大象传媒

Friendly Fire Hudson over Kent

It was Sunday 3rd March 1940. I was nineteen and waiting to join the R.A.F. as aircrew, as had become the custom between us, I was on my way to visit my friend
,Frank Reeve, who lived in the gardener鈥檚 cottage at Gadshill Place, one time Charles Dickens鈥� residence in North Kent.

As I walked along the country lane the thump of local anti-aircraft guns attracted my attention towards the sky. I prided myself on my aircraft recognition skills and saw a medium sized twin-engined, twin ruddered aircraft approaching from the East flying in the direction of London at about five thousand feet. Instantly I recognised it as a Lockheed Hudson, one of the American airplanes bought by the R.A.F. to swell the numbers of Light Bombers and Reconnaissance craft needed at the time.

I was puzzled as to why the ack-ack had opened up when I became aware of three Hurricane Fighters climbing up from the Southwest and, I supposed, Gravesend Airfield. They continued on and up until they were above and behind the twin engine plane then moved into line astern before diving onto the aircraft below which began to make a steep turn. The fighters cut across and opened fire with their machine guns.

I shouted at the attackers. 鈥淣o! No! No! It鈥檚 a Hudson. Oh my God!鈥�

As though in answer to my cries they broke off their attack but it was too late. Two bright lights burst on either side of the bomber, which turned on it鈥檚 side and headed towards the ground in the direction of Cobham to the South. Smoke poured from the stricken plane, then suddenly, it was enveloped in a sheet of flame. One man must have bailed out because I saw a parachute in the sky just above the trees on the distant horizon. As the burning plane disappeared I heard a muffled explosion.

All this time I had been standing transfixed. What I had witnessed was almost unreal! It was unbelievable! One of our aircraft had been shot down in broad daylight right above my head.

I took to my heels and ran to collect Frank then urged him to join me in going to look for the wrecked aircraft.

When we reached the small valley of meadows and wooded slopes near Meopham Green we could make out the smoking remains of the Hudson鈥檚 fuselage. We, and all the curious onlookers, were stopped short of the wreck by policemen, and to my surprise, several airman armed with rifles who were obviously there mounting guard.
Viewing this sad spectacle I heard someone saying that all the aircrew, except the one who had bailed out, had been killed. Rumours were heard that they were Germans who had stolen a British plane and were shot down trying to fly back to their own country. I countered some of this by stating that I had seen the plane flying towards London, not away from it.

During 1987 a friend showed me a letter printed in a flying magazine and written by a Tony Reid, an ex-aircrew member of the RAF in WWII, who had thrice survived being shot down by our own defences. One of these times was on a Sunday in March 1940.

To quote from Tony Reid鈥檚 letter to me in 1987. 鈥淲e had taken off from Heston, our P.U.D. base, to take photographs of selected airdromes in S.E. England from 7,000 feet to give to the French. We had just completed our run over Gravesend, (airfield) when the attack occurred. I managed to get out of the inferno but my harness got caught up with the aeroplane so I dare not release my parachute. However the fuel tanks exploded, blew me out and blew my chute open, so by a miracle I got away. I was incredibly lucky.鈥�

鈥楾his story was given to Leicester CSV and submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by Rod Aldwinckle of CSV Action Desk Leicester on behalf of William Clark and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the sites terms and conditions.鈥�

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.