BOMBING RAIDS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20526, 9 April 1941, Page 5

BOMBING RAIDS

NEW ZEALANDER’S STORY ADVENTURE OVER BREST A thrilling episode in a night raid on Brest is given in cn account of life in the Royal Air Force bomber qttadron written bv Sergeant Aian Campbell, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Campbell of illawera. From the middle of January Sergeant campbeil bad made a succession cf seven raids in Berlin, and since that date had been regularly engaged in bombing raids on the Continent. "We went to bomb a raider in dry lock at B: est." he writes. “It was a pocket-battleship or cruiser. Ours was the only aeroplane that went In below the clouds. We were circlihg round at 1000 ft. for an hour. When we did go in over the harbour we had ‘flak' and searchlights in front md on both sides of us. The captain was going to dive-bomb. I had the guns ready for the searchlight, we were so low. Suddenly we went straight into a dive, nearly pulied out. then dropped like a stone again. When we did pull out we were 100 ft. | off the water.

"When we found it wasn't a drear.; we had a roll call. I thought the captain was dive-bombing, but ;l seemed ‘flak' lifted the tail and we went straight into that dive. The second pilot was thrown down the bomb hatch and when he came to he grabbed the stick and the captain had to beat his hands off. The captaii', said we turned over and went straight down again after nearly pulling out. It shook us all up. 1 was hoping that we would go in again but we just went, above the clouds and dropped bombs on the docks.

"1 have done 10 raids over Hamm, Bremen! and Brest:. The Bremen! trip was made at 23 degrees below zero. 1 had ice hanging on me like lumps of sugar when I got back aha everything in the gun turret was covered with ice."