BRITISH PLANE’S EXPLOIT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20907, 6 October 1942, Page 5

BRITISH PLANE’S EXPLOIT

LONDON, Sept. 29. After helping with mine-laying, a British bomber got home by a miracle. On its return flight over enemy territory it was hit by antiaircraft fire. The hydraulic system was wrecked, the pilot’s instruments smashed, and flares, ammunition arid oil were set ablaze. In its, crippled condition, the bomber was attacked by two enemy fighters and was riddled by cannon and 'machine-gun fire. The rear gunner Was wounded. Unable to use his-instruments and almost choked by smoke, the pilot got his machine out of a steep dive while other members of the crew fought the fire inside the bomber, and eventually got it under • control, although they could not extinguish it completely. All were severely burned. For nearly four hours the bomber struggled home through a gale. The landing at the aerodrome was perilous. as .the undercarriage would not work, but the pilot grounded the machine safely. Those who saw the extent of the damage could not imagine how the bomber had got back. • These pilots were trained under the Empire air training scheme, and they have seen service in the Western Desert. _________________