大象传媒

Suppose the most frightening time really was when we were in St Miram, Cornwall 1941, because there was only us there. They weren鈥檛 raiding a city they were raiding an airfield you know, and one of our offices was hit and damaged. It became very personal then. You felt why are they aiming at me?

On the ship you would be down in the hangar working on the aircraft when a flash red would come in. Air raid approaching. The armoured doors would close over the lifts, the fire curtains (pure asbestos) lowered, and you can hear the guns. First you hear the 4.5, then at this stage you know they鈥檙e far off, then you鈥檇 hear the 40mm and you know they鈥檙e nearer, the 29mm, and then the 陆 inch and then you know they鈥檙e there. Obviously in the hangar you can鈥檛 see anything and then you just suddenly hear the bang and the crash.

One time we didn鈥檛 have any night fighters on the ship and so by 6 o鈥檆lock-ish we鈥檇 finished flying for that day. All our aircraft were strapped down and we got a flash red. Well, we thought oh crikey and three of us went down below deck. Sitting there smoking, I suspect illegally, we were all a long way down. Anyway eventually we went back up when the all clear came and were told it had been torpedo bombers. Well, to think we鈥檇 deliberately gone down below the waterline, we felt right twits.

I suppose the hairiest moments were when we were raiding Japan and the Kamikazes came and hit us. I was sure it was three times but can only remember twice. It must have been quite an amazing shock to the pilot if he was still alive by then because all the American carriers had a wooden topped flight deck. Ours was a 4-inch steel so if he hit the deck, which the first one did, he鈥檇 skid along first.

Did we feel optimistic? Oh yeah, never thought about losing the war, funny isn鈥檛 it? Even after Dunkirk had been and gone we never thought we鈥檇 lose the war. Neither did the Germans come to think of it.

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