WORK OF PLANES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 43, 20 February 1940, Page 7

WORK OF PLANES.

FINDING ALTMARCK. Graphic Story By Leader Of Formation. SEARCH OVER PACK-ICE. British Official Wireless. "*~ (Received 12.36 p.m.) RUGBY, February 19. It is now possible to give a fuller account of the location of the German prison ship Altmarck by R.A.F. Coastal Command aircraft last Friday. The leader of the formation of three aircraft which went to find the Altmarck said: "I was roused at 6 a.m., and in the station operations room was told the very special job in hand. When I heard the name Altmarck I looked in Lloyd's Register, but found that the name was not there. "I was given a verbal picture of the ship. I was told she was a 20,000tonner of the tanker type, and that when last seen, she was painted black with yellow or white upper works. The distinguishing feature of the ship was that her large single funnel was aft. "We set off for the opposite coast. Visibility was not *too good, but our crews had done this journey a number of times since the war began, and there was never any likelihood of any of us wandering from our course or losing touch for long. "It later became a beautiful day, with gorgeous sunshine and a Mediterranean sky. Visibility increased to over 40 miles. Near the coast we found the sea to be frozen over. It looked like packice, with great tracks of clear water through it where the ice had been broken up by currents or ships. The coast of Norway was visible more than 30 miles away.

"We proceeded to comb most thoroughly the area irom the extreme south point of Norway to the north. Flying well outside territorial waters, I examined every mile with binoculars. Then 15 miles ahead I saw a smudge of smoke, and a minute later, a ship with a black hull and cream upperworks steaming directly towards us. We swung out slightly to get a broadside view of her. My heart sank when I recognised from her lines that she could not be our quarry, but 15 seconds later I spotted something else, a grey shape with a funnel aft—a distinctive feature of the Altmarck. j "We flew up to her at 1000 ft and inspected her through glasses at a mile range. Then we turned ill on top of her for a close inspection. Letters Danced In A Jumble. "As we dived, my eyes were rivetted on the stern, searching for the name. I saw letters about a foot high. Because of the speed at which we were diving, the letters seemed to dance in a jumble. I expected that when they could be read they would spell a Norwegian name.

"I could not suppress a whoop of joy when I saw they read "Altmarck.' Of course, we know now that the German ship had reverted to her own name earlier in the week. The pilot of one of our aircraft told jpe afterwards., that he saw the AltmardtV name on the stern below what happened to be a Norwegian flag.

"All the members of my crew saw the word 'Altmarck.' As we swept across the Altmarck's decks at funnel height, I could see only one man on deck. He was hanging oyer the rail as if seasick or looking for mines.

"There was no other sign of life aboard and not the slightest evidence of any alarm. No shot was fired from the Altmarck's hidden guns, but we could guess that after our three aircraft had flashed over the ship the German crew must have been feeling a bit uneasy.

"We took note of the Altmarck's position and having accomplished our task of finding her, we headed for home."

The three British aircraft returned safely.