Originally Posted by
Heathrow Harry
" climbing sharply and very loudly at Benwell " - no doubt aiming to "hit" the Ministry (DHSS) at Benton .....................
maybe they actually did...................
On a 2E pop up attack the essential need was to start at 500 feet before a rapid climb and a bunt too level flight at 11,000 feet. Many times when the weather was bad we flew the low level at MSFL and were at 4,000 feet of higher at the start - waste of time really.
Well one day, Phil Largeson, ex-OC12 but guesting from 1 Gp, saw a hole in the clouds just after turning off the LL route for the target. As the nav called climb Phil dived through the hole achieving 500 feet (with a downward vector) and now well passed the pop up point. Having got to 500 feet he rotated on full power and much greater angle of climb than normal. The aircraft, now at relatively low speed, max thrust, and at about 200 feet, dug out a field of cabbages. I do not recall how the rest of the bomb run went
