SKILL & DARING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 December 1941, Page 6

SKILL & DARING

SHOWN BY BRITISH PILOTS TOLL TAKEN OF ENEMY AT PENANG. SOME THRILLING ADVENTURES. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 11.5 a.m.) RUGBY, December 17. How Buffaloes of a Royal Australian Air Force squadron scored quick successes against enemy aircraft x aiding Penang is revealed in pilots reports. One pilot said: “We had just landed at the northern station when the raid on Penang began. We took off again imrtxediately and intercepted three Japance bombers. While we attacked these aircraft, five or six dive-bombers attacked us. We let them have the works and definitely shot down two in the first, attack. A sergeant pilot in my flight attacked a dive-bomber which was trying to. sit on my tail. He rolled over and disappeared. Another disappeared seawards in a long dive. We claim these as probables.” Later this Australian flight sighted about fifteen trucks on a road, and what appeared to be two tanks under some trees. They made two attacks and saw two large columns of smoke ingBrilliant, manoeuvring enabled a R.A.F. pilot, although heavily outnumbered by the enemy,' to evade a series of attacks by Messerschmitt fighters. While on reconnaissance across the Thai border, his duty—he was flying a Buffalo —was to avoid action with the enemy and to bring back valuable information. This he .achieved, although attacked at least fourteen times. The first encounter was with four Messerschmitts 100, flying in box formation. Later he was followed by five Japanese naval aircraft, but was able to outpace them. He was then attacked by three Messerschmitts 110. He dived steeply and evaded his pursuers in clouds; Soon afterwards he ran into two Messerschmitts 109, and: “we played tag for some minutes. I came out of cloud cover and ran into another crowd of Messerschmitts 109. I took evasive action, completed my reconnaissance and succeeded in bringing the aircraft back undamaged. He was greatly impressed by the manou-. vreability of the Buffalo.