The Cine Technician (1943 - 1945)

86 THE CINETECHNICIAN July— August, 1943 It was always a relief to me to feel her lift herself clear and see the dust serpent die in its tracks. We generally circled the field a couple of times gaining height and getting into formation before running out to sea or into the desert, as the case might be, before crossing into enemy territory. As we climbed up into the freezing level, my position was not a comfortable one for the rear half of my turret was open and it was my job to watch for possible enemy fighters coming from the rear or from above. As we had no heating appliance, my main concern was : "Would the cameras freeze up -a thought that made me feel even colder than the icy oxygen tube I held between my teeth. I was always glad to hear No. 2 telling No. 1 over the inter-com that we had reached the position from which we would turn and run for our target. It was always a thrill to hear No. 2 announce that he had spotted the target and to hear his quiet voice directing us into position. I would then start operating my camera, shooting the opening of the bomb doors and the bombs tumbling out. As the mount for following the bombs to the target was not complete — and besides we were too high to make it a good shot — I used to lean out over' the side and try to follow them down. After the flight, I always wondered at the great anxiety I felt from watching those deadly missiles sailing down on their mission of destruction, and at the great satisfaction I would have if the target seemed to be well plastered. With our bombs gone, the flak generally started; these black puffs appearing in the sky beyond our tail made a good shot. Our mission accomplished, we would turn and streak for the wire. Sometimes we would see the dust plumes of enemy fighters taking off from their fields. These did not worry us, for our old kite had a fair turn of speed and we had the advantage of plenty of altitude ; our concern was for the fighters which might already be in the air. When we crossed the wire, No. 3 would be told to open up his sending set and notify our base that the target had been bombed and that all planes were returning. This signal sent, No. 1 would ask for music, and we would fly home with music in our ears, usually coming from Eadio Eome. For us, it is well that Musso did not equip his army with violins instead of guns, for with the former they would have been sure of victory ! All flights were not as easy and as pleasant as this, as a few notes from my diary will show : " 7-10-41 : Took off 7.30 a.m. ; flew 60 miles to sea; damn cold. 8.40: Keported to No. 1 twelve planes flying on parallel course between us and shore. They were about 8,000 feet below us. I checked my 'chute and cursed myself for having forgotten my Mae West. "As we turned and ran for target, they also cut in toward shore. I lost sight of them. Didn't like their movements. Bombed target at 9.30 exactly, from 17,500 feet. None of our protecting fighters in sight. (It was arranged that our fighters should meet us over the target and escort us back over the wire). "About 9.30, I spotted what I thought to be four of our escort fighters overhead. Eeported same and decided to get some footage of them. Got camera into position, but saw the 'planes were carrying black crosses. "Told No. 1 fighters were Jerries; passed camera to No. 3, grabbed guns and fired at diving Jerry who was firing with cannon and machine guns. He levelled off below our tail. Other Jerries dived on squadron. They got a good reception from our guns. Squadron closed to very tight formation, nearly wing to wing. One German badly hit; he dived away. Xo. 3 plane of No. 3 flight attacked by two Jerries; port motor threw out oil and black smoke. Saw tracer bullets splashing on Jerry ; he pulled up and turned over just above me ; could clearly see pilot clawing at cowling before he fell off into spin. Two remaining Germans break off fight. "Our No. 3 'plane unable to hold formation: he dropped away. No. 2 'plane followed him. No. 3 'plane landed at emergency field, badly shot up. Two rear crew members seriously wounded, gunner died on way to dressing station. All other 'planes of squadron landed safely. "Army rejDorted finding one German Me-109F just on our side of wire. Very sore because cameramount not ready for flight ; missed marvellous chance for sensational footage." Yes, I missed a chance which never presented itself to me again, for a few days later I received a signal from Cairo telling me to report back to Headquarters. So I said " so long " to my South African friends, a grand bunch of men, promising to return as soon as possible. As I was leaving, a mount which carried my camera between the guns was completed ; it gave a fine angle showing the muzzles of the guns and the course of the tracer bullets. A remote-control to operate the camera fastened on to the gun handle near the trigger. The main difficulty was to get away from vibration when the guns opened up. Another mount was to allow the camera to follow the bombs down to the target ; it was to be operated by No. 2, the bomb-aimer. At H.Q. I was told they wanted me to go back to Tobruk for awhile, but promised to try to get me back in time for my low-flying strafing shots. Fearing they might fail, I was not altogether happy with this assignment although Tobruk was always a thrilling place to be in during the siege — this I had learnt during a few weeks' stay in the early summer. We left port before dawn on a very modern