BRITISH BOMBERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24710, 12 September 1941, Page 5

BRITISH BOMBERS

SUNDAY NIGHT’S RAID COMBATS WITH FIGHTERS AT LEAST FOUR DESTROYED (Rec. 9 p.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 10. Bomber' crews who took part in Sunday night’s raid on Berlin and the Kiel and Boulogne docks described various encounters with German fighters. Over Holland a Wellington was caught in one of the searchlights. Suspiciously there was no antiaircraft fire and the suspicions were confirmed when the rear gunner suddenly saw a tracer coming from 300 feet above and astern. He could not see the’ enemy fighter but fired in the direction from which the tracer was coming. The enemy fire stopped and instead the rear gunner saw small objects, black and smoking, fall through the searchlight’s beams. The sudden opening of an anti-aircraft barrage may have indicated that the gun crews saw its destruction.

Over Berlin another Wellington was held by the searchlights and under a hot fire from the ground. Suddenly the guns stopped and almost at the same-moment a yellow tracer passed horizontally under the bomber. The enemy fighter could not be seen until it came so close that it- was itself caught in the searchlights. Tire rear gunner saw it was an ME 110. The ME was using canon and machine-guns, firing long bursts, but the rear gunner waited till it was close and then fired two bursts, and the enemy sheered off to port, dived away, and was never seen again.

At times the pi’esenee of enemy fighters was detected only when they fired coloured lights as a signal. One ■ which was in the barrage signalled to the gunners to hold their fii'e, but it was hit and fell in flames. There were combats with compai’atively few fightei's for the bombers’ aim is to hit the tai'get and return. Sometimes the enemy followed a bomber for many minutes until by avoiding action and sudden changes of coui'se or speed the bomber escaped the fighter and went on to the more urgent work of bombing Berlin. Held By Searchlights

Over Berlin a Hampden which was held, by searchlights dived to 4000 feet to get away. The fighter approached and fired from 100 feet. The Hampden pilot went on with the dive until 50 feet from the ground. Even there the bomber was still held by searchlights and not until it had flown several miles just over trees and roof tops did it get away from the lights and a pursuing fighter. Other combats were fought to a finish. A Junkers 88 attacked a Wellington four times over Berlin and got in one or two hits, but when it made a fourth attack the JU was seen to fly through a stream of bullets pouring from the Welling-ton’s-rear turret and it caught alight and fell to the ground. In all four enemy fighters were definitely seen to be destroyed afid several more damaged. ~ , , From the reports of crews who saw several bombers shot down by the guns of Berlin it is probable that most of the casualties that night were not caused by night fighters. The cost to Germany is measured not only in the damage done Jry bombers but also by the diversion of the force of fighters from the eastern front/