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Old 17th Mar 2009, 19:51
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DeepestSouth
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Isle of Man
Age: 72
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Thanks all - I thought I'd finally got it sorted when I recently got hold of a copy of "Spitfire Women" by Giles Whittell - the story of the ATA. It is an excellent book and an easy read BUT ... barely a mention of the Beaufighter and certainly nothing about this incident.

I'll follow up your various leads and report back when I find the answer.

And now to my part of the deal. My neighbour was returning to base at East Fortune in a Beaufighter when the undercarriage would not lower. He gave his nav/gunner/rad op the option to bail out but the chap gamely decided to stick with him. He pulled off what he rather proudly felt was a virtually perfect wheels-up touchdown with only a slight bounce, except for one small detail ... he had not switched the guns to 'safe' and as he bounced he inadvertently pressed the firing button, raking some of the hangars.

At the subsequent 'interview', he was first congratulated on a fine wheels-up landing, and then informed that he had, in one brief moment, done more damage to East Fortune than the Luftwaffe ever achieved.

Last edited by DeepestSouth; 17th Mar 2009 at 19:54. Reason: Mention aircraft type
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