THRILL OF BOMBING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 230, 30 September 1942, Page 1

THRILL OF BOMBING

IRISH WRITER OVER TOBRUK London, Sept. 25. The noted Irish writer, Deais Johnston, was in a Royal Air Force bomber which raided Benghazi early this week. He says it was a thrilling experience for him, though to the airmen it was just one of those things they do several times a week as a matter of course. “As we got near the town searchlights swept the sky anq. flak started coming up,” he said. “There were scarlet gun flashes on the ground and blood-red tracer bullets zoomed up on each side of the machine. The pilot weaved skilfully in and out of the flak until he was ready to make his first run over the target. Then the plane swooped in on its bombing run. ‘The bomb’s gone. Now weave like hell!’ somebody said. We went twisting and turning away from Benghazi with the flak and searchlights still feeling after us like the tentacles of an octopus.

"Somebody said that our bomb doors had not opened properly and our bombs were still in the machine, so we did the thing all over again. This time it was an even better run in than before and I flung myself on the floor to watch the bombs burst on the target."