大象传媒

I (my father) took off on the 1st May 1945 from an airstrip at Toungoo in Central Burma just behind the front line - Bill Slim wished to view the fighting from the air. Having flown over the front line at about 2000 feet we continued flying south. Blill Slim, who had come into the cockpit and was sitting next to Ted Long(the pilot), was getting excited and wanted very much to see the city of Rangoon (only some 50 - 60 miles away) - so we continued, but soon after sighting Rangoon we were hit by enemy cannon fire from a ground battery. I was standing at the open door between the crew's quaters in the nose and the main part of the fuselage where there were several passengers (mostly 'top brass' and members of Slim's staff). There was an explosion. midway down the aircraft and an American Colonel who was standing up looking out of the window, was hit in the leg. Ted Long immediately went into a steep dive and turned back towards home. We`were unware as to what damage had been caused to the aircraft. And I set about trying to send a radio SOS to base - that proved to be futile as my wireless was completely 'dead'. We`did our best to help the injured Colonel until we landed safely back at the Toungoo Airstrip. It transpired that we had been hit by 2 cannon shells, the one which exploded injuring the colonel, the other was discovered unexploded in the back of my wireless set!!

Furthermore, the aircraft rudder controls escaped damage only by a hair's breath. Bill Slim was very upset particularly because of the unjury to the Colonel who, incidentally, had to have his leg amputated. Mention of the incident is to be found in Bill Slim's autobiography.

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