DOMINION’S AIR ACE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 227, 24 August 1945, Page 8

DOMINION’S AIR ACE

WELCOMED IN GISBORNE. (Press Assn.) GISBORNE, Aug. 22. Gisborne paid a tribute today at a civic reception to its greatest hero of this war, who is also Now Zealand’s most successful lighter pilot, WingCommander C. Gray, D. 5.0., D.E.C., and two Bars, R.A.F., who is home on short leave.

The Mayor (Mr N. H. Bull) traced the exploits of Wing-Commander Gray in shooting down 27) enemy aircraft. He paid a tribute to the splendid services of the guest and all other members of the Air Force. lie condoled with Wing-Commander Gray in tile death in action of his twin brother, Flying-Officer Kenneth Gray, D.F.C., Czech War Cross. In acknowledging the welcome, W'ing-Commander Gray said the Battle of Britain would never perish from the mind, though it was now growing .dim. It was a tough time. The British possessed only 40 squadrons of 12 planes each. The Germans were experienced in combat in Spain, Poland, and the Lowlands. But the R.A.F. was not battle-tested. The British won partly because of their pilots, but particularly because the Spitfire was 20 to 30 miles faster than the Mossersehmitt. Before going into combat, fighter pilots were generally frightened, hut that feeling did not last long. A pilot had no feeling save to shoot down the opposing aircraft without thought of the man inside it. Wing-Commander Gray had a grandstand view of the invasion of France while leading patrols. There were liter-j ally thousands of aircraft over the j beachhead, he said. Naval shells from J the bombarding ships reached an altitude of 400r.1t several miles inland. I He described the VI as particularly I horrid. Flying at 380 miles an hour, | as fast ns an aircraft could go, it! was difficult to catch unless one had I the advantage of height. The anti-air-| craft gunners generally had three out' of five Vi’s, half of which exploded 1 in mid-air, which was spectacular at, night. The Germans had a lot up their j sleeves, he declared, including rocket guns capable of shelling London at a terrific rate. If the war had dragged on much longer it might have been a different story.