BRILLIANT EXECUTION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 97, 23 March 1940, Page 7

BRILLIANT EXECUTION.

(From Daventrv.)

Details of the great adventure in the raid on Sylt were given with almost casual modesty in a broadcast by one of the pilots who took part, “ft

j was not a big shoxv as shows go,” he said, “but it was a good shoxv.’ When the orders for the raid came tliev were orders for which the men had been waiting, lie said. After their long periods of practice on the security’ patrols over the German islands tliev felt the time had come when they could put into practice what they had learnt. The security patrols he described as monotonous. Not that they xxoro not xx'orth xx'hile, lor so long as any British aircraft xverc in the vicinitv it xvas too dangerous for the I Germans to shoxv the necessary flares | for the guidance of their mine-laying I seaplanes, or light of any kind. Ex’ery time the R.A.F. had been there, he thought, they would have liked to have “taken a crack” at the Germans. At last came the time when they wore going to got some of their own hack. The weather was the host, they had yet experienced on these flights. They took off in moonlight, hut for 45 minutes had to fly in low cloud and for another 30 through, showers before the cloud liTtod and visibility became reasonable. “The Germans, po doubt, thought it was tlie usual security patrol and that xve had no intention of being any ruder than we had been before,” he said. Ho described bow, arriving at the island before the time fixed for the raid to begin, thov flow about it till the 'time for attack came, xvhon they climbed to operational height. FORTY TONS OF BOMBS. Then they approached a seaplane slipway and'dived to the attack. Bombs were released, the aimer seeing a hit recorded on the target, and then the machine changed course and headed for the sea. The anti-aircraft barrage, be j .said, was fairly intensive, hut neither I very accurate nor effective, though they | felt the concussion of some of the bursts. “For the Germans it must have been an extreme’;' uncomfortable time and they must have wondered when the raid was coing to end ” he said. Discussing the raid afterward, the R.A.F. men thought that the German searchlight and anti-aircraft crews must have been more tired than the attackers, “hut we were tired enough anc) were quite glad to get hack and go to bed knowing that the job had been done.”

Led by a 41-year-old squadron leader, a veteran of the last war • xvith a “bag” of 25 enemy machines, 49 British ’planes took part in the raid, which is described as having been brilliantly executed. More "than 40 tons of bombs were dropped. A strict timetable xvas adhered to, each machine attacking at the appointed time and height. There was heavy anti-aircraft fire, including a new type of fireball that looked like a Roman candle. A tail wind took the ’planes to their objective 20 minutes ahead of time so they cruised about before striking, and then returned to their bases in almost the same order as that in which they left. One of.the men taking part had been over Prague on the Saturday, in France on the Sunday, in England on the Monday, and then over Sylt on Tuesday. The raid is held to have proved the value of the aerial photographs taken earlier, enabling pilots to recognise their objeetix’os without difficulty. To-day three men xvho took part in the exploit xverc decorated. SquadronLeader W. H. N. Turner and aeting-Flight-Lieuteiiant J. J. Bennett receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross, and Sergeant J. L. Fletcher the Distinguished Flying Medal.