I squeezed in a third sortie for F/Sgt Walker and Sgt Jones of 609 Squadron yesterday, flown on 11th May 1941 in light rain, a fresh Force 5 breeze, 5/10th's cloud cover and a full moon, with the Portland circuit once again but this time with a new, less experienced GCI controller (Skill 2). Things looked good to start with as the GCI vectored the Beaufighter onto a target in the first zone after take off, a Heinkel III (Evade 1 / Spotting 1 / Attack 3) but the vector was way off and the chase continued for four more zones until an Approach with radar was possible.
In the meantime, F/Sgt Walker noticed that his port undercarriage hadn't locked in properly on take off, but he decided to carry on regardless, trusting Sgt Jones would get a good AI interception.
In fact, Sgt Jones did manage to guide the night fighter into close range at 5'o'clock but this time it was the pilot who failed to spot the bomber that put a spanner in the works, although the bomber crew also missed the night fighter in the darkness. Moving around to a 6 o'clock position, Sgt Jones now guided F/Sgt Walker into a perfect close range position, where he spotted the Heinkel and opened fire with four seconds of cannon rounds.
These slammed into the fuselage and port wing but failed to hit anything vital. The Heinkel rear gunner spotted the night fighter and returned fire, his spraying wide of the night fighter, while the pilot failed to evade, flying on straight and level in shock. This gave F/Sgt Walker a second chance and, with no hesitation, he slammed another four second burst into the bomber, hitting the tail, fuselage and port wing again, causing the aircraft to break up in mid flight, the pilot and radio operator failing to bail out in time before it crashed into the sea in a shower of debris.
This was another probable, due to the location in Lyme Bay and the fact that the crew were not captured, eventually being picked up by an enemy torpedo boat. The Beaufighter now flew on three more zones until a new contact was made with another Heinkel III (Evade 4 / Spotting 3 / Attack 1) over Studland, the GCI once again vectoring them way off target, although spot on for altitude.
The chase began but an AI equipment malfunction had to be fixed by Sgt Jones before an approach could be made, whilst also reloading the cannons for a second attack. The AI malfunction was eventually sorted out but by this time, the night fighter crew were approaching Middle Wallop and so F/Sgt Walker decided to abandon the chase and land, hoping that the port undercarriage would successfully lock down before he made his approach.
Luckily, the landing went smoothly for a change and crew breathed a sigh of relief as they taxied to dispersal. F/Sgt Walker's third 'probable' and his excellent flying skills in a tricky landing, meant that he was awarded an immediate DFM, while Sgt Jones already had a Mention in Dispatches, so had to go without any gongs for this sortie. Both of the crew now have a few days leave before they will be flying again, with only two more aircraft shot down to give them the chance of a skills upgrade.
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