COMBAT AND COMPETITION.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

CHAPTER FIVE WINTER IN FLANDERS
mixed load of high explosive and incendiaries. The aiming point was
unmistakable, a massive rectangular roof in the middle of a heavily
wooded site, and his dive was beautifully positioned and
uncompromisingly steep. The bombs went off in a single rolling salvo,
and the whole building disappeared in a sea of smoke and flame.
Incredibly there were no near misses amongst the surrounding trees for
the whole bomb load had fallen inside the four walls of the target.
We came home in a state of high elation ready to sign off with a
storming squadron break. And that December afternoon - with Derek s
exhortation ringing in our ears as we let down towards the airfield:
"Make it a good one chaps!"
We excelled ourselves. Tight across the threshold - pulling up one by
one with controlled violence and metronome precision like guardsmen
on parade - undercarriage selection from an inverted position - and
the tightest steepest curved approach into a closely sequenced stream
landing.
A splendid team manoeuvre. Like the Typhoon it had become part
of our lives - signing off each sortie - showing the world that we were
the best.
The mood changed abruptly with the news that 197's popular CO,
Allan Smith, had been shot down leading a low level attack against a
bridge over the Waal. It was a great loss for, by any standard, he was
an outstanding Squadron Commander. His pilots reported that he had
put down OK, and had run from his aircraft, so there was good reason
to believe that he was alive. Even so they were devastated and
attempted to mount a revenge sortie. Which was not a good idea.
All in all New Year's Eve became a pretty subdued affair.
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