Evening star., 1941-07-13
How Teamwork Is Gained
By British Air Force

our Canadian soldiers with dive bomb
ing attacks.
We stalked our prey. playing hide and
seek behind low hanging clouds, tall
trees and hill tops. We tried to catch
them by surprise, plummeting suddenly
out Of the sky upon the long line of
troops, trucks and tanks. With engines
setting up a terrific racket, we dropped
to within a few yards of their heads.
zoomed back into the sky to wheel and
dive again.
Celebrating the anti-aircraft guns Of
London was another of the varied
chores we were called upon to carry out.
One Of our machines would fly back
and forth, back and forth, over the
area within the particular field of fire
of the anti-aircraft battery with which
We were working. Our wireless telephone
kept us in continuous communication
with the battery in the city far below.
The anti-aircraft crew worked out the
speed, altitude and course of our
machine with the aid of Its range
finders and projectors, while the gun
crews went through the motions OF
firing at us. The anti-aircraft crew
would wireless to us their instrument
calculations as to our height, speed and
course, and a glance at the air speed
indicator, altimeter and compass pro.
vided us with an instant check on the
accuracy of their calculations.
If raiders appeared to bomb London.
we were strictly on our own. We were
not allowed to leave the area. We could
stay at our altitude and take our
chances of getting hit by anti-aircraft
shells speeding upward to blast the
Germans OF course, the raiders them
-elves provided another hazard.
Our second alternative was to duck
,own among the balloon barrage and
llay hide and seek with those dubious
monsters until the raiders went away.
I saw something of the Poles. At
one R. A. r. station Polish lads were
being trained for service with the
bombers They flew in slow and reliable
Avro Anson training planes such as
YOU see overhead In Canada every day
from British commonwealth air train
ing plan schools. They learn bombing
with small practice bombs which they
drop at targets on a practice bombing
range. One day several Poles took Of
for bombing practice. To make the
bombing more realistic the armorers
had loaded the Ansons bomb racks with
light 4o-pound general purpose bombs
instead.
Half an hour later the observers at
the practice range telephoned the air.
drome to complain that the Anson and
the Poles had failed to put In an ap-
pearance as scheduled. About three
hours later the Anson landed on the
airdrome. the Poles grinning happily.
Practice bombs practice range"
they explained. General purpose bombs
-Dunkirk" They had flown ths length
Of the English Channel In q training
machine for q lone bombing raid on
Dunkirk.
The Norwegians carry out long and
hazardous flights to their own country.
The Netherlanders know the marking
of Netherlands squadrons serving with
the r. A. F. There is a former Nether-
lands airline pilot who knows his
country like he does the back of his
hand. He is a silent and taciturn man.
He goes out alone, and returns with
bomb racks empty, his face little less
somber
The Czechs, too, are regular visitors
to Germany and to their own homeland.
The Free French are dashing pilots. We
had number of them on our own
station. They do not wear r. A. p.
uniforms. but carry on with their navy
blue uniforms with the gold facings.