MIGHTY DIVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 February 1940, Page 7

MIGHTY DIVE

PURSUIT OF GERMAN AIR RAIDER SIGHTED OFF THAMES ESTUARY. SUCCESS OF HYDERABAD SQUADRON. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. LONDON. February 13. The British Air Ministry announces: "Three Royal Air Force fighter command pilots dived 14.000 feet in pursuit of a Heinkel raider of! the mouth of the Thames estuary on Tuesday evening. Daylight was already fading when the British pilots in their Spitfires sighted the raider thousands of feet above them. He immediately began a long, twisting dive toward a patch of cloud fur behind. The Spitfires followed, firing in turn as they dived, and as fast at the raider eluded the fire of one another was ready to take up the attack. Though visibility was very poor throughout the action, several bursts of fire took effect. When last seen the enemy was heading eastward into the clouds and darkness."

It is revealed that the squadron formed from the gift of the Nizam of Hyderabad, the first of the newlyformed squadrons to shoot down an enemy plane, sent a Heinkel crashing into the sea during the raids on shipping on February 3. A souvenir rubber boat in which the crew tried to escape adorns the squadron’s mess.

It was announced in November that a fighter squadron had been formed from the Nizam of Hyderabad's gift of £lOO,OOO to the Air Ministry lor aerial warfare. It includes one Australian pilot, one New Zealander, and two South Africans. ENEMY MACHINE PROBABLY BROUGHT DOWN. SEEN TO BE BADLY DAMAGED. By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. (Received This Day, 10.5 a.m.) LONDON, February 14. Three fighter pilots believe they brought down the Thames Estuary raider of Tuesday. They said bullets struck the Heinkel and that the reargunner probably was hit, as he ceased firing. The under-carriage of the plane was half lowered as it attempted to fly into a cloud to the east.