1000 BOMBER RAIDS

Southland Times, Issue 24764, 8 June 1942, Page 5

1000 BOMBER RAIDS

N.Z. PILOTS RELATE EXPERIENCES “ORDINARY”” TRIP TO COLOGNE (Special Correspondent, N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, June 6. New Zealanders, who took part in the 1000-plane raids against Cologne and Essen told their experiences to the New Zealand 1 High Commissioner, Mr W. J. Jordan, when he visited their station. They included Squadron Leaders P. W. M. West, D.F.C. (Palmerston North), S. D. N. Constance (Auckland), Flight Sergeant-Pilots N. R. Meyer and J. G. Stewart (Christchurch), J. F. Keane (Gisborne), Sergeant-Pilots W. H. Gould (Auckland), G. E. I. Dale (Whangarei), Sergeant Observers H. A. D. Holtom (Wellington), E. Sisson J. C. Webster (Dunedin) and T. Stewart (Dannevirke). Squadron Leader West, SergeantPilot Gould, Flight Sergeant-Pilots J. G. Stewart and Keane and Sergeant Observer Webster were in both raids. Squadron Leader West, who has completed 50 raids, said: “The Cologne raid was very uneventful It was an ordinary trip. It was a lovely moonlight night over Germany. We first saw fires burning at Cologne from a distance of 20 minutes’ flying time. We arrived in the middle of the raid. The most noticeable thing was the smoke, which was already at 10,000 feet blowing away from the town. I could see Cologne clearly, built inside a curve of the Rhine. It was lit up everywhere by fires. It was an incredible sight, and’ the glow from the fires lit up the aircraft superstructure. “The main difference in the Essen raid was that the fires covered a bigger area. Most of the Ruhr was bombed that night making an amazing sight. We saw flak, searchlights, fires and smoke all mixed up, extending for miles up and down the whole Ruhr. We arrived during the last hour of the raid and stayed for reconnaissance after bombing.” Squadron Leader West flew a Lancaster. Sergeant-Pilot Gould is 20 years old. He joined up with the R.N.Z.A.F. shortly after leaving the New Plymouth Boys’ High School. He captained a Hampden for eight raids. He chatted for several minutes with Mr Jordan, who knows Sergeant-Pilot Gould’s father. Sergeant-Pilot Gould said. “We saw Cologne’s fires when crossing the Dutch coast. They glowed like a cigarette butt. We encountered more flak over Essen.” Squadron Leader Constance completed his first tour of. operations with Cologne. He will be an instructor. He said: “It was daylight over Cologne when we arrived about the middle of the raid. We stooged around for a good look and then flew straight across the target and dropped our bombs in the middle.' “We were held by searchlights for five minutes, but only because I was a chump and remained looking at the fires. But we escaped safely.” LANCASTERS TAKE OFF After dinner at the New Zealand Bomber Squadron station Mr Jordan chatted with Squadron Leader A. M. Paape, D.F.C. and bar, of Dunedin, who has finished a second tour of operations and is now converting the squadron to flying Lancasters. Mr Jordan then saw several Lancasters take off for Bremen, while the pearl sky of early evening turned to deep mauve. He watched the huge aircraft roar past the control room. It was a thrilling sight to see them gradually lift above the horizon and then disappear.

Mr Jordan turned in when all had gone. He rose before dawn and went to the briefing room where the Lancaster crews were reporting. He met Flight Sergeant Pilots Keane and J. G. Stewart and Sergeant Observer Webb and sat chatting with them, drinking hot sweet tea. They were tired, grubby and had incipient beards, but were happy. Sergeant Observer Webster said: “It was a satisfactory raid. I have never seen so many searchlights.

We were held for 30 minutes on the return trip in cones of 50 searchlights each, which were handing us on from one to another.” Flight Sergeant Pilot Keane said: “We saw plenty of ‘hosepipe’ flak sprayed toward us. It petered out. Below us there were several dummy fires.” Flight Sergeant-Pilot Stewart said: “We saw a great red glow on the horizon and thought it was a distant fire, but it was tire moon rising. We couldn’t miss the target—the docks—which were lit up by flares and clearly scored hits. I saw three of our planes flying below me. All were shot down.” Mr Jordan left the New Zealanders when they went to get the operational breakfast of eggs and bacon. He returned to bed until breakfast. His visit was much appreciated. Squadron Leader Constance said: “It was like a breath of fresh air hearing him talk about home.”