·
THE CHINA MAIL, FEBRUARY 25, 1941
A 'CHUTE JUMP FROM DISABLED BRITISH BOMBER
“BALING OUT” they call it, and in cold blood it "Air-Gunner" in does not seem very attractive, says the "Manchester Guardian." Simple enough to hop over the side, rip the parachute, and go floating to earth. But supposing the parachute won't open? Or in the excitement and flurry one loses one's head? Such questions spring into the mind; but if ever the moment arrives when to stay in the 'plane means certain and swift destruction all speculations vanish away and that brown dumpy bundle becomes something precious indeed, the means of immediate salvation.
"Tail End Charlie" has often discussed such occasions with those who have jumped. He has envied such comrades the gold caterpillar they wear a badge handed out by the under their tunic lapel makers of R.A.F. parachutes to those whose lives they have saved. He has wondered "what it is like." Now he knows.
The bomber has been a long WAY The Alps are a long way behind.
pleased Everybody is
There is plenty of petrol, but wait Through the dark air from the dark sea below them a star goes hooting to heaven. Anathem stat, then another comes sating upward,
vice whose youthful traditions can rival the Navy's finest, it is needless to say that the captain goes last from his "ship."
Tail End Charlie takes off his helmet and climbs on the black horse hair "back rest." More than a third of his body is outside the plane. The slipstream pulls at his "Some of our chaps are down hair. The long fuselage stretches in the drink, the cantan de- behind him to the gassed-in cabin duces. Next moment Tail End' in front. On either side stand the Charlie's large feet are pointing! great tail Ans, with the turret at the sky as the anerait dives. Įdome midway between them. He It is too black to see anything but gazes down at the clouds. The sun the bright signal stars watch the hines here but down ther?? boys down there are fring while | Church spires? Pits? Lakes? Cliffs? the bomber circles above, its wire- | The 'plane drives steady and less operator sending out 5.0.5.| smouth, with only that ominous calls and the httle dingby's goal-¦ splutter now and again. tion.
K.G.B. AND C.B. BUT
NO BATH
Admiral Sir Henry Harwood, who com- manded the British forces at the River Plate battle, revealed at a London luncheon that a shell from the Graf Spee wrecked his bathroom and that of Captain Woodhouse in the cruiser Ajax.
"A day or so later," he said, "when we re- ceived a signal about the honours his Ma- jesty had graciously accorded myself and Captain Woodhouse -Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and Companion of the Order of the Bath--one sailor was heard to say to an- other: 'Blimey, and they ain't got a blin- kin'
between bath them."
HEIGHT NO
ESCAPE FOR THE
BOMBER
Tail End Charle pulls himself up, stops out on the tailplane, and drops! Tail End Charles knew it was reckoned bad busi- "We're ness to jump rolled up in a ball.
He who starts somersaulting i In night attacks
"Don't Lose Them" "Krep circling, don't lose them," the answer comes back.
sending help. Keep circling they
car-
do. while slowly the dawn comes through space will find it a hard ried out by the German up and the petrol gauge needle thing to stop-and, moreover, on quivers down towards zero,
may find Air Force recently, the Thepping his parachute,
himself tangled up in its cords crew are cold and wonder when they will get home. The captain and sailing to earth with head enemy machines have End Charlie been flying at increasing- is wondering them, if the matter were put to jumped straight as a lance, bear-
how. Not me
at
Tail downwards.
the vote, would think of pushining two things in mind, which ly high altitudes in an at-
on homewards before help ar rives. It is a dirty morning with clouds banking heavily like grey, curled moss, all to westward.
were to pull the rip-cord as tempt to evade detection quickly as ever he could, yet to
to avoid the by our searchlights and delay long enough parachute fouling the aircraft. He to avoid the fire of A.A. intended to count up to twenty.
"Keep a look-out for destroy- ers, the captain tells Tail Endi He had counted eleven when guns writes the Air Cor- Charlie, who is swigging a cup of his hand (it seemed undirected) respondent of the “Man- hot coffee, and keep an eye open yanked on the cord. Simultaneous-chester Guardian.”
experienced a murderous for the⚫ Messerschmidt dawnly he
to make it?
These tactics serve to confirm patrol," he adds. It is almost jolt on the jaw and a terrific jerk broad daylight when the destroyer as the parachute bellied out high the conclusion that the tremend- barrage which above him. He found himself cus anti-aircraft comes into view, and they see it draw up to the bobbing yellow swung by his shoulders backwards has been adopted is successful in dinghy. Tail End Charlie waggles and forwards, high, low, high, as torcing the raiders to fly at such ir in seme horrible swing-boat heights that accurate bombing is his guns in farewell as the five in
It has been fully the little Lout wave,
Then they thousands of feet from the ground, impossible. are off. Two hundred and ye began to feel horribly bilious, established also that a very consi- miles to their base and ten gal but remembered, before he was derable proportion of the Nazi actually sick, something else he bombers are turned away before lons in the tank. Are they gun had been told, Reaching up on the they reach their intended target.
It is eight o'clock and they are he snatched on the cords, tipping
side to which he was swinging, by the intensity of the shell fire. It has been asked, however, nearly at base when the engines out some of the wind. The swing-whether these high altitude bomb- begin to splutter. The captain has
ing decreased. He looked round. ing raids and the efforts that the as ourselves are been sorely tempted to land twice Nothing to see-not the 'plane, not enemy as well
way up at other flying one of its crew,
making to increase the operational fields, but wireless reports say the
height of bombing aeroplanes will clouds
the go right down to
result in anti-aircraft guns even- ground. A bomber can land in
tually becoming ineffective. Such While thick cloud. even reaching down
Now he was floating quite a situation will not arise, to the ground, but net on a for- smoothly. It seemed he was hard-substratosphere flying is certainly eign airfield through unknown ly moving. He looked down; the being developed, there is no like- the bomber ever out- pylons and trees. No thanks! So clouds were a long way Below, Jihood of with clouds below, and step still. He began to feel bored. Then reaching the gun, rocky hills beneath them, with whooah! He was suddenly in no petrol left in his tanks, the them-like diving in a cold pool. captain makes up his mind.
on the
Charlie Goes
His Autograph
Down, down through the clammy, white vapour, and what a long time it seemed! Then he was out. Fields and trees coming up fast. Wallop! He landed like jumping down off a wall.
Altitude Record
It is true that as long ago as 1932 a Bristol biplane established a record altitude flight of 43.976 "Prepare to abandon aircraft,"
feet and that since then the world racord has been raised to 50,000 he orders tersely, at the same time causing a magnesium-loaded bulb Tail End Charlie sorted himself fect. But these flights were made to flash in the tail turret. Poor Tall from the tangle of cords and white with special aircraft which were End Charlie, who is getting to feel silk. He was close to a hedge lu a lightly loaded, and they had a a bit drowsy, has the start of his very large newly-ploughed field. comparatively short duration. Be- life, but acknowledges the signal He stood up,
rallied himself. fore a bomber could be built to both vocally and by means of a Whoy," said a bucolic voice, avefly at any height. approaching these figures many problems small gignal lamp. He climbs out 'ec coom down from sky, like?" of his turret, clips on his para- Tail End Charlie said "Yes," and would have to be solved. chute, opens the escape hatch in asked for the nearest farmhouse, On the other hand, the difficul- the roof, and waits for the word "Over there 'tis, back side of ties of evalving an anit-aircraft on the end of his intercommuni- | hedge. Give us autygraph first, gun capable of firing projectiles cation cable,
'fore 'ee goes.”
to extreme altitudes are not in-. It comes. "Abandon aircraft," A scrubby envelope and stump superable. In the last wor the pilot orders."Tail gunner pencil were anxiously tendered. Germans bombarded Paris with go!" It is the tail gymer's dubious Fame at last, how could he re- their notorious "Big Bertha" from privilege to be first over the side. fuse? Tail End Charlie obliged and Laon over a distance. of 82 miles. constructed Everyone else is under the eye of stumbled away to the farm, where This weapon was the captain and leaves by the for- a tender was sent out to, fetch him. from a 15in. gun combined with ward hatch. So the lonely, man ut His comrades were safe at the 8.2 gun, and it fired a shell weigh- the back goes ahead, to make sure station. Five more caterpillars of ing 2501b, which rose at its high-
est point 25 miles. that he does get away. In a Ser-gold!
the