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

Thames estuary below – he thought he had made more distance – and then
in front and slightly below him a formation of Hurricanes. Deciding attack
was his only option, he checked the lights that told him his guns were
armed and ready, then seeing four green lights switched on the gunsight.
But this was not working – there was too much ice on the windscreen from
his long dive. He would have to use the metal emergency sight, but as he
removed his oxygen mask, he was suddenly gripped with fear – his engine
was beginning to boil and if it came to a tussle he was not sure how long his
machine would keep flying. Gently, and very slowly, he climbed back into
the cloud.
His engine temperature was now 130 degrees. He could not understand
why it was so high; his engine was losing oil, but that would not affect the
cooling system. He was sure he had dived before the Spitfires had opened
fire, but a bullet in the radiator seemed the only cause of his rapidly rising
temperature gauge. ‘This is Owl 2a,’ he called over the radio, ‘have been hit
in the radiator, will try to reach the Channel. Taking course from Thames to
Manston. Please confirm.’ But there was no reply – just a hiss of static.
At 6,000 feet once more, and still in cloud, he switched off the engine,
so that he was now gliding and blind flying. At 4,000 feet he emerged
through the cloud once more, but still he continued his glide and decided to
try another radio call. This time the ground station in the Pas de Calais
replied. ‘Understood Owl 2a. Air-Sea Rescue will be notified. Only go into
the water when absolutely necessary.’ He now heard Kühle’s voice too,
telling him he would start searching the Channel immediately while the
others would return, refuel then continue the search if necessary. Ulrich felt
his spirits lift.
Now, at around 1,600 feet, he began to attract some light flak, so he
decided it was time to restart the engine. It whirred into life immediately
and he began to climb once more, the oil temperature still under control. In
the clouds, he transmitted another fix to the ground station, but by now the
temperature was beginning to rise alarmingly again so he cut the engine
once more, hoping to repeat Hans-Ekkehard Bob’s trick of ‘bobbing’ back
across the Channel.
But the engine’s power was fading, and he was soon struggling to gain
any height at all. He had to open the throttle further – there was no
alternative – but as he did so, the engine seized. There was no bang, no
sudden explosion – just silence. With his machine dead, he knew he would