BOUNCING BLENHEIM

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 January 1942, Page 4

BOUNCING BLENHEIM

NEW ZEALAND PILOT BLESSES HER MAKERS. EXPERIENCE IN THE CHANNEL. A New Zealand pilot of the R.A.F., Flight Lieutenant Arthur B. Wheeler, of the North Island, had a remarkable experience when the Blenheim in which he was attacking an enemy convoy bounced twice on the sea and flew home again. The incident took place about 10 miles north-west of the Hook of Holland, and the Blenheim was hit by a shell in the starboard engine when making a low-level attack. The pilot had to list sharply to avoid the cable of a balloon attached to one ship, and the bomber hit the water, bounced up, struck the water a second time, and then rose again. It is believed to be the first landplane to perform this I feat. I “It was a terrific smack,” said Flight Lieutenant Wheeler, in an interview. The starboard airscrew shuddered, and in counteracting the sudden lurch we hit the sea with our port airscrew. I’d

just manegod to pull out when the starboard engine knocked and rattled so badly that I had to throttle down. We hit the sea a second time, and I thought we were finished. Again I gave the aircraft all the boost I could, and once more we pulled up.” “Although she was making some remarkable noises the Blenheim got us back, and we blessed the people who made her. The oil pipes had been smashed about and we got back with one pint of oil left in the tank. We could have gone on for another five minutes—but no longer.”