YOUNG N.Z. PILOT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIV, Issue 50, 27 January 1944, Page 5

YOUNG N.Z. PILOT

SHOOTS DOWN FIRST ZERO. (R.N.Z.A.F News Service.) . NEW GEORGIA, Jan. 26. Flying with the New Zealand fighter wing in the Pacific, a former Air Training Corps cadet who celebrated his 20th birthday last month, had his first taste of combat recently when he shot down a Japanese Zero and damaged another. He is Sergt. A. S. Mills, son of Mr A. Mills, of Dunedin. It was in a New Zealand fighter sweep over Rabaul when they shot down six enemy aircraft, that Mills saw his first Zero. “I felt tense and excited, like the first time I went in to bat playing senior crciket,” he said, relating tue adventure in an unassuming way and without any frills. “I did not know what was going to happen, but when it started, all I seemed to think of was to shoot down as many Japanese as possible. I was No. 4in SquadronLeader Arkwright's section. We flew over Rabaul for 25 minutes before anything came up, and then we could see the dust rising from the airfield as the Japs took off. It was not till they were right up and at our level that I saw ray first Zero. Four of them were in line. e attacked them, but by the time the fight developed, 30 or 40 were in tho sky. The whole of my section broke into the four Zeros and I just looked through the sights—a Zero was in them and I pulled the trigger. I guess it was my good luck and Ins misfortune. After that, some of the chaps saw bits flying off the Jap’s rudder and ho spun earthwards. Ihe pilot baled out. It was just one ungodly melee after that, though it didn’t compare with my second scrap.” MILLS’S PLANE DAMAGED.

This was in a big sweep later, when our Warhawks destroyed 12 of the enemy for certain and badly damaged six others. Mills was flying with another New Zealander when they saw two Zeros on the tail of a lone Warhawk directly below them. They rolled and pulled out on the Zeros’ tails. Mills followed a Zero and the hard-pressed Warhawk down in a dive, pot a line on the enemy and hold the trigger on him for fully cipht seconds. lie could see his bullets hitting the Zero, but. was unable to see the results. Shortly afterwards his plane was damaged when four Zeros jumped on his tail and he was forced to make for home.

Mills was born in Invercargill but ho regards Dunedin as his homo town. On leaving school he became a clerk. Reading of the Battlo of Britain turned liis thoughts to flying and ho joined up with tho Air Training Corps when it was first formed in Dunedin. He rates highly the value of- that initial training. Mills gained his wings in July of last year. After a period of intensive training on Warhawks at an operational training unit, he was posted to a New Zealand fighter squadron which is now back in the forward area on its ebcond tour of duty. Patrols were his introduction to the combat zone.