10 FlightJournal.com
DEATH AT DAYBREAK
stationary in the sky. As he hung there, he
was raising and lowering his undercarriage.
I reported it. A general babble broke out
and filled the air. Everybody had seen it. I
recognized it as a Ju 88, possibly a night fighter
burdened with damage from combat after a
night of hunting Lancaster bombers. Some
determined tail gunner probably got a few
slugs into him, thus giving him his present
trouble.
Like falcons onto a crippled duck, our
Tempests swung onto the unfortunate enemy.
With motors screaming and black streaks of
exhaust smoke marking the sky, we closed
in. Hyphen and Billy Williams were in the
van: I was behind them and a little back from
Ginger Eagleson. I watched the first bursts
of cannon fire from the leading pair and saw
that massive but elegant aircraft disintegrate
before my eyes: with faultless skill they had
nailed him. Probably hit personally by their
cannon fire, the pilot must have pulled back
the stick, as the aircraft reared up in front of
me blazing from nose to tail. Instinctively
my thumb tightened on the trigger button,
but I didn’t fire; it would only be shooting
at the remnants. I passed within feet of this
incredible exploding sight and would swear
that I could hear the roaring of the flames.
Tempest F.5 SN354 with 40mm guns, A &
AE trials. (Photo courtesy of Joe Gertler)Tempest VI NX122 (Photo courtesy of Joe Gertler)Tempest V, SA-U of 486 Squadron,
RNZAF (Photo courtesy of Joe Gertler)