AIR RAID EPIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25216, 31 May 1945, Page 4

AIR RAID EPIC

STOEY OF COURAGE

NEW ZEALAND VENTURAS (Special Correspondent) (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, May 30 On May 3. 1943, 11 Venturas of X O . 487 (R.N.Z.A.F.) Squadron took off i n the sunshine of a late afternoon to bomb power stations in Amsterdam Only one of those aircraft returned and every one of its crew was awarded an immediate decoration. Now that some New Zealanders who survived the raid are hack in England a description can be given. Those who have returned include Squadron-Leader L. H. Trent, D P. 0., of Nelson, who led the New Zealand squadron that day, Flying-Officers 0. E. Foster, of Canterbury, and T. A. I'enn, of Christchurch, and Warrant-Officer I. y Urlich, of Hawera. "We took off in two flights," said Warrant-Officer Urlich. "SquadronLeader Trent led one "'box' of five aircraft. while Flight-Lieutenant A. v" Duffill. of Yorkshire, led the other of six. We knew it might he a tricky flight, as we had to fly so far inland "Suddenly through the intercoramul nication I heard, 'Fighters coming in to meet us from below.' In a moment or two I saw about 50 Gorman fighters all around our formations. Five singled us out. The first one got in a kurst on the port side between my turret and the pilot, but did little damage. The second one was' a better shot. He broke a lot of perspex and wounded me in the right leg. The third chap reallv fixed us. He came in very close and raked us from end to end and hit i Ce in the left foot. I managed to get a burst into him and he went dowjAvjth his engine on fire. Nose of Plane on Fire "Then a fighter attacked from the front, and I got nicked in the leftside The nose of our aircraft was now on fire and the pilot, McGowan, a Canadian. came back and began ~to drag me from the turret. I remember noticii)2 we were practically over Amsterdam and that only Squadron-Leader Trent's aircraft was with -us. As I was watching it. a burst of flak blew its tail away and it went down in a spin. "Mac put on my parachute and pushed me out of the door. That was the last time I ever saw him. Later a German intelligence officer told me our aircraft had crashed and he showed me the shoulder flashes of the crew. "I do not remember much after leaving the door, and I must have blacked out. When I came to, the parachute was open and I could see three more below me. I learned afterward that they were Squadron-Leader Trent, his English navigator and one of our own fighter pilots. Interrogated by Germani "I landed on one foot just in case the other was badly injured. Eventually. Dutch civilians stayed with m 8 until Germans took me to"a Dutch hospital. Then I was put in a cell. Someone was next door to me, so I called out and it was Squadron-Leader Trent. "Later we were taken to Frankfurt and interrogated. The information they already had from their own intelligence amazed me. They had all the names of everyone in our squadron, including mine, and they also showed me a Flight magazine only two days old. It prohably came from Eire." This operation against Amsterdam ranks among the gallant feats of the air war, for, although the New Zealand squadron was outnumbered and its fighter escort apparently swamped, it carried 011 with its mission, led by the resolute courage of SquadronLeader Trent. The one aircraft that did return had an all-English crew, and Flight-Lieutenant Duffill, the pilot, would have crash-landed in Holland if two of his crew had not been seriously" •wounded.