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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 0581.PDF
FEBRUARY 29, 1940 igi WAR IN THE AIR (CONTINUED) (Above) A nice shiny new Me 109 iswheeled from the works at Augsburg. One day it may share the fate of itsforlorn-looking brother on the right. them with machine-gun fire anddestroyers disposed of the others. The weather does not often keepthe R.A.F. on the ground, and it has probably been from some other causethat we have not heard much of late of sweeps, security patrols, or similarenterprises. However, on the night of Tuesdaj', February 20, a successfulreconnaissance of Heligoland Bight was carried out by several of our air-craft. On succeeding nights there were other reconnaissances which pushedright over Austria and Bohemia. The Admiralty has now undertakenthe arming of trawlers and tramp steamers so that they can defendthemselves against the attacks of the Heinkel III bombers. In reply, Ger-many has threatened still more un- restrained attacks on them, but as wehad not observed any restraint for a long time past, it does not seem that we shall be very muchworse off in that respect, while the use of the guns produced an immediate effect in driving off some raiders who hadthought that they had found some nice, helpless seamen to murder. The Fighters' Bag '"PHURSDAY, February 22nd, marked a small turning- •*• point in the history of our air defence, for on that day our fighters passed the 40 mark in the number of German machines brought down on or near Britain. That day they got two, and the actual tally was brought up to 41. One Hurricane squadron is particularly in luck. Not long ago its pilots shot down three Heinkels in two days. On Thursday last week a Flight Lieutenant, who had been in one of the previous successful flights, was leading his flight some 10 miles off the coast of Northumberland when a Heinkel was sighted. It turned away to the south-east and climbed into the clouds. For 30 miles the Hurricanes hunted it, and at last the Flight Lieutenant found it again in a clear patch. He opened fire with his eight guns. "The Heinkel's under-carriage immediately dropped," he said in his report. " It dived steeply to about 10,000ft., when its wing tips were seen to drop off. Then it turned on its back and dived vertically into tl.e sea." Farther north Spitfires of an Auxiliary squadron were attacking the second Heinkel, 25 miles out to sea. Pursued by the Spitfires, and with one engine out of action, the German pilot decided to make for land. He crashed his aircraft a mile inland near St. Abbs Head. The crew suc- ceeded in setting it on fire. One of the Spitfires descended in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Germans destroy- ing their aircraft. The place where the Heinkel landed was Lumsdaine farm, in Berwickshire. The crew of four was taken prisoner. The rear gunner, a corporal, had been hit twice in the leg and was taken to Berwick Infirmary. One of the German airmen who could speak a little English said: — " We were shot down by one of your Spitfires. It shot xt our tail and back. The machine-gunner, a corporal, in our Heinkel was hit twice in one leg. We were not struck. We were shot at several times and we had to come down about 1 o'clock. The Spitfire came down too." When asked to pose for a photograph he said : '' We are not what you call film stars; we are soldiers and we do not want photos taken." The Admiralty has announced that H.M. trawler Fifeshire (Acting Sub-Lieutenant J. V. Searles-Wood.
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