Evening star., 1941-11-26
South African Flyers
Luck Holds When He
Crashes in Gondar
He's Prisoner Of ItoIions,
But Recovering and
FoirIy Comfortable
BY GEORGE WELLER,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star ant

BY GEORGE WELLER,
Foreisn! Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News
WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN
AIR FORCE BEFORE GONDAR,
Ethiopia, via Nairobi, Nov. 26.-The
luck of the South African fighter
pilot whom fortune teller told was
invincible still holds. AS a result
he is sitting up in bed somewhere
in an Italian hospital in besieged
Gondar. Fellow pilots who take of
from this chilly, S,500-foot high
airdrome on the Ethiopian plateau
chuckle as they fly over Gondar,
for on their mess table at home lies
letter just received from him.
On October 81 he took off upon
a lone moonlight gun raid. All
his movements this pilot attempts
to corelate with horoscopy as we'll
as operational objectives, and when
ever the stars and the positions of
the planets seem unfavorable he
remains grounded.
Fortune has favored him ever
since the South Africans moved up
to this plateau. When establishing
the first tents of the base they were
attacked by an Italian Fiat fighter,
who machine gunned them until
driven of by hastily assembled ack-
ack. When the Fiat reappeared
the superstitious pilot consulted his
piisale Waclcs, strapped an his
parachute harness and arose in his
Gladiator f1ghter-which has a con-
siderably slower speed than the
Fiat-and brought the Italian down
in flames
Movies Still UnbOmbed.
The pilot, who is an Orange Free
Slater, "a years old and married,
then figured out plan to attack
the Italians at the time when they
listen to the evening news from
Rome. They listen just before going
out to visit three still unbombed
cinemas inside the city limits.
At the same time the Italians
were doing their best-being at
that time still in communication
with Lake Tana-to move up food
stuffs which they have been bring
ing across the lake with motor
boats. The pilots plan was to
bomb this transport, too. All the
heavenly and earthly signs SEEM
ingly favorable about moonrise, the
pilot scared away from the air
drome and down into the dizzy
sided gulf-Which is as deep and
forbldding as any canyon in the
Western United States-toward the
city whose Pickering cinemas were
family visible. He never returned.
Ten days later one of the mes
sengers Of the same Habash tribe
who were also responsible for the
underground mail bureau connect
ing Gondar with Asmara came into
army field headquarters with a let
ter addressed to the chief of air
operations here. The letter, writ
ten in pencil on Ala Littoria note
paper, lies beside your correspond
ent's typewriter now 1t reads:
Dear Skipper: God knows if this
will reach you. I sincerely hope so.
I was hit by bullet in the petrol
tank. Mr. aircraft caught fire. and
I had to crash-land at 200 miles
per hour. I was too low to Jump
with safety. My aircraft hit tree.
bounced up. slow rolled and
crashed right side up.
Cockpit Mass Of Flames.
The cockpit was mass of flames.
got out somehow, my face severely
burned and all my hair burnt off
Then I was shot in the head by an
excited Askari. whacked with a rifle
butt and rescued by two Italian
officers. The doctor fixed me up, and
that night I went blind. For two
days and nights it was awful. I
can see now, but I will be in the
hospital for at least Is days with
burns, wounds, etc. Please tell the
facts to our o. c.
ASK Ceezer to drop the following
things at Azozo: In my suitcase
1000 cigarettes, my shaving kit
toothbrushes. etc. Literature very
badly needed My English Italian
dictionary. Thanks. Skipper.
/ "P. S.: The medical people are
very decent to me. I look revolving
/ but the medical officer reckons ]
will be okay in IS days"
The letter took 10 days to reach
a point only Is minutes from Con-
dar by airplane. A fellow pilot then
rigged a small parachute and
dropped the articles requested on
Azozo, which is Gondars airport
The only thing not included was a
rabbits foot. Nobody could find a
| rabbit.
! tCopyright. 1911. Chicago Daily News, Ine. !