A CROWDED HOUR
CREW OF STIRLING RESCUED London, July 2. Flight Sergeant D. J. Martin, of Upper Hutt, was front gunner in a Stirling which recently had an unusually eventful trip to west Germany. Soon after the Stirling crossed the Dutch coast a JuBB came so close that its black crosses were visible. The Ju apparently had not seen the Stirling and started to climb away but Martin raked it from stem to stern, after which it plunged vertically out of sight. The Stirling flew on and bombed its target but anti-aircraft fire holed the tank after which the petrol took fire and the pilot ordered the crew to prepare to bale out and put the Stirling into a steep 7000 feet dive, which extinguished the fire but left a large hole in the wing. Petrol shortage forced the Stirling to land on the sea off the English coast. The sea was so rough that the bomber broke in halves and sank in ten seconds. Members of the crew after a desperate struggle freed the dinghy and themselves. A Spitfire sighted them 80 minutes later and dropped another dinghy, and an Air Sea Rescue launch picked up the airmen half an hour later. —P.A.
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Bibliographic details
Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 5 July 1943, Page 5
Word Count
204A CROWDED HOUR Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 5 July 1943, Page 5
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