PERILOUS TRIP HOME

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20622, 25 November 1941, Page 9

PERILOUS TRIP HOME

CRIPPLED R.A.F. BOMBER MISSED MINES ON LANDING (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 11 a.m. RUGBY, Nov. 23. With one wing partially shot away while returning from a raid over Germany and with the starboard engine out of action, a Whitley bomber struggled home and brought the crew safely back. For over 200 miles the second pilot kept the aircraft from finally slipping into the sea. It hit the water several times. “We couldn’t make height,” the captain said, “and not far from the Dutch coast we actually hit the sea. The tail struck the water but the second pilot brought it up again and we climbed to 200 ft. That is the way it went all the way, first going up to 200 ft. and then down to about 50ft., and sometimes touching the waves. We threw everything loose overboard except the guns. At last we saw the English coastline. The second pilot shut off the petrol and, with the undercarriage up and the flaps useless he had to glide on to the beach to make a safe landing. I had an idea there were mines about so I told the crew to stay put while we fired guns and a Verey light to attract attention. I got out and waded through the water and then saw soldiers coming with Tommyguns. Their captain would not believe I was English at first because I was wearing a new suit and had no wings on it. He took me back to the Whitley. Then he told us we had escaped landmines by a few feet.