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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 0493.PDF
FEBRUARY 15, 1940 155 WAR IN THE AIR (CONTINUED) '' But on February 3 our fighters were given their oppor- tunity. The German wireless took the unusual course of admitting that three of the enemy aircraft out of the com- paratively small number which were operating had been lost, and we know that at least one other was so badly damaged that it was probably unable to reach its base. " The extent of the successes claimed by Germany for this method of attack bears no relation to the facts. For example, on February 3 it was asserted by the enemy that in the air raid on that day along the East Coast no fewer than nine merchantmen, as well as other vessels, were sunk, and that the British ships sunk were all in convoy. The facts are that, in this raid, one Norwegian merchantman was sunk and no British merchant ship was lost. Hiding Brutal Facts " *T*HESE vauntings are poured out like a smoke screen to -*- conceal stories of callous brutality as inhuman as any yet recorded of the enemy. The bombing of unarmed mer- chant ships and fishing boats from the air, followed by machine-gunning of the crews at elevations which make it clear that there could be no doubt as to their identity, are now all too familiar. The German wireless statement on January 30 that 'the British naval patrol vessel East Dudgeon has been sunk by German aircraft' is a falsifica- tion intended to cover up from the world a deliberate and savage attack on a lightship. '' To seafaring folks of all nations the East Dudgeon is well known as a lightship and its identity was unmistak- able. She was, naturally, unarmed. We have always shared with other civilised nations the view that lightships because of the nature of their services are outside the scope of hostilities, and, in the case of British lightships, they are not even utilised to report the presence of enemy craft in their vicinity. '' On the morning of the 30th an enemy aeroplane was seen to fly over the East Dudgeon lightship. The only survivor of the crew of eight tells his story simply in these words: — " 'We were not alarmed because on previous occasions German pilots had waved to us and left us alone. But on this occasion the bomber dived suddenly and sprayed the deck with machine-gun bullets, and later dropped nine bombs, the last of which hit our ship.' " That is briefly the story of the attack on the lightship East Dudgeon. The dead bodies of seven of her defence- less crew were found next morning on the seashore. The killing of fishermen, merchant seamen, and of lightship crews in circumstances such as I have related is not war but murder. Such acts of pure gangsterism can have little, if any, practical effect on the outcome of the war. The horror and disgust which they excite in the minds of all decent peoples only makes us the more resolved to carry on the struggle until civilisation is purged of such wicked- ness." Messerschmitts Use Their Shell-Guns THE following incident in which four French fightersattacked twelve enemy fighters and shot down three without losing one machine is freely translated from Les Ailes. . , ,, " The twin-engined French machine has arrived at tne spot where it has to do its job. Without wasting time, the photographer takes his pictures ... the sky is not extraordi- narily clear but sufficiently so to get good photographs and to enable the machine to fly at a height where it does not offer an easy target for the enemy A.A. guns. The guns fire however, but the bursts, sometimes far, sometimes nea'r, the plane, do not worry the photographer, who quietly gets on with his job. He knows that the machine-gunner watches the sky, and will not let himself be surprised ; he knows also, and, above all, that higher up and no less watchful are four French chasers protecting the twin- engined machine, ready to intervene on the first alarm. Besides, the job is nearly done, and the pilot is ready to turn for home. " Then it happens. . . . German patrols are sighted. They are high up, very high—at 8,000 or 9,000 metres perhaps— twelve Messerschmitt fighters, flying in four groups of three, just about to dive on the twin-engined French machine. They had adopted their usual tactics, which consist of using clouds as cover to approach their prey without being seen. It is thus that they suddenly appear from out of a cloud to attack their foe. Their formation divides into two parts, six planes attacking from one side, six from the other. The twiu-engined machine is badly outclassed by the fire power of the twelve fighters attacking it. '' However, the surprise effect is lacking. The men in the French machine see the Messerschmitts, and, without hesi- tating, the pilot opens the throttle wide and dives for the French lines. At once our protective patrol joins in; they, too, use the clouds as cover, and suddenly attack the enemy, who did not seem to have known of their presence. So the attack on a single observation machine by twelve assailants is transformed suddenly into a dog-fight between fighters. The forces are very unequal; the odds in the struggle are three to one! The Fight Is On tOM that moment it becomes a classic fight. The ad- versaries are so close to one another that the German A.A. guns cannot help their fighters. They cease fire. Dives, stall turns, and then the rattle of machine-gun fire. It is not only machine guns, however; our pilots quickly realise that most of the opposing Messerschmitts are equipped with ' motor cannons '. The Germans respect our armament, and the four-gun Me 109s are doubtlessly giving place on the front to new types of Diamler-Benz DB 601 ' motor cannons ' which do not prevent them having, as well, two 7.7. mm. machine guns in the wings. So the enemy, who already has the advantage of numbers, has also an advantage in fire-power. They are fast, and their pilots are clever. But once again the quality of our pilots, their resource, and the manoeuvrability of their machines gives them victory. " Our fighters divide their task. Two take on the first group of six Messerschmitts, two others the second equally formidable group. The enemy formation is broken up. It is now a succession of individual engagements, each one very brief, in which our pilots really excel. It is the spirit of initiative which triumphs in these encounters, the rapidity of reflex, the instinctive idea of the right move to make ; that is to say, all the qualities of the French. Obvi- ously, it is important that the equipment should not be inferior to that on the other side, but it is admitted that our fighters are superior in manoeuvrability to the enemy fighters. In individual combat a manoeuvrable aircraft with a French pilot is a splendid combination. . . . " One German machine fell in flames ; another went down in a spin, and did not pull out before hitting the ground. The fight between our two fighters and the second group was not too happy for the enemy. Starting at 7,500 metres it finished up at only 800 metres. One Messerschmitt sud- denly went into a vertical dive and crashed without being able to pull out. The pilot had probably been killed in the air. " That finishes this third success of our fighters. The sur- vivors of the enemy formation regained height and dis- appeared, while our four pilots returned to their base un- molested. The twin-engined machine, which they had pro- tected so well also returned without further incident. "All this had taken place over enemy territory, and the German planes had naturally fallen- behind their own lines. But their fall was indisputable. The places where they fell were identified, and also the triple success of our fighters had been witnessed by officers and soldiers of our outposts and pilots of other patrols. So the success of those who had gained such a brave victory received confirmation." * * * An enemy aircraft was attacked by R.A.F. Fighter Com- mand patrols near the Firth of Forth shortly after midday on Friday last. It came to earth near North Berwick.
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