MEETING THE ZEROS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 149, 25 June 1943, Page 5

MEETING THE ZEROS

N.Z. FIGHTER PILOTS

FIRST BRUSH A SUCCESS P A. AUCKLAND, June 24. Shooting down Japanese Zeros in the Solomons is good sport, say New Zealand fighter boys who have returned this week from operations in the South Pacific, with a kill of five enemy planes to their, credit. Their job was to establish a New Zealand fighter station in front of Guadalcanal and the perfecting of a fighter organisation, which is now producing excellent results. . They had only one real show against the Japanese fighters before their tour j of duty ended, and that was a dogfight in which their score was four. But I for inexperience, they say it could have ( been double, and they are eager to return. A'few months ago some of these boys were fledglings, but others, like j Squadron Leader M. J. Herrick, D.F.C, are experienced. Another squadron | has already brought the fighter score | to 16. They learnt much in their fir^t brush with the enemy. It was a merry mixup with about 80 planes in the sky and with the Japanese about two to one. "You can't run out of Zeros," they say, and one added: "They are lovely little planes, light, fast, and manoeuvrable." "ALL SHOTGUN SHOOTING." "Our chaps did what they did because they are good pilots," said Squadron Leader Herrick. "Their planes are solidly constructed and took a lot of punishment without affecting their flying ability, but were not of sufficiently good performance to go after the Japanese. The New Zealanders had to Wait till attacked by Zeros before they could get into the mix-up. The-Jap-anese were not as well organised or well disciplined as our fellows, who stuck together two by two at least, while the Japanese after a few minutes' dogfighting allowed themselves to get separated." "Bullets were screaming all round during the dogfight and planes were all over the sky." His first kill was some time ago, when he downed a Japanese float biplane, type 95, a lone reconnaissance craft which he stalked from the rear and sent* down in flames with a two-second burst from his guns. His second kill was in a dogfight on the tail of a Zero which he chased for 50 miles, though an account which he read said 120. Comparing the Japanese with the Germans, he said the Japanese were much easier -to shoot down. Their planes were so lightly armoured that one did not have to give them nearly as much. They were not as well organised. They got mighty close though, and it was all shotgun shooting. Flying Officer Max Davis (Wellington) was Herrick's No. 2, and they each collected cannon. shots in the same bout during a dogfight. Davis was wounded in the hip and left arm, yet carried on to make a forced landing with his arm out of action and pierced with shrapnel. An aileron was shot in half, the retraction gear was smashed, and he had to bring the plane down without use of the undercarriage. FINDING THEIR WISH. Flight Lieutenant Douglas Greig, Auckland, and Flight Lieutenant Sholto Duncan, Nelson, each had a Zero to their credit, though earlier in the war, against theirjpersonal wishes, they had to act as instructors for a long time. : Some of their earlier pupils are now wing commanders. "The sport," said ! Greig, "is the best in the world. It was our prayer to get into the dust-up with the Japanese before we returned from this tour, and we loved it." Duncan, who had as No. 2 Sergeant Pilot Murdoch, got astern of a Zero and saw his tracers going in. He closed to give another burst and the j whole tail disintegrated, the Zero bursting into flames just before the hit was seen. The fourth to collect in the dogfight was Sergeant Pilot Bob Martin, Te Puke, who was No. 2 to Flying Officer Court. The last-named was on the tail of a Japanese, but had to abandon the chase, and Martin got the Zero with a deflection shot, just as he ] pulled, up in a turn. He saw tracers go through the Japanese cockpit, which probably got the wing tank, for the Zero exploded and a great sheet of flame covered the plane. He followed it down to 10,000 ft, and the others saw it break up. Fighting generally was at 20,000 ft, and as a result of frozen oil in the guns because of inexperience of local conditions, some jammed at crucial moments. Otherwise, more Zeros would have been downed. "It won't happen again," the New Zealanders promise.