NEW ZEALAND PILOTS

Evening Star, Issue 25083, 26 January 1944, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND PILOTS

PROMINENT IN JUGOSLAVIA BOMBING AND STRAFING (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent .) ITALY, January 14. While New Zealand troops struggled through the steep hills on the Eighth Army's frout below the Majella Mountains, other men from the Dominion have been fighting another battle against the Germans in Southern Europe. They are Spitfire pilots of the Coastal Air Force. Day after day since the Allied landing in Italy at least eight New Zealanders in these squadrons crossed the Adriatic to attack with boniibs. cannons, and machine guns in support of the Patriot forces fighting' in Yugoslavia. Not many miles from the Spitfires' bases in Italy they found targets in German encampments, radio stations, and columns of transport along the roads of Yugoslavia. Unlike most Spitfire pilots operating in Italy, they also found German fighter opposition, and shot down several Messerschmitts in running battles over the sea.

One coastal fighter squadron famous for its battles in the defence of Malta now has as commanding officer a New Zealander, Squadron - leader Richard Webb, of Levin, formerlv a test pilot in tfhe Middle East. Weibb and Flightlieutenant Edward Schroder, of_ Wellington, shared in the destruction of four German fighters caught trying to interfere with a sea rescue operation. His squadron—one of the youngest in the It.A.F. —shot down eight Mess'erschmitts in a few weeks. Another New Zealander, a Rakaia farmer, Pilot-officer Norman Harrison., has a score of two and a-half confirmed.

" The Hun has the wind up these days," Squadron-leader Webb said in an interview. "It is very different from -Malta. In one month there, October, 1942, we shot, down 2l£. Now every time they are near there arp several of us to share'the kill." Two more old Malta fighter formations, one of them a Gold Coast squadron which, with 322 confirmed victories, has one of the highest total scores "f the R.A.F. in this war, have New Zealand pilots. They are Flight-officer Arnold Lamb, of Dunedin; Pilot-officer R. A. Caldwell, of Huntly; and Flightsergeants C. F. Jacabsen (Wellington). R. L. Austin (Christchurch), arid K C. Loe (Marlborough), all of whom have been flying Spitfires on these strafing and' bombing raids across Yugoslavia and Albania.