Read Online Mosquito: Menacing the Reich: Combat Action in the Twin-engine Wooden Wonder of World War II by Martin Bowman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Martin Bowman
Tags: Bisac Code 1: HIS027140
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A (base frequency) to listen out for other aircraft. All the way in from the coast was airfield after airfield, each with its Drem system of lights illuminated and one or two searchlights (called Sandra lights) over the top, forming a sort of canopy. Someone once said that airfields in East Anglia were as thick as fleas on a dog’s back. He was right. We began to look for the base lights and I set up homing co-ordinates on the Gee. At 20.56 we sighted two Sandra lights in an inverted V with a flashing white light in between them (this was the Station identification letters GR in front of Flying Control; all Station idents were lit but ours was the only one in this area to have them flashing). As soon as we saw this, Ron prepared to call up Flying Control and I started packing up my kit. As we did this, two other kites called up almost simultaneously; Chandler and Ginger Wood in J-Johnny and another kite. We came tearing up behind them. As we arrived over the airfield, Chandler called, “J Johnny, funnels” and landed. The other kite called “downwind”. We now called up: “Control from Lounger K-King over”.
Control replied, “Lounger K-King, prepare to land, runway 270, QFE 1029, over”.
We replied, “K-King preparing to land, out”; which meant that we acknowledged permission to land and were listening out. Someone else called up just behind us.
I switched on the downward identification light and opened the radiator shutters. We reduced height to 1,500ft and turned downwind. Ron lowered the undercart, put down some flap and called, “K-King downwind, out”. This was not acknowledged by Control. Instead they called the next aircraft and told it to prepare to land. Now we were turning across wind and one-quarter flap was lowered. Two green lights showed that the undercart was down. The circuit lights were visible over the port wing tip and the funnel lead-in lights appeared, with the Station ident letters GR illuminated on the outer circle at their head. We turned into the funnels at 900ft and called “K-King, funnels, over”.
Control replied, “K-King, land, out”. Had the runway not been clear we would have been told to overshoot and come in again. The runway lights appeared now, narrowing into the distance. Two flashing lights either side of the threshold were the glide path indicators, or GPIs, which showed the correct glide path. Now Ron hunched himself over the stick, put down full flap and concentrated on his landing. We went sliding in at 125 knots. The runway lights came up quickly at the end. We gave the usual heave as Ron checked her and closed the throttles, touching down on the main wheels at about 95 knots and trundling down the runway to the accompaniment of the usual crackles and pops from the exhausts of those wonderful Merlins. We turned left at the end of the runway, pulled up the flaps and called, “King clear” and then taxied back to dispersal with the engines purring away as if they’d only just started up. At dispersal we were waved in by the groundcrew and we stopped and opened the bomb doors. (You got reproachful looks from the groundcrew if you forgot this, for they then had to pump them down by hand; a tedious exercise). Ron pulled the cut-outs and the engines rumbled to a stop. We switched everything off and climbed out stiffly with a mutual grin of congratulation at completing another trip safely. This was our 27th. We collected our kit and stalked over to the waiting crew-bus laden with parachutes and harness, nav bag, camera magazine and the rest and were driven back to the crew room for interrogation.
Back at the crew room we dumped our kit and went in to be interrogated. First, the CO had a word about the trip in general, then Intelligence. They wanted to know in detail about the bombing: how concentrated was it? Was there much opposition? What were the relative positions of the TIs you bombed? Draw a sketch of them as you saw them please, and a host of other details.
Control replied, “Lounger K-King, prepare to land, runway 270, QFE 1029, over”.
We replied, “K-King preparing to land, out”; which meant that we acknowledged permission to land and were listening out. Someone else called up just behind us.
I switched on the downward identification light and opened the radiator shutters. We reduced height to 1,500ft and turned downwind. Ron lowered the undercart, put down some flap and called, “K-King downwind, out”. This was not acknowledged by Control. Instead they called the next aircraft and told it to prepare to land. Now we were turning across wind and one-quarter flap was lowered. Two green lights showed that the undercart was down. The circuit lights were visible over the port wing tip and the funnel lead-in lights appeared, with the Station ident letters GR illuminated on the outer circle at their head. We turned into the funnels at 900ft and called “K-King, funnels, over”.
Control replied, “K-King, land, out”. Had the runway not been clear we would have been told to overshoot and come in again. The runway lights appeared now, narrowing into the distance. Two flashing lights either side of the threshold were the glide path indicators, or GPIs, which showed the correct glide path. Now Ron hunched himself over the stick, put down full flap and concentrated on his landing. We went sliding in at 125 knots. The runway lights came up quickly at the end. We gave the usual heave as Ron checked her and closed the throttles, touching down on the main wheels at about 95 knots and trundling down the runway to the accompaniment of the usual crackles and pops from the exhausts of those wonderful Merlins. We turned left at the end of the runway, pulled up the flaps and called, “King clear” and then taxied back to dispersal with the engines purring away as if they’d only just started up. At dispersal we were waved in by the groundcrew and we stopped and opened the bomb doors. (You got reproachful looks from the groundcrew if you forgot this, for they then had to pump them down by hand; a tedious exercise). Ron pulled the cut-outs and the engines rumbled to a stop. We switched everything off and climbed out stiffly with a mutual grin of congratulation at completing another trip safely. This was our 27th. We collected our kit and stalked over to the waiting crew-bus laden with parachutes and harness, nav bag, camera magazine and the rest and were driven back to the crew room for interrogation.
Back at the crew room we dumped our kit and went in to be interrogated. First, the CO had a word about the trip in general, then Intelligence. They wanted to know in detail about the bombing: how concentrated was it? Was there much opposition? What were the relative positions of the TIs you bombed? Draw a sketch of them as you saw them please, and a host of other details.
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