BOMBING THRILL

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 92, 15 October 1940, Page 10

BOMBING THRILL

ATTACK ON DOCKYARD

NEW ZEALAND PILOT

RING OF GUNFIRE

(By Air Mail—From "The Post's" London Representative.)

LONDON, September 23,

How a New Zealand pilot dived to within a stone's throw of the ground over Flushing dockyard in the face of a terrific anti-aircraft barrage has been told by the Air Ministry.

The bomber scored direct hits on buildings and an ammunition dump, and was thrown to 600 ft by the force of tremendous explosions from the dockside. Several large fires were also observed.

The New Zealander, in telling the story of this exploit, said:

"We broke cloud just south of Flushing from along the coast. We waited for about 20 minutes to pin point it, just to make absolutely certain. Then we went up seaward and came in across the docks.

"In the meantime they must have been getting all their guns ready. I thought that we were going to glide in and catch them by surprise, but it didn't happen that way.

"We were fairly -low when they opened up. I have never seen anything like it—it didn't even seem worth trying to dodge the flak (A.A. fire), there was so much of it. I thought 'Goodnight, nurse/ put the nose down, and hoped for the best. That wasn't being foolhardy. It was as good a way of getting out of it as any other. - "The inside of the aircraft was reeking with cordite. Nobody said anything. Frankly, I thought we weren't going to get out of it and I think the rest of them thought that too.

"The searchlights were holding us all the time. I just kept my eyes on the instruments and on the docks. If one had looked round one would have been blinded. As we went over, the bomb aimer made certain a 1! the bombs had gone. We dropped them and they landed right in the centre of the Sock buildings.

"Immediately we were thrown to 600 ft. There were tremendous explosions. The second pilot was standing beside me. His knees buckled underneath him and he went down on the floor.

ALONG THE EDGE OF THE SEA.

"I was just concentrating on trying to keep the aircraft in the air and to jet away. More or less automatically, £ pushed the nose down, the throttles forward, and hoped for the best. "There was a curtain of fire on all sides. We went through. I bet the Germans thought they had got one aircraft down all right, but we must havQ given them a terrific shaking. "The ships opened fire on us as well as all the guns on the shore. They seemed to have a ring of flak ships round the harbour. The machinegun tracer wfis making spirals in the air. They were using heavy arm quick-firing guns, too, and naming onions by the dozen. "We scooted along the edge of the sea. I could see the breakers quite clearly. By this time I was fighting with the stick. We sent out an SOS that we were likely to be coming down. I knew that we had been hit. I had felt the shells smack into the plane, and I couldn't hold her properly. "We said we would have a crack at getting home. We told them that by wireless. "The front gunner came out of his turret and stood by to operate the flotation gear in case we had to land on the water. At 15 to 20 miles out we could still see the flashes of explosions from the docks. "Frankly, I never thought we'd make home. The aircraft was kicking like the bucking broncho. There were heavy clouds and I was flying on instruments all the way. It was raining most of the time. "My arms were aching and seemed tied up in knots from t: c strain of holding the aircraft. "Finally, we got home. I was very pleased with the crew. There had been no question of jitters all the way through."