AIR DARING

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 196, 15 May 1940, Page 9

AIR DARING

British Bombers And Fighters

COMBATS DESCRIBED

Enemy Outfought

(British Official Wireless.) (Received May 14, 7.5 p.m.)

RUGBY, May 13

Three Blenheim bombers of the Royal Air Force Coastal Command, when searching for targets on the Dutch coast today, encountered six Messerschmitt 110’s and four Junkers 88’s.

The half-dozen Messerschmitts alone should have been able to deal with the slower and not so manoeuvrable Blenheims, dhe British pilots nevertheless engaged the enemy force of 10 and a mixed battle followed. The British aircraft maintained close formation and received every attack by the Messerschmitts and Junkers with concentrated fire. Several times the enemy aircraft were thrown into disorder by this reception. Thus the British formation could alter its course to punish individual machines cut off from their fellows. In one manoeuvre a Messerschmitt received a long burst at only 100 yards’ range and crashed into the sea. Most of the other Nazi aircraft were damaged by the Blenheim’s guns, which gave the Germans nearly seven thousand rounds before the' combat ended in a cloud. Awkward Error. A pilot officer of the R.A.F. Fighter Command had an anxious few minutes near Rotterdam early this morning when, after shooting down a Junkers 87 bomber in flames and attacking three more Junkers, he found he had joined formation by mistake with two Messerschmitt 109 fighters. He had used up all his ammunition in the four attacks he had made, and no method of defence was open to him but flight. “On realizing my mistake,” ho reported afterward, “I just climbed iuto a cloud and returned to my base.” He also reported that several Junkers 87s had tried to make head-on attacks ou his Spitfire, but without success.

In all six Spitfire pilots took part in the action, and between them they shot down two Junkers 87s for certain and probably a third as well as a Messerschmitt 109 from escorting a flight of German fighters. A Junkers 88 was also attacked. The Spitfire pilots fought in two sections of three each. One section encountered a formation of 12 Junkers to the east of Rotterdam, some of which were already starting dive bombing attacks. The escorting Messerschmit at once tried to engage the Spitfires. “I engaged the Messerschmitt 109,” the Section Leader stared, “and just as I ran out of ammunition he broke off and went into a dive.” “Hide and Seek.” The second section of the' Spitfires attacked another formation of Junkers near Rotterdam. A sergeant pilot told on his return how he followed a Junkers as it turned and twisted only just above the ground-level and after a fourth attack saw it crash. Later he was able to engage two more Junkers. The escorting German fighters again tried to intervene but without success. Five out of the six Spitfires returned to their bases. The sixth pilot landed in Holland and is unhurt.

A successful game of “hide and seek” was played today by a pilot of a Coastal Command bomber. While on patrol over enemy waters he was attacked with bombs and machine-gun fire by a group of mine-sweepers and patrol vessels which sent out calls for help. In answer, a number of Messerschmitt fighters, arrived on the scene and attacked the solitary British plane. The pilot slipped into a cloud and the German fighters followed. When he thought all his opponents must have entered the cloud screen the British pilot dived out and again machine-gunned the enemy vessels and flying back into the clouds, set his course for home.