Mosquito: Menacing the Reich: Combat Action in the Twin-engine Wooden Wonder of World War II Read Online Free PDF Page B

five pathfinders airborne that night, crewed by Flight Lieutenant Mark Wallis and Flight Lieutenant Fred Crawley DFC . Crawley explains:
    The programme detailing the names of crews to fly that night on operations usually appeared on the mess notice-board around mid-day. No matter how many operations one had under your belt, even the most experienced felt that tightening in the stomach that presaged night operations. The night-flying test in the afternoon, with its well-tried procedures and familiarity, coupled with the affection that exists between a particular crew and a particular aeroplane, restored the confidence. Later, at the crew briefing, when the target and route details were disclosed, nerves were well under control. The route was to be: Upwood to the coast. Then north-eastwards across the North Sea to the red rock island of Heligoland (there was a fighter airstrip on the nearby sand island of Dune). Then landfall north of the wide Elbe estuary  the Great Lakes NW of Berlin – Berlin  return on a straight line to the Zuider Zee and home to base. The bomb load was to be: Target Indicator (Green & Yellow) bursting at 9,800ft; Target Indicator (Green with Red drip) bursting at 8,000ft; Photo-flash Red and one 500lb HE bomb. Weather conditions were described as good for take-off and return at Upwood, with considerable cloud formations over most of Germany.
    Upwood at 20.45 hours was a busy airfield, with the Lancasters of 156 Squadron and the Mosquitoes of 139 vying with one another on the perimeter track, anxious to get airborne. Rolling now, with a touch of rudder to correct swing, we got off at 20.46 hours and with wheels and flaps up, turned straight away on to the first course of 067, climbing at 160 knots to the English coast at Cromer. The 20 minutes’ climb to 17,000ft at the coast found the navigator busy using Gee fixes to keep the aircraft on the planned track to the coast. (The calculation of wind speed and direction was not of much use because of the continual increase in height, but the noting of drift often gave indication of what to expect.) The coastline showed clearly on H2S and Cromer passed underneath at 21.09 when navigation lights and IFF were switched off. The two-stage booster was now put in to the engines and the next 24 minutes had the aircraft climbing to the operational height of 25,000ft. During this time the navigator fixed the aircraft’s position every 3 minutes by Gee and calculated the wind velocity throughout the height bands. Accurate navigation throughout this stage was vital to the success of the operation when the aircraft could be flown with no interference from enemy action. On this operation, the calculated winds proved to be considerably stronger than forecast and about 10-15° to the southward of forecast. Navigation proceeded steadily until about 5° east, when enemy jamming of Gee rendered the equipment ineffective.
    On DR navigation, we turned almost due east running towards Heligoland, a good H 2 S target and very useful, where the next turning point, about 8 miles north of the island, would require a route marker to be fired off for the Main Force. Although I had never seen an aircraft shot down over the island, their anti-aircraft guns could make it pretty uncomfortable if you strayed too near. The island of Heligoland appeared on the H 2 S screen and from the present track it was clear we were running too close to the island on the starboard side. An ‘S’ turn to port put this right and at 22.02 hours the route marker for the Main Force was fired to indicate the turning point north of Heligoland. It was bitterly cold, with the outside temperature gauge indicating -50° and the heating system could not prevent thick ice forming on the inside of the side-blisters.
    Approaching the enemy coast, the coastline showed clearly on H 2 S and once again we had drifted two to three miles south of track of the flight plan. Another route marker was fired crossing the enemy