ORDEAL IN THE AIR
AUSTRALIAN PILOTS FIRE EXTINGUISHED RUGBY, Jan. 27. An Australian pilot who with gloved hands subdued flames threatening to engulf his aircraft, and, although suffering acutely from the effects of fumes, flew his bomber safely home after a . raid on Wilhelmshaven this month, receives the D.F.M. in the latest list of R.A.F. awards. He is Sergeant D. W. Spooner, second pilot to Sergeant C. L. Bray, R.A.A.F.. captain of the bomber, who also received the D.F.M. Sergeant Bray carried out a determined attack in spite of intense anti-aircraft fire, but an ignited flare was blown from the rear of the bomb compartment into the fuselage, where it set fire to the fabric. The aircraft was then brightly illuminated and an easy target, and. whilst held in a concentration of 30 enemy searchlights, was subjected to intense enemy fire. The situation appeared hopeless, but Spooner and Bray succeeded between them in extinguishing the flames and returning to the base.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Daily Times, Issue 24827, 29 January 1942, Page 5
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161ORDEAL IN THE AIR Otago Daily Times, Issue 24827, 29 January 1942, Page 5
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