FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1476.PDF
466 MAY 16, 1940 sight, and at the time any land was very welcome to us. " Our real work had now begun, though the weather was steadily deteriorating. There was a high wind and we were flying in and out of snow and sleet about 300ft. above tlie sea. There were such terrific bumps that the gunners frequently banged their heads as they were flung upwards out of their seats. "We met an enemy aircraft as we went towards the Vest Fjord, but he sheered off when he saw us. We flew up the fjord through driving snow at only 200ft. The clouds and cliffs seemed to be closing in on us, and when we got to the end we swung round, made a sharp turn GERMAN ANTI- AIRCRAFT DE- FENCE : On this page are illustrated the four types of gun which form the basis for Germany's A.A. defence. The twin guns on the left are of rifle- calibre and belt-fed. Below are the 20 mm. gun which, like the 37 mm. model beneath it, is clip fed. Bottom right is the standard 8 8 mm. gun. Weapons of larger calibre are known to have been evolved but it is not thought that these are in use in very large num- bers. and continued the reconnaissance southward down the coast as far as Kristiansand. Then we turned for home. " Up to this time none of us had eaten any ot the rations we carried. We had been too excited about daing the job, but now we all had a cup ol hot collet and some sand- wiches. The trip back was without incident apart from the weather We saw British Naval units in the North Sea, circled round them and exchanged signals by Aldis lamp. We had seen a couple of British destroyers and a merchant- man at the entrance to one of the fjords. We had a strong wind against us on this homeward trip, and we were very glad to see the Shetlands as we approached Scotland. ; "The crew comprised my second pilot, a Sergeant Observer who acted as navigator, an L.A/C. who was the wireless operator, an aircraftman who was the air gunner, and myself as captain. "The whole crew was interchangeable. Anyone could do anyone else's job, even to piloting, at a push. There was no automatic pilot in the aircraft. The second pilot and I, before we finished, had shared 14! hours at the controls over a distance of more than 2,000 miles." Holland and Belgium Invaded '"FHE storm burst over Holland and Belgium before dawn -*• on Friday, May 10. The Dutch frontier was crossed at 3 a.m., and Belgium territory invaded an hour and a half later. Large numbers of parachute troops were dropped near strategic points, and transport aircraft landed troops on the beach near The Hague and on the Rotterdam aerodrome at-Waalhaven. In The Hague they took pos- session of several buildings and the aerodrome, and at Waalhaven they were not dislodged until after an intense bombardment by the R.A.F. It later passed again into German hands. An attempt was also, made to secure Schipol aerodrome by landing troops by air, bjt this was frustrated by the placing of large numbers of drainpipes all over the landing area. Since the landing at Schipol proved abortive, it was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. The Advanced Air Striking Force cf the R.A.F. in France immediately went into action, harassing the German lines of communication ; the enemy, in reply, bombing our aero- dromes in France. Obviously, every precaution is taken to avoid giving any news which may be of use to the enemy, and so the Air Ministry communique issued on Friday evening was laconic. It stated: "R.A.F. aircraft have to-day undertaken offensive operations against aero- dromes occupied by the enemy in Holland." On the Western Front British air successes were sum- marised in the following statement issued from the head- quarters of the British Force in France : — " In the course of to-day's operations on the Western , Front, the R.A.F. have been constantly in action. Our
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
