Page 166 - KBHA BULLETIN 6

“As soon as the French coast came into sight I took my formation
down to a height of 25 to 30 feet and we flew the rest of the way to
Augsburg at that height.

“Soon after we crossed the coast enemy fighters appeared in fairly
big numbers. A fierce running fight developed.

TIGHT FORMATION

“It was our job to pierce straight through to our target, so we kept
in the tightest possible formation, wing tip to wing tip, so as to
support each other by combined fire.

“We went roaring on over the countryside, lifting over hills and
skimming down valleys. Fighter after fighter attacked us from
astern. Their cannon shells were bursting ahead of us. We were
continually firing at them from our power-operated turrets.

“We rushed over the roofs and saw cannon shells which had
missed us crashing into houses, blowing holes in walls and
smashing the gables of roofs. The fight lasted 15 minutes and
aircraft were lost both by ourselves and the Germans. Then their
fighters gave up – probably they were running out of ammunition.

TARGETS AHEAD

“After that we had no more trouble until we reached our target. We
swept on across France and skirted the border of Switzerland into
Germany. We charged straight at Augsburg.

“Our target was not simply the works, but certain vital shops in the
works. We had studied their exact appearance from photographs
and we saw them just where they should be.

“Low-angle flak began to come up at us thick and fast. We were so
low that the Germans were even shooting into their own buildings.
They had quantities of quick-firing guns. All our aircraft had holes
in them.

“Big sheds which were our target rose up exactly ahead of me. My
bomb aimer let go. Our bombs, of course, had delayed action fuses
or they would have blown us all up.

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