AIRSTRIPS IN BEACH-HEAD
LONDON, June 11. Fighters are operating from airstrips in the beach-head, supplying probably the closest support ever given to ground forces. A correspondent who was an eyewitness of the first Spitfire arrivals in Normandy says that the first .wing, led by Wing Commander “Johnny Johnson, touched down at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday. The planes, after making a tight circuit to avoid balloons protecting the area, landed in twos. The R.A.F. commandos ran on to a runway waving huge flags and signalling the Spitfires to dispersal areas. Swarms of riggers and fitters crowded around the planes. Within 20 minutes the planes were fully serviced and refuelled and ready to take off again.. Asked his opinion of the landing field, Wing Commander Johnson said: "The surface is grand—as good as most of our fields in England. .1 was amazed to *find such an organisation here and such efficiency from the ground staff in so short a time.
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 25560, 13 June 1944, Page 5
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158AIRSTRIPS IN BEACH-HEAD Otago Daily Times, Issue 25560, 13 June 1944, Page 5
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