FIRE IN BOMBER
TWO AIRMEN DECORATED LONDON, Jan. 27. An Australian' pilot who, with gloved hands, subdued flames threatening to engulf his aircraft and, although suffering acutely from the effects of fumes, flew his bomber safely home after a raid on Wilhelmshaven this month, receives the D.F.M. in the latest list of R.A.F. awards, says the British official wireless. He is Sergeant D. W. Spooner, second pilot to Sergeant C. L. Bray, of the Royal Australian Air Force, captain of the bomber, who also receives the D.F.M.
Sergeant Bray carried out a determined attack in spite of intense antiaircraft fire, but an ignited flare was thrown from the rear of the bomb compartment into the fuselage, where it set fire to the fabric. The aircraft then became brightly illuminated and an easy target, and while held in a concentration of 30 enemy searchlights, was subjected to intense enemy fire. The situation appeared hopeless, but Sergeants Spooner and Bray succeeded between them in extinguishing the flames.
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20678, 31 January 1942, Page 7
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165FIRE IN BOMBER Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20678, 31 January 1942, Page 7
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