Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-26
Armies Of Revenge
Best Bomber Pilot in Raj
Helps Train Allies in Canada

iguished Service Order is Just under
the Victoria Cross.
But its not the y. s. O. that
CaptNatcS the esteem of the Brit
iSh officers its the man himself.
The Port Albert pilots claim
that Van der Kiste is the best
bomber pilot in the RAF-that.
de> pite his size. no man in the
outfit has more intestinal forti-
tude.
His decoration came for his
work IN Norway There he flew
his plane just 30 feet off the
ground hedge-hopping for some
% hours While his aerial photog-
rapher mapped the enemy.
II have really never done
anything 10 amount 10 much i'm
this war" Van der Kiste told
me.
Its really nothing 10 fly so
close To the ground. You're on
the enemy before they see you
and before they can fire, you
are on your way"
That's Van der kiSte all over,
His fellow officers say that few
men in the Raj could success
fully carry out the assignment
that was given the little man.
1.1,,c mn nuS,, MI nT
They say that it's hard enough
to -Gy bomber in the air with
out lodging gunfre AT 50 feet
AT 80 feet a machine gunner can
do a pretty good job of Kidding.
a plane.
Van der Kiste is a pilots pilot.
He's the sort Of man that every
commanding officer hopes will be-
long to his command. The type of
man who takes any job given him,
accompliShes il quietly and re-
turns for another Job.
The present commanding Off
Ger at Port Albert knows all
about Van der kiste He was his
superior officer in England.
There's man for you,"
Group Captain CrOfton, the
c. O. said. He was my best
pilot I'm the coastal command
that l held"
IT'S KEPT SECRET
The exact location of Crofton's
last command is a military secret.
He did tell me. however, that it
was his command that found the
German Bismarck,
For his 21-hour flight over Nor
way, Van der KiSte flew an Ameri-
can bomber-a Catalina PBY-1.
His flight started from the north
of Scotland
One of his friends told me that
the only reason that Van der Kiste
is in Canada today is that he was
from England. He
had spent 1900 hours in the air
and had been on convoy duty anG-
on submarine hunts.
Fearful that little Van would
crack under the strain, he was
ordered TO report TO ship. His
destination was not told him.
When the ship docked, Van der
Kiste was well on his way to
Port Albert.
TWO YOUNGER THERE
There are two younger men at
Port Albert who have served with
Van der Kiste.
One of them, Flight Lieut.. f. R.
Baker, 26 years old, won Dis
tinguished Flying Cross for sink
ing four German submarines from
his bomber
81 was just lucky Baker told |
me. Every time I went out
there was NaZi submarine be-
low me-so I just sunk him."
Bakers finding four of them is
regarded as luck--for it's hard
enough 10 run into one, the men
say. TO say nothing of four.
But Bakers skill in destroying
them is not questioned He holds
the individual record for sinking
submarines.
1t is not a matter of luck to
sink them, the men insist.
ALSO DECORATED
The second man at Port Albert
who served with Van der kiSte is
one of the youngest boat cap
tains in the Raj.
He. too holds a Distinguished
Flying Cross decoration
awarded by the British TO Raj
pilots for acts of gallantry when
flying in operations against an
enemy, -----------
He is Flight Lieut.. y. s. Lind
say who looked a little ashamed
when he told me his age-23.
Lindsay is darkhaired, good
looking young man who looks as