VICTORIA CROSS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20625, 5 August 1941, Page 6

VICTORIA CROSS

DOMINION FLYER SERGEANT l 4 WARD FOUGHT BOMBER FIRE (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 2 p.m. RUGBY, Aug. 4. The King has been graciously pleased to confer the Victoria Cross on Sergeant James Allen Ward, Royal New Zealand Air Force, in recognition of most conspicuous bravery. On the night of July 7, Sergeant Ward was second pilot of a Wellington bomber returning from an attack on Munster. When flying over the Zuider Zee at 13,000 ft., the aircraft was attacked from beneath by a Messerschmitt 110. which secured hits with a cannon shell and incendiary bullets. The rear gunner was wounded in the foot, but he delivered a burst of fire which sent the enemy fighter down, apparently out of control. A fire then broke out in the starboard engine and, fed by petrol from a split pipe, quickly gained an alarming hold and threatened to spread to the centre of the wing. The crew forced a hole in the fuselage and made strenuous efforts with extinguishers, but were unsuccessful. They were then warned to be ready to abandon the aircraft. As the last resort, Sergeant Ward volunteered to make an attempt to smother the fire with the engine cover, which happened to be in use as a cushion. With the help of the navigator, he climbed through the narrow astro-hatch and got on his parachute. The bomber was flying at reduced speed, but the wind pressure was sufficient to render the operation one of the utmost difficulty. Nearly Blown Off Breaking the fuselage to make hand and foot holds where necessary, and also taking advantage of the existing breaks in the fabric, Sergeant Ward succeeded in climbing 3ft. and proceeding another 3ft. to a position behind the engine, despite the' wind from the airscrew, which nearly blow him off the wing. Lying in this precarious position, he smothered the fire in the engine fabric and tried to push the cover into the hole in the wing and on to the leaking pipe from which the fire came. As soon as he removed his hand, however, the terrific wind blew the cover out and, when he tried again, it was lost. ' He was able with the navigator’s assistance to make successfully the perilous journey back into the aircraft. There was now no danger of the fire spreading from the petrol pipe, as there was no fabric left nearby, and in due course it burnt itself out. A safe landing was then made, despite the damage sustained by the aircraft. Sergeant Ward was born in June, 1919, in Wanganui. He was educated at the Wanganui Technical Coliege and the Wellington Teachers’ Training College. Before joining five Royal New Zealand Air Force he was a schoolmaster, and among th'e schools at which he taught were Aramoho, Raetihi, and Castlecjiff. His father is Mr. V. H. Ward, Wanganui.