RAID OVER GERMANY

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20957, 9 November 1939, Page 9

RAID OVER GERMANY

BOMBING OF WARSHIPS HAMILTON AIRMAN’S LETTER AIR OBSERVER M. INNES-JONES A graphic description of the raid on the German warships in the Kiel Canal on September 4, the day after the Allies declared war on Germany, is contained in a letter received by Mr and Mrs E. Innes-Jones, of Hamilton, whose son, Melville, was a member of the Royal Air Force flight which carried out the first active onslaught by the British on German territory. The raid also marked the first occasion on which a Hamiltonian had fought over Germany in the present war.

An earlier letter containing advice that Mr Melville Innes-Jones took part in the raid was received from the airman’s wife on November 1, but it did not contain much detail, owing to the fact that the airman, who held the' rank of Air Observer, was unable to say anything about the flight. In the opening stages of the letter the writer stated that, owing to his uncertainty regarding the extent of the censorship of mail to New Zealand, he was unable to give as

much detail as he could have wished. It was not until September 21 that he was permitted to divulge any information regarding his participation in the raid.

“How many machines took part in the expedition, I could not risk telling you,” said Air Observer Innes-Jones in his letter. “However, I do not mind telling you that those ten minutes in the Kiel Harbour were the hottest I have ever had in my life. A novelist could probably write of bursting ‘Archie’ fire and tracer bullets, etc., but to me it seemed as though every German in Germany was venting his spite on me personally, especially as I was in the second to last machine and did not have the advantage of surprise, such as the first ’plane caused. Pouring With Rain “You might think that ten minutes was a long time in a harbour, but that was from the time we were first fired upon until we set course for home,” continued the writer. “It was pouring with rain at the time, and, as the cloud base was about 800 feet, visibility was bad and made it difficult to locate the target. “After being in the air a little over five hours we landed at a small aerodrome on the east coast of Britain. We flew the last 40 minutes after dark. We were also fired on by our own anti-aircraft guns as we crossed the coastline, but it was only a challenge. When I say ‘We,’ I mean the crew of our machine.” At the close of the letter the writer stated that he had heard unofficially that, as a result of his part in the raid, he was to be promoted to Sergeant Observer. A cablegram dispatched subsequent to the letter advised his parents that he had received the promotion.

Mr M. Innes-Jones left New Zealand six years ago in company with Mr Innes Shaw, son of Mr and Mrs M. Shaw, of Claudelands. The two airmen went through Halton College together.