What is "air raid"

1914, from air (n.1) + raid (n.); originally in reference to British attacks Sept. 22, 1914, on Zeppelin bases at Cologne and Düsseldorf in World War I. The German word is Fliegerangriff "aviator-attack," and if Old English had survived into the 20th century our word instead might be fleogendeongrype.\n\nOne didn't dare to inhale for fear of breathing it in. It was the sound of eighteen hundred airplanes approaching Hamburg from the south at an unimaginable height. We had already experienced two hundred or even more air raids, among them some very heavy ones, but this was something completely new. And yet there was an immediate recognition: this was what everyone had been waiting for, what had hung for months like a shadow over everything we did, making us weary. It was the end.

[Hans Erich Nossack, "Der Untergang," 1942]

n. An attack on a surface target by aircraft.

n. an attack by armed planes on a surface target [syn: air attack]

Air Raid is a 1982 shoot 'em up published for the Atari 2600 by Men-A-Vision, the only game released by the company. The cartridge is a blue T-handle design with a picture of flying saucers attacking a futuristic city. It had extremely limited distribution, making it highly sought after by video game collectors.

The back of the box describes game play as follows: "The quiet pre-dawn sky is suddenly filled with enemy bombers. Can you save Manhattan from your loan[sic] command post? You watch as the sky scrapers around you are reduced by each hit until, after 12 hits, nothing but rubble remains. You fire fast and furiously to protect the falling city. Can you withstand the deadly on slaught[sic]? With 8 variations of play this debut thrill packed action game by Men-a-Vision will bring many hours of exciting challenging play. Printed And Made in Taiwan. 1982, Men-a-Vision, L.A., Calif."

Air raid refers to an attack by aircraft. See strategic bombing or the smaller-scale airstrike.

Air raid may also refer to:

• Air Raid (album), by the improvisational collective Air
• Air Raid (Transformers), the name of three characters in the Transformers universes
• Air Raid (video game), a rare 1984 game for the Atari 2600
• "Air Raid", a 1977 John Varley short story which provided the basis for the 1989 film Millennium
• Air raid offense, a pass-oriented form of the spread offense in American football

Air Raid is the second album by the improvisational collective Air featuring Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins performing four of Threadgill's compositions. The album was originally released on the Japanese Why Not label in 1976 and later released in the U.S. on India Navigation in 1984.