VALIANT WORK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 February 1942, Page 3

VALIANT WORK

DONE BY NEW ZEALAND AIRMEN IN ATTACK ON GERMAN BATTLESHIPS. WARM PRAISE FOR FIGHTER SQUADRON. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) (Received This Day. 9.20 a.m.) LONDON, February 16. New Zealand may well be proud of the New Zealand fighter squadron. Led by Squadron Leader E. P. Wells, D.F.C. with bar, formerly of Cambridge, the squadron shot down four Germans, -damaged two and shot up and probably sank an E-boat, when providing an escort for bombers attacking the Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and Prince Eugen near Ostend. Flight Lieutenants W. V. C. Compton and G. Francis, both of Auckland, and Pilot Officer R. Grant. D.F.M., of Woodville, each shot down one German. Pilot Officers D. Clouston and H. Sweetman, both of Auckland, shared another. Flight Lieutenant Compton and Sergeant J. D. Rae, of Auckland, probably shot down two more while Squadron Leader Wells and Pilot Officer J. M. Checketts, of Invercargill Sergeants W. M. Krebbs, of Hawke’s Bay, and T. Goodlett, of Dunedin, pumped an E-boat full of cannon shells and bullets.

The squadron flew at 5.000 feet over the Channel, above a cloudbank and then dropped through a hole in the clouds near Ostend. Squadron Leader Wells saw four Messerschmitts 109 1000 feet below and told Flight Lieutenant Compton to attack. Flight Lieutenant Compton, with Pilot Officers Sweetman and Clouston and Pilot Officer E. E. Mackie, of Waihi, diveturned and swept down on the enemjj and a melee followed in which Flight Lieutenant Compton blew off a wingtip from one Messerschmitt but did not have time to see the result. The Germans flew in over the Dutch coast hoping the New Zealanders would follow, and so allow anti-aircraft batteries to shoot them down. The flight, at 200 feet over Holland, wheeled rapidly from land with a flak of flaming onions sprouting towards them. They reformed over the sea and saw six Messerschmitts approaching and immediately attacked. The Germans tried to draw them in over the coast, but the very wary New Zealanders were not biting. They reformed after chasing the Germans and prepared to meet fresh attackers. Flight Lieutenant Compton suddenly heard Pilot Officer Sweetman shouting: “Look out, Bill! One over your tail.” Flight Lieutenant Compton dive-turned and escaped, after which he saw the Messerschmitt spin into the sea. Both Pilot Officers Sweetman and Clouston fired at the plane, but they had no time to see the results, for which they were credited with a half each. Meanwhile Flight Lieutenant Compton fastened on the tail of another Messerschmitt and fired three long bursts. He saw it crash on a beach five miles west of Ostend.

Although ammunition was now exhausted, the quartette’s experiences were not ended. Pilot Officers Clouston and Mackie, flying together, heard Pilot Officer Sweetman calling over the radio phone and, looking round, saw him leading what appeared to be a flight of Germans, except that they were shooting at him. Although without ammunition, they swept around on the Germans, who immediately made off.

When Flight Lieutenant Compton’s flight turned away, the remainder of the squadron flew on and suddenly arrived over the German battleships, which were sandwiched between destroyer screens, with E-boats screening the destroyers. All the ships were steaming very fast, leaving giant creaming wakes. The convoy’s width, from boat screen to E-boat screen, was probably five miles. Squadron Leader Wells detailed Flight Lieutenant Francis to lead his flight down the lane between the Belgian coast and the battleships, while Squadron Leader Wells led his own flight down the other side of the battleships, between them and the other line of destroyers. Flight Lieutenant Francis, with Pilot Officer Grant and Sergeant Rae and J. Liken, of Hawke’s Bay, sighted four Messerschmitts flying in pairs and chased them, but the Germans dashed off over the tops of the battleships. The four New Zealanders suddenly found about thirty German aircraft round them. Flight Lieutenant Francis sighted a Focke Wulfe 109, gave it a ten second burst and saw it crash into the sea. Meanwhile Pilot Officer Grant and Sergeant Rae saw a pair of Germans below. They began to dive, when Grant saw a third German wheeling into position on his tail, but Grant turned sharply, got on to the German’s tail, closed in and gave him a six-sec-ond burst, after which the German crashed into the sea. Sergeant Rae continued his dive after the pair originally sighted and saw pieces from the tail of one scattering before he broke off the action.

Flight Lieutenant Francis’s flight ran out of ammunition and returned to England unharmed. Meanwhile Squadron Leader Wells’s flight flew down the lane between the battleships and destroyers seeking Messerschmitts, but without success. They turned and followed up the battleships, waiting hopefully until petrol became short. Squadron Leader Wells therefore decided to use up the ammunition against E-boats. His flight peeled off and swept down on the last E-boat. They saw cannon shells and bullets smashing it up. Very heavy flak greeted the flight, temporarily obscuring Squadron Leader Well’s machine from Pilot Officer Checketts sight. Having spent its ammunition, the flight returned home. Subsequently national newspapers published the squadron’s photographs, with the caption: “Whatever questions may be asked, these men did a grand job for Britain.”