Air Raid Precautions

Air Raid Precautions (ARP) was an organisation in the United Kingdom set up as an aid in the prelude to the Second World War dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. It was created in 1924 as a response to the fears about the growing threat from the development of bomber aircraft. Giulio Douhet had published his influential Command of the Air in 1921 and his main thesis had been memorably taken into English as "the bomber will always get through". Many of the practices and ideals set forth by the ARP lived on beyond the War through Civil Defence during the Cold war and still exist today in civilian organizations in the United Kingdom and United States.

Origins

The bombing of Britain in the First World War began on 19 January 1915 when zeppelins dropped bombs on the Great Yarmouth area, killing six people. German bombing operations of the First World War were surprisingly effective, especially after the Gotha bombers surpassed the zeppelins. The most devastating raids inflicted 121 casualties for each ton of bombs dropped and it was this figure that was used as a basis for predictions. The 1924 ARP Committee produced figures estimating that in London there would be 9,000 casualties in the first two days and then a continuing rate of 17,500 casualties a week. These rates were thought conservative.

Air raid

Air raid refers to an attack by aircraft. See strategic bombing or the smaller-scale airstrike.

Air raid may also refer to:

Airstrike

An airstrike or air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, and attack helicopters. The official definition includes all sorts of targets, including enemy air targets, but in popular use the term is usually narrowed to a tactical (small-scale) attack on a ground or naval objective. Weapons used in an airstrike can range from machine gun bullets and missiles to various types of bombs. It is also commonly referred to as an air raid.

In close air support, air strikes are usually controlled by trained observers for coordination with friendly ground troops in a manner derived from artillery tactics.

History

Air Raid (video game)

Air Raid is considered to be the rarest game released for the Atari 2600. Its cartridge is a blue T-handle design with a picture of flying saucers attacking a futuristic city. It was the only game released by Men-A-Vision and had an extremely limited distribution, making it highly sought after by video game collectors. It is not uncommon for the game to sell in the thousands of dollars when listed on eBay. On April 10, 2010 the only believed to be complete game at the time (cartridge and box) known to still exist sold for $31,600. The next known copy to surface on the internet was on October 22, 2011. The eBay auction offered an incomplete version of the game (cart only). Air Raid still sold for an impressive amount of $3,575 US. The transaction was completed, having both parties exchange positive feedback making this the second highest confirmed price paid for the game. On October 24, 2012, the first truly complete game (cartridge, instruction manual and box) was listed for auction and eventually sold for $33,433.30. Due to the media attention that this complete copy brought, on October 26, 2012, a third boxed copy (although without the instruction manual) has surfaced on eBay Near the end of 2010, the AtariAge website made a cartridge with a new label as a magnet.