Fantome
21st Feb 2013, 10:10
Here is a most moving account of an RAAF Hudson's attempt to fight off nine Zeros.
Australian Story - 1/7/2002: Enemy Lines (http://www.abc.net.au/austory/transcripts/s590505.htm)
LowNSlow
21st Feb 2013, 11:36
Amazing story and the efforts Sakai made to publicise the heroism of Warren seems typical of the man if you've read his book.
Lordflasheart
22nd Feb 2013, 22:15
Re P/O Warren Cowan (32 Squadron) above. It seems the Hudson (Mk I and II) had four Brownings - a dorsal twin Boulton Paul turret plus two fixed nose mounted front guns. Later on (Mk III) they added a 'retractable ventral' and two beam guns as well.
J'ever hear the silly tale of the Nav who's woken up by a 'Mayday' on the radio ?
" 'Ere Skipper" he says urgently, "some poor blighter's in trouble."
"Yes" says the skipper, "It's us, get us a fix will you."
Around 1980 I read an article in "Sabretache" - the journal of the Australian Military History Society. It was about an RAAF Hudson recce sortie over the South China Sea on 10th December 1941. No one was sleeping that day, and 1 Squadron Hudsons had already been in successful action against the Japanese landings at Kuantan two days earlier.
The story went something like – The dorsal gunner, seeing a vast number of Bettys passing way overhead says " 'Ere Skipper some poor blighter's in trouble, hope it isn't us." They then witnessed in the distance, the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse.
There was a lot more to it, and I don't remember if it was a personal memoir or a third party story. Apparently the pilot went on to the jet age and became some time station master at Butterworth. I think there may also have been something about – the machine guns hadn't yet been delivered from whereever. LFH