ARE FIGHTING BACK!!"

Does this sound reasonable??

Think of the impression created by the night vision devices filming the first few days of the aerial bombardment by U.S. aircraft of Baghdad during the first Gulf War.

A similar scene was to be had for viewers the world over!! Bunches of 57 mm Iraqi AAA being fired at unseen U.S. aircraft. Large explosions in the background, etc. All accompanied by dispassionate observers commenting on what they were seeing. This stuff does create a strong image. Played over and over and over. Again, in Baghdad in 1991 as in London in 1940, almost all, if not all, of that AAA HIT NOTHING!! But images count for a lot. NOW as back THEN!!

coolbert.