大象传媒

Us Ack-ack guners at Fort Borstal, 'B' Troop, 166 Battery had been on the guns all night,having answered an Alarm at about 2300hrs.It was now 0930hrs the next day and I was tired.We had been at Action Stations every day for the past two weeks.It was now about the middle of August 1940.I had been given the task of Local Defence,which meant coming off No.3. Gun and taking over the Lewis gunsituated on the right of No.1 Gun.There were four of these guns,4'5" Static,and we had been trained on the old 3" semi-mobile of the 1st World War,but with the re-armarment programme getting into full swing, we had recieved these in August 1939 just after our Annual Firing Camp at Watchet,in Somerset.
Due to the fact that there were only 7 in the crew of the 3" and the 4'5" needed at least 12 we were hugely under-manned.So until the Belisha Boys caught up we had to make do.I prefered the bigger guns as I was the No.5 who's job it was to close the breech and fire the gun.As it was an automatic breech all I had to do was set it before going into action,then hand on firing lever wait for the order to fire.If we were on Chatham Concentrtation we'd start firing on the first order and keep firing till we were ordered to stop.My girl friend, who lived in a house just a few hundred yards away used to say that it seemed as if we had gone mad,for they had no warning,and if they had there windows open at night it would nearly blow the sheets off their beds.
But now I was on the Lewis gun,I made it a practice of always looking out in the opposite direction to which the guns were pointing.They'd be on 'Stand by' Bearing,which was where it was expected the next raid to come.The Gravesend Patrol was circling overhead at about 30,000ft,that is a group of Hurricanes and Spitfires, having taken off from Gravesend Airport.Ah! there came some now,flying at nought feet.They'd come over the hill opposite and were over the Medway in flash.Strange they usually came the other way,then I spotted their nose cones--Yellow!- They were Messerschmitts,flat out for the coast and home,they passed over-head their engines semed to flatten the ground beneath them,I was to stunned to move,in any case,the ammo,.303", of my little Lewis, would'nt do them much harm, even if I hit them.But I found out what it was like to grind your teeth with rage.Well,they won't catch me like that again

After a disapointing morning we were dismissed at about 1500hrs.The afternoon or what was left of it was ours.But,no! Fatigues had to be done before we could retire,even then we had to spend quite some time cleaning up our uniforms and Barrack rooms for inspection in the morning.
Next morning however we were up on the guns,the Alarm Bells calling us to Action Stations, rang out at 0730,so we were off again.This had been going on since the start of the Battle of Britain which for us meant round about June.
I practically fell into my gun pit,my number two,Darkie Smith, reached for the drum of ammo,while I took the cover off.He quickly loaded the gun and we waited events.Darkie was a queer little lad,he had been one of the 'Immatures',that is lads who were too young to go overseas when his unit was posted so he and many others of his or similar age were distributed around each unit which needed them,and Boy!! did we need them. He had only just returned to the battery,as he had been away on Special Leave.It seemed that his parents had allowed him to join his local Territorial unit,not realising that he would be liable for regular sservice in an emergency,I suppose they thought it was something like the Boy Scouts,instead,there he was on a gun site rather than sitting his Matriculation Exams at his local Grammar |School in Hastings.They had written to their M.P.even to the War Office to get their son back but No! 'Do'nt you know there's a war on' was the by now,familiar cry.Well,something had to be done and it was,luckily one of the two officers on our gun site was a teacher at the local Grammar School and he took over cramming Darkie for the exams,then off he went returning at the height of the battle.I gave him a quick run-down on his duties and here he was a No.2 on my Lewis gun
It was fine morning a little mist over the river but the sun was up and would soon burn that off.Hullo,some minsterinng angel is bringing round some 'Gun fire',to the un-iniciti
ted,this was the traditionial Early Morning cup of Tea brought round in a bucket. "Hey! How about Breakfast!" "Huh! You,ll be lucky to get dinner!"
"Well,he's not a bad lad really,Mac's (Frank Macmahon)older brother" Mac was on the other Lewis gun next to the Command Post."Keep your eye on the top of that hill opposite,Darkie!"
1100hrs,nothing happening,Gravesend Patrol absent,called over Maidstone or West Malling or even the coast,I suppose.Better keep a closer watch on Temple Farm.AND there one comes just swooped over the hill and dived down to river level,I quickly cocked the Lewis called Darkie to get the next drum ready shouted "Plane" all in the split seconds as the bomber,for such it was, hurtled towards me.He had to climb to get up the hill below me as as he came over I was able to depress the gun till he was in my sights. Well,that's not strictly true as to hit your target you hold the butt of the Lewis gun under your arm and look over the top of the barrel standing back and use the tracers as you would a hose-pipe,in fact that was what this type of firing was called.The tracers only lasted for 250 yards,so the target to be effictive must be less than 700 feet away,this combined with the drop of the trajectory meant a pretty bit of mental calculation on the gunner's part,but given enough time any errors could be corrected.Which is what I had not got.The target was now no more than 500 feet away and approaching at over 250 miles an hour.My tracers were by now falling short,I could see them dropping below the belly of the plane.Ah! that's better gentle touch to the right and my bullets were entering the cockpit.The pilot's open mouth registered his horror at the situation his escape route had brought him to,but just then he disappeared behind the sheild of No.1 Gun never to appear again, for by now he was below the earthworks of the fort itself.Going like the clappers.

Ah!well,nice try !

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