大象传媒

Mission Impossible
Schweinfurt Ball Bearings factoriees raid.

I was nearly six years old. I had never seen even part of the wreckage of an American bomber before.
we had been taken to Daniels Road, in Norwich. About five minutes away from my home. my guide was a family friend and his small son. this person was a captain in the Home Guard; A person of real authority. He was not at all the Dad's Army figure of fun persona , Captain Mainwaring. there were five or six people standing by the ' thing '.
The object was taller than me. the back of it was entirely missing completely sheered off. I couldn't even have tried to imagine what the whole aircraft had looked like. I imagined this was where the pilot had sat. the cockpit I thought. I remember also the pervading smell. sort of sweet , sort of fuel like; not petrol. . If I had known about rockets then I would have thought this was the remains of a gigantic nose cone. Much later I found out this was not where the pilot had sat in this aircraft However now I was in awe of the present situation , and just stood there struck dumb by astonishment. The fuselage was still warm. Too only later did I realise what the sweetish smell might have been caused by. I will leave that to other imaginations. My reverie was brusquely interrupted.
" Stand back live bullets could explode! "
We moved back immediately. An official order was not to be ignored in those days. To do so might have killed you.
My pseudo ' Uncle 't the Home guard Captain told me what had happened.

The captain's account.

The Americans had carried out a daylight bombing raid over Germany. the target had been a ball bearing factory. because of bad flying weather the bombers had started and returned late. two German raiders had followed them home. Flying at low level, short of fuel. coming into land, with no fighter escorts. The Americans panicked, in the dark shot at each other, as well.
Memory over time is a funny thing. my mission impossible is to try and verify these events. Did I imagine it all? Or did these events happen as I actually remember them?

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