ABSTRACT
One kind of air panic occurred when a knock-out blow appeared to be imminent. This happened only once, during the Sudeten crisis in September 1938. However, it was in many ways the classic air panic, as the situation most closely corresponded to how a knock-out blow was expected to take place: with Britain at peace, but close to war at any moment with a nation with superior airpower. Media coverage of official and unofficial ARP preparations in late September was intense and vividly conveyed the aerial danger facing Britain. The resulting belief that a war would destroy civilisation led many to support appeasement of Germany through the sacrifice of Czechslovakia. Though vastly exaggerated, this fear did not spring from nowhere.
