LATE MESSAGES

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 April 1943, Page 6

LATE MESSAGES

AERIAL ENCOUNTERS.

RUGBY, April 21. Spitfires of the Fighter Command shot down two Focke Wulfs after escorting fighter-bombers to attack enemy airfields near Le Havre, this evening. All ours returned safely. Shortly after .dark, to-night, raiders crossed the south-east coast of England, and a very heavy antiaircraft barrage was put up in one coastal district according to Press reports. A few enemy planes appeared to go inland and later a short alert was sounded in the London district.

N.Z. AIRMEN PRAISED AUCKLAND, April 21. A glowing tribute to the skill of New Zealand airmen was paid today by Col. W. D. Brice, recently in charge of a U.S. Bomber Command based on Guadalcanal, whose force included among the personnel, members of the New Zealand Air Force. He said that New Zealand airmen were excellent pilots and fine navigators, and not a single plane was lost •by them through faulty navigation during the whole time he was in the lighting area. They went out on dangerous missions, and did a fine job of work. New Zealanders under his command were always dependable, and carried out missions in excellent style. They gave him no trouble and their willingness to carry out any operation assigned them was most i marked. In fact, he almost had to f’W’b their desire to engage in combat. The training of the New Zealand; airmen must have been carried out in; most thorough manner.

N.Z. SPITFIRE SQUADRON

i LONDON, April 20. I The Spitfires flown by the New i Zealand Spitfire Squadron, for which 'the Dominion subscribed' £126,000, I were excellent value. With the names i of provinces painted on them they (have been used by the Squadron for i roughly nine months, from August, I 1941, to April, 1942, and, during that ijime the Squadron has shot down at i least 25 Germans. • The Squadron was formed m i March, 1941, and was equipped with ■New Zealand-bought Spitfires in August. The aircraft were then the latest Mark s’s equipped with cannons and machine-guns. About May, 1942, losses and wastage resulted in the-Squadron being re-equipped with ■'a later type of Spitfire, but the .prac- | tice of painting on New Zealand ! names was discontinued, in dn ! eventful nine months in the Squad- | ron’s history. While those New Zeaj land-bought Spitfires were used i there were five “Auckland’s,” two each of “Wellington's,” “Southland’s” land one Hawke’s Bays,” one I “Otago,” two “Waikatos,” one i “Women’s Division of the Farmers’ ; Union,” and one “Western Samoa.” ■They were used for sweeps, escortling bombers and individual “beatlups.” On February, 1942, they were 'flown when the New Zealand Squadiron shot down four Germans when i the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau imade their Channel dash, which acItion was one of the highlights of ithe Squadron’s career. | E. P. Wells, then a Flight- Lieutenant, was flying a “Waikato” one day when four Messerschmitts • attacked him while he was separated I from the Squadron. He ' shot (down one and returned with the “Waikato” damaged by cannon fire

and machine-gun fire. Fit.-Lieutenant j. Strang, of Invercargill, flying “Southland 1,” who was also separated from his section, was attacked by four Messerschmitts, of which he got one. Then, later, six more attacked but he dodged them finally when he was five miles from Dover.