As more details come to hand of the British air-raid on the important German island of Sylt it becomes apparent that this move in retaliation for the German raid on Scapa Flow is being carried out on a large scale, and that the raiders have not merely flown over the place once and dropped their bombs but have maintained the raid over a period of some hours. Thus has been heralded in the longest air-raid of the war. The island of Sylt is an important German air base off the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein and very close to the Danish border. It is joined to the mainland by the famous Hindenburg dam which was damaged some weeks ago when the British raided the place, and though the only information available was that from eye-witnesses on the Danish coast, there was sufficient evidence to show that the damage done was considerable. It is from Sylt that German machines have set out to conduct raids on the east coast of Britain and if as the result of these raids considerable damage is done to the base it will be most appropriate. The whole island presents a complete military objective, and, as some time ago it was reported that civilians were being evacuated from it, the chance of non-military people numbering among the casualties should be very small indeed. What the world is probably seeing now is the commencement of the intensification of the war in the air, and it may reasonably be expected that in the next few weeks the struggle in the air will be continued with every determination on either side to secure the mastery. The manner in which the British air-arm has been built up; the fact that most of its machines are of later design than those of Germany; and the excellent showing of the men since hostilities first commenced, afford every reason for believing that they will be able to give a very good account of themselves. It is to be hoped that a policy of resorting to reprisals for German raids will not be too closely adhered to, and that, now the Germans have definitely started air raids on a substantial scale, the Allies will take up the challenge and seek the enemy when and where it suits their purpose best. The number of legitimate objectives in Heligoland Bay is sufficient to present the Allied aviators with a plenitude of targets, which could be attacked with much profit to the Allied cause. It may be some time before information emerges as to what damage has been done to Sylt by this raid, and it may be expected that the Germans will seek to make light of the whole matter; but the fact that the raiding is no longer being done by Germany, and that the Allies are willing to give just as good as they get, will undoubtedly be heartening to those who have witnessed the inaction of the past months with some degree of anxiety. The knowledge that the British air-arm can and will return blow for blow can have nothing but the best of effects not only upon domestic opinion, but upon public opinion in the neutral countries.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.