Jimmy was about to fire another burst at a Junkers when bullets ripped down the side of his Spitfire.
“Hey who the hell just fired at me?” he screamed into his headset for of course mistakes did happen. He looked into his rear view mirror.
“Hey that looks like a Messerschmitt.”
“ENEMY FIGHTERS! ENEMY FIGHTERS!” Tommy Burke was frantically shouting.
Now the battle was joined.
“Stay in amongst the transporters,” Bill said “Don’t let yourselves be drawn off. They’ll be reluctant to hit their own side.”
“Oh God! I’ve got one on my tail,” Jimmy screamed as he turned this way and that trying to shake off the German fighter. Finally he turned quickly and in the same instant sent his plane into a dive which shook the Luftwaffe pilot off.
“Phew that was close,” he said looking out to both sides expecting to see black smoke and flames.
“I’m hit,” he said “But I don’t think it’s bad.”
Bill had recognised his brothers voice.
“Are you able to continue?”
“Affirmative.”
Bill nodded to himself.
He never gave his brother preferential treatment over any of the others. He banked his Spitfire, couldn’t find a fighter to target and opened up on a Junkers. The spray of bullets was devastating to the slow transporter and Bill grinned as he saw flames from one of the engines. As Jimmy passed the Junkers it exploded. He was so close to it that the blast rocked his plane out of control and sent him into a dive. Jimmy fought frantically with his controls. To his horror he saw another transporter only yards in front and he instantly knew he couldn’t avoid it. Instinctively he threw his hands up in front of his face. The right wing of his Spitfire sliced three quarters of the way through the body of the Junkers just in front of its tail. Jimmy’s plane went into a spinning, vertical dive. He fought desperately to gain control and with difficulty he managed to slow the spin. Looking out to the side dread filled him as he saw that his right wing was missing. Knowing that he had no chance of saving his Spitfire Jimmy reached for his harness fastener. He would bale out as soon as he could. It was stuck. He tried it again. He pulled at the belts across his shoulders. Still stuck. He told himself not to panic. He would try the belts again in a moment. The spinning was starting to make him feel sick. He reached for the canopy release, fumbling with it because of the spinning.
The Rolls Royce Merlin engine burst into flames.
Jimmy saw it and panic set in. He tore frantically at the belts that were trapping him.
“Oh God! Oh God!”
He tried the canopy again but couldn’t find the release handle. The two small windscreens in front of him both shattered and the smoke from the fire began filling the cockpit, choking him.
“Oh God! Bill! Bill!” he was screaming for his brother. But Bill didn’t hear him.
Bill was on the tail of a Messerschmitt, his guns blazing red hot bullets at the enemy fighters tail which was already shattered from numerous hits. The German pilot struggling to stay in control. Then the tail snapped off and the Messerschmitt went into a fast spin. The G-Forces making it impossible for the pilot to escape. The spinning ME109 collided with another Messerschmitt and they both exploded. Bill saw it as he banked. He watched the burning debris fall to earth.
“Does that count as two?” he asked into his radio.
“Good shooting,” Bill heard Don Foster’s voice over the radio.
“How are we doing out there boys?” Bill asked.
“Oh shit. I’ve got one on my tail,” Jack Meadows called out.
Bill Smith could see jack’s Spitfire. It was being tailed by not one but two Messerschmitt ME109’s. Bill pushed forward on his joystick.
“Hold on Jack I’m on my way.”
“Hurry Bill I can’t seem to shake them off. I’m going to….”
His voice was cut off by the whine of bullets.
“Jack! Jack!” Bill could see his friends plane had been hit. Jack slowly put his flying mask back over his face. He could taste blood in his mouth. The last burst of German machine gun fire had ripped holes in his Spitfires body. His canopy windows had been smashed. The force had knocked his mask off and flying glass had cut his face and neck. His left leg was in pain and it felt heavy. Slowly he reached down with his hand and felt around his knee. He brought his hand up in front of his face. It was covered in blood. His blood! He tried putting his left foot on the foot pedal to control the wing flaps but he found he couldn’t put enough pressure on it to move them sufficiently to escape the enemy fighters. Bill Smith sighted the stricken Spitfire and the two ME109’s and he honed in on them. The first of the fighters sprayed Jack’s Spitfire with a huge burst of machine gun bullets and then peeled off just as Bill caught up. He closed in on the rear German fighter. The German pilot unaware grinned as he closed in for the kill. The Englishman was a sitting duck. The German put his finger on the fire button and stopped as bullets spattered up both sides of his aircraft. He checked his mirror and could see the Spitfire behind him. Angry blobs of red metal eating the distance between them as more bullets chewed up his planes body. He took evasive action and rolled his Messerschmitt away to the left. Jack Meadows could see in his mirror that the attack had been called off.
“They’ve gone Jack.”
“Thanks Bill. I took some damage.”
“You’ve got smoke coming from your engine.”
“I’m pretty shot up. I’ve taken one in the left leg. Can’t put any pressure on it. It’s not bleeding too bad. I’m hoping it’s missed the artery. Hurts like hell though.”
“Get yourself back to base Jack. You’re done here.”
Jack heard the words and despite the pain he was in and the damage done to his Spitfire he didn’t want to leave his friends and comrades in the fight.
These men lived together, they fought together, they would die together.
“Your engine is smoking,” Bill repeated “Now get yourself out of here.”
“Roger that,” Jack said. He gave one final machine gun burst at a fighter that flew across his path and pushed his stick forward to lose altitude. Once at distance he looked back at the air battle. The larger bombers flying on in straight lines while the small fighters buzzed about them like angry wasps. Black trails of smoke hung in the air. He saw a Junkers literally fall apart in two pieces. The parts falling slowly to earth.
Tommy Burke was on the tail of not one but two Messerschmitts. They were both weaving from side to side trying to avoid him. So far he hadn’t fired at them. Suddenly they broke knowing Tommy couldn’t follow them both. He stayed with the one that banked left. The German plane straightened up and Tommy closed in for the kill. He didn’t see the second one, which had performed a huge circle in the sky and now straightened up and came at him.
Head on!
Tommy opened fire on the fighter he was tailing. He saw one side of the German plane rip up as his bullets hit home. The plane banked away and Tommy froze as he saw the Messerschmitt coming straight at him.
Almost as if in slow motion. Almost as if in a dream. Tommy saw the flash from the enemy machine guns. Time seemed to stand still for a moment. Tommy could hear only silence, then he heard his heartbeat, faster and faster. The small windows around him shattered and the bullets thumped into his chest, winding him.
The Messerschmitt veered away with a second to spare.