GOOD HUNTING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 September 1941, Page 6

GOOD HUNTING

SOUTH AFRICAN PILOT’S SUCCESS SHOOTING DOWN OF TWO MESSERSCHMITTS. STORY OF ENCOUNTER. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.10 p.m.) RUGBY, September 4. The South African Spitfire pilot who shot down two out of three Messerschmitt 109’s within half a minute over the Channel today landed at his base only twenty minutes after he had taken off. He was on patrol when he saw three Messerschmitts below. He said: “I dived and fired oh one of them and within a second the enemy belched black smoke and just went to pieces—it blew up in front of me. As the fragments fell towards the sea I swung round to attack the others but the leader half rolled and dived away into some haze. The third Messerschmitt climbed as though to try to attack me. I opened fire, as I turned towards him, and right away his tail flew off. He flicked over and started spinning down out of control towards the haze. I followed him down to about 3000 feet and, as it was obvious he could do nothing to save himself, I decided to come home.”