DREARY LAMPEDUSA

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIII, Issue 236, 3 September 1943, Page 2

DREARY LAMPEDUSA

N.Z. AIRMEN'S SOJOURN. (Special Correspondent.) (Rec. 1.30 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 2 "Lampedusa Island is a dreary placo and wo were not sorry to leave." said Flight-Sergeants W. Tye rWanganui) and D. Jackson (Cheviot), who have returned to England. "We were there for a month with Flight-Lieut. D. F. Watson CTbames), Fligbt-Sergts. J. S. Prentice, R. C. Shorthouse, R. Hayward, and W. H. Carter (Auckland), C. McDonald and R. Caramock (Christchurch). We arrived a week before the Sicilian campaign began. Our job was patrolling in four-can-non Hurricanes over convoys. There were many big convoys. One was 40 miles long and it took ten minutes to flv from end to end. "It was a magnificent sight to see the fleet of ships against the blue waters, lit up by the' sun. We never saw any Axis aircraft. At Lampedusa we lived under canvas in a small bay. About the only bright spot in our lives was the fact that the beach was only 50 yards distant, and so we had many good swims, but the food was poor. Most of us had mild dysentery and while we could get a few small thick-skin-ned tomatoes we did not eat grapes in case it made our dysentery worse. We found the islanders friendly, esespecially when they discovered that the Italian garrison had been removed and they were allowed to return to their normal occupntions."

Previously the squadron was stationed at Phillipvillo where it carried out patrols over convoys as far as Bona and Algiers. Jackson and Cammock (the latter has also returned to England) were among the five pilots who attacked and shot down all four of the Italian torpedobombers which were preparing to attack the convoy. Tye, who was patrolling over the convoy, was indignant when he heard that all of the Italians were shot down before they sighted the convoy. Also with the squadron for a time was Flight-Sergt C. Ashworth (Alexandra 1 ), who shot down three enemy planes. Shorthouse also shared the in the destruction of two.