Evening star., 1941-01-05

tWin-engined machines stand throb-
bing and roaring. The first glides
up into the night and vanishes;
lust as the second rolls off across
the TarnaC man comes racing
out with q message. We hang on
and wait for him.
you've got to hurry!' he yells,
against the din of thousands Of
horsepower. "Jerrys collecting
mosquito craft for escorts. Good
huntin'-and happy la-andings!"
The last doors in the sleek
bomber's fuselage slam. The pilot
coldly watches his airspeed in
dicator showing so -. 10 -. IS
and she begins to lift as he eases
the stick ever so gently. Five OF
us, hundreds of gallons of petrol,
and ton of high-explosive British
forget-me-n -nots roar up the night
sky in the wake of the leaders.
Intent on One Thing.
The navigator bomber rejoiceS In
the name dingo. He is from Stray
ler," he will tell you. Once of the
Roval Australian Air Force. later
an Imperial Airways flyer, and now
his tough. hard bitten face, studying
the bombing sights, intent on one
thing only-shOWing those sausages
whether the empire is falling to
bits or whether Jerry is going in
Steadl
This is a big raid; two flights
90 bomberS) are engaged, and they
mean business. Each has It's own
particular target allotted. Zero hour
is midnight.
At a great height the engines
are cut out for a silent glide. The
others will have opened the ball,
but we don't want to advertise our
coming, because Hitler's ack-ack
(anti-aircraft) gunnerS shoot devil
ish straight.
Away ahead there the fireworks
have begun-We are whistling down
at them at more than four miles
a minute-the bomber aimer is now
prone on the floor, WhiStling through
his teeth over the Rainbow The
whole sky seems to light up with
white skeleton fingers Of search
lights.
There are the barges! A great
gathering of black marks on the
water, with other marks beside them,
leaner and smaller and more vicious
the mosquito naval craft the
Fueher has sent in to escort his
bargeloads of troops over the
Channel.
Parachute Flares Dropped.
A searchlight has picked us up
on go our engines with shattering
roar-and we are in the thick of 1t!
chute flares now. They drop slowly
down, lighting the land and seascape
in ghostly white glory; they show
up the targets plainly for all to see.
Out Of the clouds drop the black
forms of Whitleys and Heyfords
and Blenheims like thunderbolts;
observation-disclosures go the bombs
as sticks of them whistle and roar
and hurtle among the barges. Great
barges seem to leap up like jumping
Salmon-and vanish, leaving black,
boiling cauldrons of water.
The land-Works and the gunners
are getting pepper as well as giving
it.: enormous sections of bargeS, so
feet across, sail majestically upward
and flop back again; the water
seems to have dark scum on it
swimmers heads, the heads of Ger
man storm troopers.
With a shock, one sees British
bomber, just ahead, hit fairly amid
ships by a shell, snap like cracked
stick and fall with a broken back.
All! Right down among the barges,
and as she strikes she flares to
heaven, and as she flares she eX-
plodeS with a shock that makes the
raiding machines and the sea and
the solid earth quake.
Where there were barges before is
now a great volcano of boiling black
water with lumpy lava of Wreckage
and bits of boats and bits OF bomber
and bits of men racing meaningless
lv about it. That machine which
flew so proudly an hour ago Will
never return, but the barges to IN
wade Britain will never sail.
Bombers Power-Dive.
And now the bombers, clutched at
by searchlights, with great tornadoes
Of Lead pouring past and about ana