TREMENDOUS DIVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 April 1942, Page 3

TREMENDOUS DIVE

MADE BY BRITISH BOMBER IN EVADING ONSLAUGHT OF NAZI FIGHTER. NEW ZEALAND PILOT’S STORY. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.55 a.m.) RUGBY, April 6. A Stirling bomber, piloted by Flight Lieutenant A. G. Humphreys, of Christchurch, dived from 15,000 to 100 feet when a Messerschmitt 110 attacked it over Kiel. Flight Lieutenant ■Humphreys was returning from the heavy raid against Lubeck, where the R.A.F. caused huge fires and damage, about which the Nazis complained bitterly. Flight Lieutenant Humphreys said: “It was a perfect night —one of the best I have seen over Germany. The bright moonlight was so clear that we saw the whole of the Baltic coast, while crossing the Danish coast. 1 think everyone hit his target. It was a sight I shall not quickly forget. The whole town was blazing furiously and bombs were exploding and throwing up mushrooms of flames, like volcanoes erupting. While we were over the Kiel Canal, on our homeward journey, my top-gunner reported a twinengined aircraft on the starboard beam. It attacked our tail with cannon shells, one of which exploded against the armour plate behind my head. The Nazi gave five bursts, which put our gun turrets out of action, so I had tc play games with him and dodge his fire. We started at 15,000 feet, but when he made his last attack we were at 150 feet. He must have used all his ammunition for he did a jaunt dive over our tail and then disappeared. We scraped home all right, unhurt, except for the rear-gunner, who had a bullet fragment in his knee.”