Hazardous Flight In Storm Over The Atlantic
Jun 6, 2023 10:44:39 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 6, 2023 10:44:39 GMT 12
HAZARDOUS FLIGHT
STORM OVER THE ATLANTIC
(Special Correspondent) LONDON, June 1
A storm lifted a Hampden aircraft of the New Zealand torpedo bomber squadron 1500 ft. in three seconds during a recent flight over the Atlantic. It was searching for submarines and was piloted by Pilot-Officer J. H. Reason, of Morrinsville, who had with him as crew Sergeant A. E. Collett, of Wellington, and F. Macpherson, of Rotorua, who is a Maori. The second navigator was a Scotsman.
Pilot-Officer Reason in an interview said: "The trip so far holds the record for our squadron's worst weather. We knew we could expect bad conditions when we took off in pouring rain with the sea calm, but the weather gradually became worse. The freezing level was 5000ft. We were flying blind at about 200 ft. above the sea when we ran into the dirtiest, blackest cloud I have ever seen in my life. All the instruments suddenly seemed to go 'haywire.'
"I felt the aircraft lift and shoved down the nose at least 30 degrees from the horizontal, but in a matter of about three seconds the aircraft was lifted 1500 ft. by the terrific force of the storm. I fought the controls for a while and then we came out of a tiny hole in the clouds and saw dirty big breakers rising from 40ft. to 50ft.
"We returned safely after flying blind for more than four hours and a quarter. Sergeant Collett and I were sopping wet, for the water was streaming into the aircraft. It reduced Sergeant Colleft's maps to pulp."
Of the squadron, 75 per cent have now been at least 20 hours on operations. They have not seen submarines, but some shipping. They have had few encounters with enemy aircraft, excepting Pilot-Officer D. J. Nillson, of Hastings, who met a Junkers 88.
NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 3 JUNE 1942
STORM OVER THE ATLANTIC
(Special Correspondent) LONDON, June 1
A storm lifted a Hampden aircraft of the New Zealand torpedo bomber squadron 1500 ft. in three seconds during a recent flight over the Atlantic. It was searching for submarines and was piloted by Pilot-Officer J. H. Reason, of Morrinsville, who had with him as crew Sergeant A. E. Collett, of Wellington, and F. Macpherson, of Rotorua, who is a Maori. The second navigator was a Scotsman.
Pilot-Officer Reason in an interview said: "The trip so far holds the record for our squadron's worst weather. We knew we could expect bad conditions when we took off in pouring rain with the sea calm, but the weather gradually became worse. The freezing level was 5000ft. We were flying blind at about 200 ft. above the sea when we ran into the dirtiest, blackest cloud I have ever seen in my life. All the instruments suddenly seemed to go 'haywire.'
"I felt the aircraft lift and shoved down the nose at least 30 degrees from the horizontal, but in a matter of about three seconds the aircraft was lifted 1500 ft. by the terrific force of the storm. I fought the controls for a while and then we came out of a tiny hole in the clouds and saw dirty big breakers rising from 40ft. to 50ft.
"We returned safely after flying blind for more than four hours and a quarter. Sergeant Collett and I were sopping wet, for the water was streaming into the aircraft. It reduced Sergeant Colleft's maps to pulp."
Of the squadron, 75 per cent have now been at least 20 hours on operations. They have not seen submarines, but some shipping. They have had few encounters with enemy aircraft, excepting Pilot-Officer D. J. Nillson, of Hastings, who met a Junkers 88.
NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 3 JUNE 1942
