Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 23, 2021 0:11:34 GMT 12
AMAZING ESCAPE
ORDEAL WITH PARACHUTE
AIRMAN SHOT DOWN
LONDON, May 5.
An account of the shooting down of a bomber in which an English pilot-officer had an amazing escape but in which Sergeant James Bracegirdle, Parnell, Auckland, R.N.Z.A.F., lost his life, is contained in a letter from Pilot-Officer H. J. Vollmer, a prisoner of war, to his mother. Sergeant Bracegirdle was posted as missing last September.
“Our machine was hit in the wing by an anti-aircraft shell which went straight into a petrol tank,” Pilot-Officer Vollmer wrote. “Bell, the wireless operator, reported on the telephone that the starboard engine was on fire. We never heard a word from Bracegirdle, the rear gunner. I think he was hit by a piece of the shell.
Burning Like a Furnace
“I was in the nose of the aircraft, and a piece of shrapnel flew right across the compartment, into one side and out of the other, about three inches under my nose. The pilot gave the order to jump. I had to go about six feet toward the tail of the aircraft to reach my parachute pack and the escape hatch. I did this, reached the pack, and then felt the aircraft start to dive.
“When an aircraft dives everything inside is forced down toward the front. I was flung back into the nose with my parachute in my hand, but not hooked on to the harness. The aircraft probably reached 400 to 500 miles an hour in the dive, as the throttle had jammed open. It was burning like a furnace, and I dimly remember the inside being full of smoke.
Preparing For End
“Of course, I was quietly preparing for the end—no panic, just sorry I would not be able to tell you about it. Next, there was a devil of a bank and a sort of cracking. I thought we had hit. Actually, the speed of the dive had torn a wing off the aircraft, and this, combined with another petrol tank blowing up, broke the window against which I was forced.
“Then I found myself hurtling through the air, holding on to my parachute, which was still not hooked on. I made violent efforts to do this as I fell, but, realising that I must be getting near the ground, decided to pull the rip cord and hold on to the pack with my right hand.
“I pulled. The parachute opened and tore itself out of my hand, breaking two fingers. It was then that I really thought the end had arrived, but imagine my feeling when I was suddenly jerked up, and found that one hook of the harness had caught into the parachute.
Landing in Peat Bog
“All this happened within about one minute of being hit, and it was only about another minute before I landed. This means that my parachute opened at about 500 ft, having started at 12,000 ft. I landed safely in a peat bog and was picked up next morning.
“Bell’s body was found in the machine next morning. A German officer told me he was not terribly injured. The machine buried itself, and Bracegirdle might have been underneath, but I never heard. The whole thing was over in two or three minutes, and it is a miracle that any of us got out. One can only say, as the Germans do, ‘Theirs was a hero s death.’ My escape ranks as about the luckiest in this camp.
GISBORNE HERALD, 16 JUNE 1941
ORDEAL WITH PARACHUTE
AIRMAN SHOT DOWN
LONDON, May 5.
An account of the shooting down of a bomber in which an English pilot-officer had an amazing escape but in which Sergeant James Bracegirdle, Parnell, Auckland, R.N.Z.A.F., lost his life, is contained in a letter from Pilot-Officer H. J. Vollmer, a prisoner of war, to his mother. Sergeant Bracegirdle was posted as missing last September.
“Our machine was hit in the wing by an anti-aircraft shell which went straight into a petrol tank,” Pilot-Officer Vollmer wrote. “Bell, the wireless operator, reported on the telephone that the starboard engine was on fire. We never heard a word from Bracegirdle, the rear gunner. I think he was hit by a piece of the shell.
Burning Like a Furnace
“I was in the nose of the aircraft, and a piece of shrapnel flew right across the compartment, into one side and out of the other, about three inches under my nose. The pilot gave the order to jump. I had to go about six feet toward the tail of the aircraft to reach my parachute pack and the escape hatch. I did this, reached the pack, and then felt the aircraft start to dive.
“When an aircraft dives everything inside is forced down toward the front. I was flung back into the nose with my parachute in my hand, but not hooked on to the harness. The aircraft probably reached 400 to 500 miles an hour in the dive, as the throttle had jammed open. It was burning like a furnace, and I dimly remember the inside being full of smoke.
Preparing For End
“Of course, I was quietly preparing for the end—no panic, just sorry I would not be able to tell you about it. Next, there was a devil of a bank and a sort of cracking. I thought we had hit. Actually, the speed of the dive had torn a wing off the aircraft, and this, combined with another petrol tank blowing up, broke the window against which I was forced.
“Then I found myself hurtling through the air, holding on to my parachute, which was still not hooked on. I made violent efforts to do this as I fell, but, realising that I must be getting near the ground, decided to pull the rip cord and hold on to the pack with my right hand.
“I pulled. The parachute opened and tore itself out of my hand, breaking two fingers. It was then that I really thought the end had arrived, but imagine my feeling when I was suddenly jerked up, and found that one hook of the harness had caught into the parachute.
Landing in Peat Bog
“All this happened within about one minute of being hit, and it was only about another minute before I landed. This means that my parachute opened at about 500 ft, having started at 12,000 ft. I landed safely in a peat bog and was picked up next morning.
“Bell’s body was found in the machine next morning. A German officer told me he was not terribly injured. The machine buried itself, and Bracegirdle might have been underneath, but I never heard. The whole thing was over in two or three minutes, and it is a miracle that any of us got out. One can only say, as the Germans do, ‘Theirs was a hero s death.’ My escape ranks as about the luckiest in this camp.
GISBORNE HERALD, 16 JUNE 1941
