Air Raid Precautions; Directions for the Erection and Sinking of the Galvanised Corrugated Steel Shelter
London: United Kingdom, Home Office, 1939. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. Format is approximately 6 inches by 9.5 inches. 16 pages, including covers. Illustrations. Cover worn and soiled with some edge tears, creasing and chipping. It gives instructions on how to position and put together an Anderson Shelter. The shelter was sunk into the ground, and is a logical precursor to the Cold War Fallout Shelters. This work includes a Description of the Shelter, information on the Locations of the Shelter, The Excavation, Erection of the Shelter, Covering the Shelter, and then Finishing the Shelter off. Illustrations go from page 6 through 16, Among the aspects addressed in the illustrations are methods for drainage, Terraced Houses, Semi-detached Houses, Illustration of major individual parts, Erecting the back arch, Frame arrangement, Views from the inside, and completion of the earth cover. Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many have been used as defensive structures in such situations). Before WWII, the U.K. had difficulty choosing the location of air raid shelters. During WWII, many types of structures were used as air raid shelters such as cellars, German Hochbunkers, basements, and underpasses. The U.K. began building street communal shelters as air raid shelters in 1940. Anderson shelters, designed in 1938 and built to hold up to six people, were also in common use in the U.K. Indoor shelters known as Morrison shelters were also in use. Prior to World War II, in May 1924, an Air Raid Precautions Committee was set up in the United Kingdom. For years, little progress was made with shelters because of the apparently irreconcilable conflict between the need to send the public underground for shelter and the need to keep them above ground for protection against gas attacks. In February 1936 the Home Secretary appointed a technical Committee on Structural Precautions against Air Attack. By November 1937, there had only been slow progress, because of a serious lack of data on which to base any design recommendations and the Committee proposed that the Home Office should have its own department for research into structural precautions, rather than relying on research work done by the Bombing Test Committee to support the development of bomb design and strategy. This proposal was eventually implemented in January 1939. They also decided to issue free to poorer households the Anderson shelter, and to provide steel props to create shelters in suitable basements. The Anderson shelter was designed in 1938 by William Paterson and Oscar Carl (Karl) Kerrison in response to a request from the Home Office. It was named after Sir John Anderson, then Lord Privy Seal with special responsibility for preparing air-raid precautions immediately prior to the outbreak of World War II, and it was he who then initiated the development of the shelter. After evaluation by David Anderson, Bertram Lawrence Hurst, and Sir Henry Jupp, of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the design was released for production. Anderson shelters were designed to accommodate up to six people. The main principle of protection was based on curved and straight galvanized corrugated steel panels. Six curved panels were bolted together at the top, so forming the main body of the shelter, three straight sheets on either side, and two more straight panels were fixed to each end, one containing the door—a total of fourteen panels. A small drainage sump was often incorporated in the floor to collect rainwater seeping into the shelter. The shelters were 6 feet high, 4.5 feet wide, and 6.5 feet long. They were either buried 4 ft deep in the soil and then covered with a minimum of 15 inches of soil above the roof or in some cases installed inside people's houses and covered with sandbags. When they were buried outside, the earth banks could be planted with vegetables and flowers, that at times could be quite an appealing sight and in this way would become the subject of competitions of the best-planted shelter among householders in the neighborhood. The internal fitting out of the shelter was left to the owner and so there were wide variations in comfort. Anderson shelters were issued free to all householders who earned less than £5 a week (equivalent to £320 in 2020, when adjusted for inflation). Those with a higher income were charged £7 (£440 in 2020) for their shelter. One and a half million shelters of this type were distributed between February 1939 and the outbreak of war. During the war a further 2.1 million were erected. Large numbers were manufactured at John Summers & Sons ironworks at Shotton on Deeside with production peaking at 50,000 units per week. The Anderson shelters performed well under blast and ground shock, because they had good connectivity and ductility, which meant that they could absorb a great deal of energy through plastic deformation without falling apart. Because of the large number made and their robustness, many Anderson shelters still survive. Many were dug up after the war and converted into storage sheds for use in gardens and allotments. Condition: Fair.
Keywords: Anderson Shelter, Air Raid, Civil Defense, Construction, Erection, Galvanized Corrugated Steel, Excavation, Assembly, Archways, Earthwork, Earth Covering, Drainage, Structural Precautions
[Book #83836]
Price: $100.00