The Bombs of Summer

Though Northern Ireland's all-pervading violence has seldom spilled over to London, such isolated outrages as the bombing last spring of the Old Bailey court building have made Londoners aware of the potential for serious trouble. Last week that potential was realized. First a rash of 17 mini-bombs sowed confusion across the swank West End. Only six exploded, none doing serious damage. One that was detected and defused turned up at No. 10 Downing Street inside a book on Composer Gustav Mahler mailed anonymously to Prime Minister Edward Heath, a Mahler devotee.

Then larger bombs appeared. A plastic sack containing three pounds of plaster gelatin was discovered in a major subway station after an Irish-accented caller alerted the press. A bomb concealed in a railway hobbyist's manual blew up in the face of Joanna Knight, a 25-year-old Stock Exchange secretary, as she was opening the morning mail. She suffered hand, face and arm injuries. Her boss, 61-year-old Exchange General Secretary George Brind, was also injured. Hours later a book bomb exploded in the mail room of the Bank of England, blowing off a man's hand.

Scotland Yard is all but positive that the bombs were the work of members of the Provisional I.R.A. An I.R.A. spokesman had earlier warned that bombs might be expected--but later disclaimed responsibility and coolly suggested that independent units might be responsible. Indeed, the I.R.A. reportedly has reorganized recently, breaking down larger units into small, independent cells to avoid detection.

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