GUNS IN ACTION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 November 1941, Page 6

GUNS IN ACTION

AGAINST ENEMY AIR RAIDERS a DURING ATTACK ON BRITISH CITY. TIRELESS AND EFFICIENT WORK. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, November 16. Vivid impressions of a German raid over a large industrial city in northwest England and the work of the Anti-Aircraft Command in repelling it are given in a War Office bulletin. “Out on a heavy anti-aircraft gun site, the alarm bells call the gunners to action stations at the gun positions, the officer receives the report ‘all ready for action’ and, with a sergeant as assistant, he controls the fire of the 4.5 in. guns grouped round him in a semi-circle. In a downstairs dugout telephonists get the latest information from the gun operation room —estimated. height, speed, bearing and range of the night raider, “As the enemy planes swing into the .attack the brigade commander calls all gun positions, officers to the telephone. ‘lt looks -like being a party.’ he says, ‘Good shooting.’ The fuse is forecast by predictor No. 4 and rapped out with machine-like efficiency. It is relayed to the guns, fuses are set and rounds are clapped into the gun chambers. Breech blocks move across with a loud click and then comes the ‘Fire.’ “With a roar and a flash the four guns go off together in a perfect salvo. The Empty brass cartridge cases are ejected from the chambers at speed and clatter across the concrete emplacements. Slowly the predictor is being traversed following the course of the plane and the gunlayers, with eyes on electrical dials, move the guns to the same bearing and angle. No. 4 predicts another fuse and again the guns bark out their challenge. Bombs whistle down less than half a mile away. The guns keep on firing. “Five hours go by. The guns have hardly stopped firing. The gunners have stuck to the job of pumping those heavy shells up into the air without a sign of tiredness. Toward midnight there is a lull. Hot cocoa and bread is passed round. “Within half an hour the attack is renewed. Soon after 1 a.m. half a dozen R.A.S.C. lorries appear, heavily laden with ammunition. They have driven right tbrough the worst of the raid. All spare men are collected. Shells are unloaded at top speed and distributed to the guns. At 3.20 a spotter reports a large glow in the sky slowly gliding* to earth. It is a plane which was caught in the barrage of shells. As it hits the ground there is a sheet of light as bright as that from any of the bombs that have been dropped. “But there are still more planes. Not till dawn is the board cleared of hostile pilots. At last, more than 12 hours after ‘take posts,’ comes ‘stand easy.’ ”