“COMFORTABLE TRIP”

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 262, 3 October 1940, Page 8

“COMFORTABLE TRIP”

RAID ON BERLIN. TERRIFIC EXPLOSIONS. (United Press Association—Copyright.) (British Official "Wireless.) (Rec. 2 p.m.) RUGBY, Oct. 2. Recounting his share in Tuesday night’s raid on Berlin an R.A.E. bomber pilot said : “This is the fourth time I have been over Berlin and it was the most comfortable, trip of all. The night-was ideal for bombing, but there were large concentrations of searchlights, apparently co-operating with the fighters. “At one point we were held by 15 searchlights. However, we did not encounter any fighters and managed to dive out of the lights. After that we had very little trouble. There were thin patches of cloud and we had to wait tor them to part. Wo did two dummy runs over a factory, then turned round, and. going in the third time, did a shallow' dive and dropped our bombs. “The rear gunner counted four teiy rific explosions. The lights of the explosions reached up to the aircraft, although we were flying at 10,000 ft. I could see the wings quite clearly.” HUTCH SAVE BRITISH AIRMEN. Our Dutch allies rendered service to their R.A.E. comrades recently, when Dutch airmen, flying Ansons of the Coastal Command, sighted a rubber dinghy with five men drifting in the Irish Sea, They found and guided a ship to the rescue of the dinghy’s occupants who were the crew of a British aircraft which had made a forced landing on the water. MESSERSCHMITTS ROUTED. A Sunderland flying boat of the Coastal Command fought a twenty minutes battle with three Messerschmitts 110 off Ushant, damaging them and driving them off. The fly-ing-boat which belongs to the Royal Australian Air Force, was returning from a long reconnaissance of German shipping movements off the west coast of France, states an Air Ministry bulletin. The three Messersehmitts were escorting two Hornier “Flying Pencil ’ bombers and two of the fighters repeatedly came in on the Sunderland’s beam and one from below. Every attack was beaten off. The Australian gunners saw' many bullets strike home before the Messersehmitts broke off the fight The Sunderland was undamaged. PILOT’S SKILL AS TACTICIAN.'

The distinction of receiving a bar to his D.F.C. was gained hv Flight-Lieu-tenant Archibald McKellar following his skill as a tactician in leading his squadron in the air battles over London. During eight days in the defence of London he destroyed eight hostile aircraft. In previous encounters Flight-Lieutenant McKellar brought down four other planes.