The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

‘There was a terrific explosion and a sheet of flame and black smoke
seemed to hang in the air like a ball of fire,’ wrote David. ‘Many little
shattered fragments fluttered down, and that was all.’ The two had been
friends for over a year, and had been at FTS together.
There was fine weather on the last day of September and the Luftwaffe
made the most of it to deliver a number of heavy and concentrated raids
towards both London and the south. Siegfried Bethke flew two missions
over England that day, the first a free hunt over Dorset and Hampshire. The
Germans were intercepted by 609 Squadron, who had been sent up to
27,000 feet and were able to dive down on them with the sun behind.
Spotting them only at the last moment, the 109s dived, but with the
momentum of his dive David was able to catch up with his target, hurtling
down at speeds approaching 600 mph and dropping some 23,000 feet in a
matter of seconds. With an intense pain in his ears and the sea hurtling
towards him, he managed to pull out at about 1,000 feet, latch on to his
quarry and open fire at close range. ‘The effect of a Spitfire’s eight guns has
to be seen to be believed,’ he wrote. ‘Hundreds of bullets poured into him
and he rocked violently, then turned over on his back, burst into flames and
dived straight down into the sea.’
He then spotted another 109 heading back out to sea, so chased after it,
managing to catch him surprisingly easily. Another short, sharp burst, and
the Messerschmitt swerved slightly, the canopy burst off and nearly hit
David, and then the 109 dived, flattening out on the sea, smoke trailing
behind. For the first time in the war, David found himself feeling rather
sorry for a German pilot. He knew he could catch him up easily, and that if
he attacked him at that height the pilot would die. But if he let him go, he
would be back over England another day. ‘The last few moments must have
been absolute hell for him,’ noted David. ‘I could almost feel his
desperation as he made this last attempt to get away.’ Catching up, David
fired his remaining ammunition and watched him plunge into the sea.
Hans-Ekkehard Bob had already flown twice that day, and on both
occasions he had made it back to Guines with his tanks running on empty.
In the afternoon the Geschwader was ordered to escort Ju 88s of KG 77, but
after rendezvousing over Cap Gris Nez they could see that southern
England was now covered with cloud. Unfortunately, the leading bomber