THRILLING DUEL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 238, 15 November 1940, Page 3

THRILLING DUEL

BATTLE WITH GERMAN BRAVE HURRICANE PLLOT To-day I had the good fortune to witness what must rank as one of the pluckiest jobs done by any Brit ish fighter pilot (writes a reporter of the London Daily Telegraph).

A Hurricane pilot, out of ammunition while chasing his Messerschmidt opponent over the sea, crashed his aeroplane on the .enemy's tail and brought him hurtling down in the Channel.

Motoring along tlie coast road while a series of dog fights were raging overhead,, I saw a Messerschmitt 109 speeding out to sea witli a Hurricane, his guns rattling,, in hot pursuit. In a matter of seconds the two aeroplanes.were flying abreast. Suddenly the Hurricane pilot fell astern of his opponent. He covered the Messerschmitt's tail with liis own wing and then rocked his aircraft until the tail of the Messerschmitt parted from the body. As r watched, the tailless Messersehmitt spun down into the sea. I followed the Hurricane to the field where he landed, his machine pitted with cannon shell fire. He was much more concerned with the damage to his aircraft than with the recent action. "Young Mac"—that is what they call him in the messv—told me thai while engaged in intercepting enemy bombers he found himself flying directly underneath eight Nazi aircraft. He sprayed them from below with machine gun bursts and he then managed to detach a*Messerschmitt 109 from the pack. "I crippled him, I think," said the young pilot, "but then ran out of ammunition. I ilew vrffongsi(3j>«4f!m and ordered him aves to go down in the sea. He ignored my waves and something else had to be done. So I got my wing oyer his tail, rocked my machine, and 'slapped' his tail oil*. "It crashed all right, but two more Messerschmitt then got on my tail and with a damaged machine 1 had to 'hop it.' They both blazed away like fury but they must be rritnn shots, and I got here, as you