DEATH JOUST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23829, 3 December 1940, Page 9

DEATH JOUST

bombs over brindisi air force flight JOURNALIST'S NARRATIVE SYDNEY, Nov. 30 The Sydney Sun's special war correspondent, James Aldridge. took part in a recent bombing raid on Brindisi from a secret air base in the Mediter- ■ ranean. In a despatch cabled from Athens Mr. Aldridge says:— Less than 24 hours ago I stood on a cool, moonlit airfield, under a British bomber, dressing for the flight, while the engines were warming up. I pulled on fur boots, pa'uts and jacket, a fleecelined helmet, an anti-drowning jacket and parachute harness. As the aeroplane took off I was given action station in the Astral batch—the glass blister protruding above the fuselage amidships, from which a clear view all round can be obtained. I had forgotten to wear gloves, and it was getting cold as wc climbed; so the wireless operator gave me a hot-air hosepipe to hold. 1 soon got tired of standing up and watching the clouds, so 1 sat down on a camp bed, hugged the warm pipe, And slept as the aeroplane roared /toward Italy. 1 was awakened two hours later when the observer took Bights through the Astral hatch. 1 Cursed the Clouds The observer dropped a small bomblike object through the open chute, and it burst in the sea below, producing a coloured smoke, indicating the direction of the wind and its approximate speed. Through my earphone came a warning from the pilot: "We are getting near our target. Keep your parachute handy. If you hit the water, push the harness release mighty quiekiy." Profanity interrupted the conversation. the bomb-aimer exclaiming: "Look at those - clouds! We will not see much if they are over the target." Suddenly I saw pin-point flashes far ahead, and the bomb-aimer shouted: "That's the target—and is the raid leader getting everything!" It was Brindisi's anti-aircraft guns pouring red-hot lead upward at the leading aeroplane, which was opening up at the target. Almost as we saw Brindisi's outlines below, the wireless operator quietly announced that he had heard the British Broadcasting Corporation news service give the Coventry casualties as a thousand. Bombs On Way The anti-aircraft barrage thickened, and then I saw a red burst behind us and knew we were o\er the town. It was about 3 a.m. and bright moonlight. We flew over Brindisi without wavering, while a myriad red flashes announced the guns below. Then up came "flaming onions," which are the deadliest form of anti-aircraft, fire. A great orange glow burst before us, followed by tracer pin-points. The observer angrily denounced the cloud bank below, and we turned and again flew across the town, seeking our target. Suddenly I saw a great 'flash of' light spreading whitely beneath the clouds and lighting up the whole area. The observer exclaimed: "That is the! chief's incendiaries." j Found the Target Again we flew across the town, seeking oUr target. It was on the fifth crossing, while every gun seemingly was firing upward, that the bombaimer shouted; "There it is. Left bank, steep." The aeroplane swung round, levelled, sank' lower and flattened out as the bomb-aimer yelled: "Hold your course!" The aeroplane steadied and then bumped .slightly as tlm anti-aircraft bursts came nearer, causing the bombaimer to roar: "For God's sake, hold it!" Then the aeroplane suddenly shot .up. I felt a jolt-directly underfoot, and the observer shouted: "First release.'' Another jolt, and the second bomb ((vas on its way. The shells around flashed red. but the pilot held straight on his course until the third bomh was dropped. We banked and climbed as more flaming, onions - shot tin and then came back in a wide arc Shells burst right under the aeroplane's nose and the pilot pulled it. round in a steep bank just in time. A Burst of Light Again the pilot flew straight across the = target, again the bomb-aimer (shouted "Hold it!" and again the aeroplane soared as we felt the jerk and another bomb was on its way to Brindisi. There was a mountainous burst of light below, followed by red flashes on the ground, and "then cloud obscured the target. While Brindisi writhed under the bombardment, 1 clutched the hot hosepipe, shivering and shouting with excitement. We flew over the target once more and the bomb-aimer veiled: "Let her go!" as he pushed the electrical release for the last time. A few hundred smaller bombs dropped like rain and were followed by a series of small bursts below. The bomb-aimer called: "That is the lot. Let us go baok.' : We turned and left Brindisi for the next aeroplane, and. from an easier | perspective, 1 -saw the whole area lis /up by red pin-points, which grew smaller as we sped, for home. The bomb-aimer came back all smiles and lifted mv ear-flap and shouted: "All O.K.!"' 1 nodded, clasped my hot-air pipe closer, and slept as we flow r south and later made, a perfect landing.