DRAMATIC STORIES

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21191, 14 August 1940, Page 7

DRAMATIC STORIES

ADVENTURES OF PILOTS SUPERIOR TO ENEMY (Official Wireless) (Received August 14, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, August 13 Combat reports tell dramatic stories of pilots’ adventures in repelling today’s mass attacks on England. One Spitfire squadron chased a large formation of Dornier bombers right across the Channel and damaged at least five. Another Spitfire squadron began a battle against 30 Dornier bombers five miles above the Kentish coast, when the squadron leader, a South African, sprayed three of the bombers with machine-gun bullets in quick succession.

He saw pieces flying off one and another appeared to be on fire after his first burst.

Meanwhile the pilot-officer, with his opening burst of fire, silenced the rear gunner and set fire to the fuselage of another bomber.

A second pilot-officer shot down another Dornier and saw it crash on a roundabout on the main road. He was finishing off the work of another pilot who had attacked this bomber but was himself attacked by two others and forced to retire with his Spitfire damaged. He managed, however, to land his fighter safely. Another report tells of a flyingofficer who attacked four bombers one after the other, silencing the rear gunner in two of them. He saw thick clouds of smoke pouring from a third as it dived crippled towards the sea. Jumped by Parachute A Hurricane squadron engaged a tightly-packed wedge of a formation of 24 Dornier 215’s over the Thames Estuary. In this engagement, the sergeant pilot, with already at least eight enemy aircraft to his credit, saw the gunner of the bomber which he had attacked jump out by parachute, with the bomber falling apparently out of control towards the water. A few minutes later a pilot of the same squadron attacked another Dornier and watched the entire crew of five bale out by parachute. While this fight was going on over the Thames pilots from another Hurricane squadron were battling over the Sussex coast. They engaged a formation of 50 bombers composed of Dorniers, Heinkels and Junkers, flying at 50,000 feet. A long way behind were 50 Messerschmitts. In the dog fights which followed at least one Junkers 88 bomber was destroyed and among the probable victims of these Hurricane pilots were four more Junkers, two Dorniers, a Messerschmitt 110 and a Messerschmitt 109.