§ 41. Mr. C. Wilsonasked the Home Secretary whether any experiments have been made as to the power of bombs to penetrate various thicknesses of concrete or other material; whether he can communicate the results; and, if no experiments have been made, can he give any information on the matter obtained in other ways?
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd)Yes, Sir. Experiments have been carried out, and such information, derived from them, as is likely to assist in the carrying out of air raid precautions is being, or has been, published in various memoranda and handbooks published by the Air Raid Precautions Department. In particular I would refer the hon. Member to Appendix D of Air Raid Precautions Handbook No. 6, copies of which are available in the Library.
§ Mr. SorensenCan the hon. Gentleman say whether it is not the fact that the general experts estimate that six feet of concrete is alone sufficient to withstand bombardments of this kind?
§ Mr. LloydNo, Sir. I am advised that a thickness of approximately 15 feet of reinforced concrete is necessary to resist the penetration of a direct hit by a 500 lb. bomb.