AGAINST ODDS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20602, 1 November 1941, Page 5

AGAINST ODDS

FIGHT OVER CHANNEL PILOT FROM CAMBRIDGE GERMAN ‘‘SCALPS” ' LONDON, Sept. 30. While returning from a daylight sweep over France, Flight-Lieutenaiit E. P. Wells, D.F.C., Cambridge, ■ ace pilot of the New Zealand Fighter Squadron, was attacked by four Messerschmitt 109 s. Separated from the squadron, Flight-Lieutenant Wells was flying alone in the “Waikato.” ) The Nazi pilots, made a number of. attempts to shoot him into the, Chan-, nel. The New Zealander got one of the Huns, the second during the flight, and returned to the station with hiS' Spitfire intact, although damaged bycannon and. machine-gun fire. First Blood to New Zealander

The New Zealand Squadron was acting as a high cover-escort in a. daylight sweep. As the Spitfires crossed the French coast the pilots saw 30 Messerschmitt 109 s aboiit 5000 ft. above them. The Germans dived, broke the formation of the. wing, and a number of dogfights began. Pilot-Officer J. F. Knight, Auckland, was flying Number Two to Flight-Lieutenant Wells. After- a general mix-up, Knight's Spitfire was > v hit and glycol began to escape in a cloud of white fumes. ✓ Wells told him over the radio-telephone to set off for England and he turned away from the squadron himself to protect Knight’s tail. * Evidently attracted by the white cloud pouring from the damaged Spitfire, an Me. 109 dived after Knight. Wells was waiting for him, and in turn he dived on the Nazi. Getting him in the sights he fired his two cannon, and most of the left wing of the 109 was blown away. The Messerschmitt turned on its back and the pilot baled out. almost immediately. Four Against One " By this time Wells had drifted some 10 to 15 miles away from Knight and had lost sight of him. About 10 minutes later the squadron heard Knight say over the radio-telephone: “I will have to land.” It was thought that Iris engine must have failed, and that he was able to force-land in France. ’

Flight-Lieutenant Wells had lost a good deal of height during the combat, and he was in a position in which no. fighter pilot likes to find himself —away from his squadron and comparatively low down. His petrol supply was easing. He decided to return to England. It was just at this time that the four 109 s sighted him. They- divided into two pairs and began to attack the New Zealander alternately. First one pair dived at him and then the other. Every time he saw them start to attack, Flight-Lieutenant Wells turned to met them. .To have continued to fly toward England with his back to them would have been fatal. On two or three occasions he heard cannon-shot hitting the Waikato’s tail. Machine-gun bullets also clanged into it. But the New Zealander faced the Me.’s every time, and at last the opportunity came for which he was waiting. A Sheet of Flame

One of the Nazis overshot after making an attack. He pulled out of his dive straight in front of- FlightLieutenant Wells, about 75yds. away. Immediately the New Zealander fired his cannon, giving two bursts. ' ' He saw the Messerschmitt turn on its back, and when he looked again four or five seconds later —during which short interval he had made certain that the three remaining Germans were not about to attack- — he saw it drifting down with a sheet of flame leaping up and licking the tail away. The pilot did not bale out. When Flight-Lieutenant Wells was almost half-way acros the Channel the remaining three Nazis decided that it was time for them to get back to France, and the New Zealander returned to his base to find only 10 shelsl remaining in his cannon and not much petrol in the tank. The recognised ace of the New Zealand Squadron, Flight-Lieutenant Wells’ nicknames are “Ha.vxeye” and “The Killer.” A former clay pigeonshooting champion, he has exceptionally keen eyesight. Many pilots have said that he has spotted German aircraft during sweeps long before they themselves picked them out.. He never avoids risks to get his man,