HIT SIX TIMES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23591, 27 February 1940, Page 7

HIT SIX TIMES

f BRITISH AIR BOMBER r ODDS OF FIVE TO ONE f : CREWS THRILLING ESCAPE By Tolegraph—Press Association—Copyright British "Wireless LONDON, Feb. 25 When an aeroplane of the bomber command was returning from reconnaissance flights yesterday over Heligoland and the German Frisian Islands, it' was intercepted and attacked by five enemy fighters. , In spite of the superior speed of his opponents and the fact that one of the guns in his machine was virtually out of action during the engagement, the British pilot was able to evade the attackers, 'and he returned safely to his base with valuable photographs previously obtained over enemy territory. In the course of the action, the bomber wns hit six times by machinegun fire, but the crew escaped injury. The crew of the bomber, a British Blenheim, first sighted the enemy while flying in a patch, of clear sky at 2000 foet.

Clever Manoeuvres by British Pilot Five fighters of the Messerschmitt 109 type were flying in Y formation, and the Blenheim's pilot at once dived toward sea level in order to restrict the manoeuvrability of the fighters, and protect himself from attack from below. «■

While he was descending, the first Messerschmitt launched its attack from above and on the port quarter, being quickly followed by the remaining four fighters, three of which attacked from the port quarter and one from astern. Pressing their attack home, the fighters then broke away and, gaining height, delivered simultaneous attacks on both sides of the bomber. Forced to Abandon the Chase

At first the Blenheim's pilot evaded the attack by making a s;eries of left and right-hand turns, and bringing his aircraft head on toward the enemies' machine-gun fire as each attacked. Then, three minutes after the action had started, the Blenheim came underneath a cloud bank and the pilot decided to try to gain its cover. As he made for the clouds 3000 feet above him, in a series of steep right-hand climbing turns, one of the enemy fighters repeatedly attacked him from the beam, while another harassed him from below. Still turning toward the fighters at each attack, the bomber's pilot continued to climb between each attack and finally entered the cloud bank, where the fighters at once lost contact and were forced to abandon the chase, MACHINES ALL SAFE RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS LONDON, Feb. 25 The Ai r Ministry states that machines of the Royal Air Force made reconnaissance flights over Heligoland Bight and north-west Germany yesterday. They repulsed six separate attacks and came home" safely after completing their task.

A Berlin communique reports "slight reconnaissance and chaser patrol activity over the German-French frontier and the Heligoland Bight. One French and one British aeroplane were shot down." It is learned from the Air Ministry that this claim is untrue. HITLER'S OUTBURST r "NOT WORTH COMMENT" i . British Wireless LONDON, Feb. 25 The complete lack of anything of novelty in Hitler's latest speech is commented upon generally in the press. In official circles in London it is regarded as following the same pattern as former speeches by the Fuehrer, and as one on which it is not worth commenting.