GALLANT ACTS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 31, 16 November 1939, Page 5

GALLANT ACTS

AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE. TENDING A WOUNDED GUNNER. TEMPERATURE BELOW FREEZING (Received This Day, 9.35 a.m.) LONDON, November 15. Many acts of gallantry have been performed by Royal Air Force reconnaissance crews. In the course of one raid in Germany, carried out for the greater part of the distance at an altitude where the temperature was 20 degrees below zero, one aircraft, was liit by anti-aircraft fire while returning from its objective. .... : ■

An air gunner was wounded. To reach him the observer found it necessary to discard his parachute harness, lifesaving jacket and warm outer clothing to squeeze through the harrow opening inside the fuselage. Finding his companion badly wounded in the hand and thigh tho observer dressed the wound’and the hand but decided to leave the more serious wound in the thigh- untouched? realising.‘that loosening of the clothing would' probably result id' dangerous'loss of blood. Warming him with liis body and- encouraging,- him- with reportfs; ;of their progress, the observer remained with the wounded man till they were clear of Germany. He-then returned to the front cockpit And .attended to his navigation duties till his base was in sight, when he again made his way back to the Wounded air-gunner "and stayed with him until they landed. •; Throughout the whole return' flight from Germany the observer was without his flying clothes in a temperature never above freezing point. The skill of our bomber pilots was shown on one occasion when a British aircraft was attacked at 24,000 feet by a Messerschmitt fighter. Using evasive action, the pilot eluded His opponent, but lost height so quickly in the process that he was soon down to a level where he was immediately engaged by intensive enemy anti-aircraft fire. While the anti-aircraft guns were firing the German fighter held off until he was out of range. He then renewed the attack, hut without success. The pilot of the British craft engaged on this occasion has since been decorated for his feat in an earlier and still more daring reconnaissance flight, from which lie and his crew brought back information and photographs of outstanding importance.—British Official Wireless.