K9483 Fairey Battle 150 Squadron 14 May 1940
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- Опубликовано: 11 фев 2025
- Shot down over Bulson in the Sedan Sector on May 14, 1940. Plt. Off Arthur Posselt; Sgt. Donald Bowen; AC2 Norman Vano (18) Kia. For further information see travellinginac...
G'day,
I nursed a few blokes who had flown Fairey Battles in training, under the EATS, with the RAAF in Oz..., and they all regarded Battles as being a Joke of a thing.
Specifically that it was so overweight, underpowered and unmanoeuvreable that the only way to take Evasive Action in a Battle when approached by hostile Fighters, was to unstrap, get up, and run around in Circles on the Seat to better dodge incoming gunfire...
The other bloke, name of Mackintosh had flown his last Battle in May 1940, with 1 Squadron RAF..., trying to bomb the Lock Gates & Bridge on the Albert Canal.
It was a Squadron Job, he said, 3 Flights of 3 one going "high at 12,000 ft, one trying the "medium" route at 5,000 ft & his Leader taking them in Low, about 100 ft above the Canal ; where the Light Flak shot his Merlin into silence, forcing him to Pancake onto the Tow-Path before even seeing the Target.
Which, as he said, was quite fortunate, as the Bf-109s got pretty much all the medium - high Triers.
When I told him the "joke" about the Evasive Action, he failed to see ANYTHING remotely funny in the story, at all.
The difference between a
Combat Experienced old
Kriegie who spent 5 years in POW Camps...,
And
Time-expired
Cadets who had trained on
Obsolete
Combat-Failed
Equipment...
They had entirely different recollections to look back and ponder...
Such is life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
The British lost 44 out of 71 bombers and 5 Hurricane escorts on the 14 of May, during their attempts to bomb the pontoon bridges across the river Meuse near Sedan. About a 60% loss rate for the bombers. All mostly shot down by Luftwaffe fighters, though the flak along the Meuse was described as "Hellish".
Bloody death traps! Brave men - they must have known how hopeless the mission was, but still did it. Just not good enough. Makes me, as a pilot, very angry. CAVU skies!