A Glider Pilot's Tale, Part 3
With some difficulty we managed to open the glider’s nose and get our load out and away to their RV. As we were doing this another Horsa landed nearby, its nose broke off and rolled into another drainage ditch. Shortly afterwards 2 very irate glider pilots managed to extricate themselves with much swearing!
(My note: The Horsa MkII had a hinging nose section – the entire cockpit hinged away from the fuselage, on the stbd side, thus expediting unloading. The earlier Horsa MkI had a fixed nose, the load was loaded through a large side door forward on the port side. For unloading the entire tail section was removed via the undoing of 4 bolts. In a heavy combat landing, distortion to the fuselage could mean that the tail was impossible to remove.)
Ted and I then picked up our gear and weapons and set off across the fields to find our RV. Ted was about 3 yds in front of me as we trotted past the side of a farm outbuilding. As we turned the corner a British Para drew our attention to a spray of machine-gun bullet strikes that had hit the brick wall only feet behind us – without us hearing a thing!
Around the corner of the farm building a number of British Paras had congregated – there were probably about 40 of them. It was then that we saw a German soldier face down on the ground protesting noisily. Sitting astride the German was a Para Medic using his fighting knife to dig a bullet out of the German’s backside. It was so incongruous that we literally fell about laughing.
Having established our whereabouts, Ted and I made our way to the RV. It was planned that some 45 Glider Pilots should meet up at this RV with some of the Royal Ulsters and then proceed to attack and capture a nearby bridge. Since less than half that number turned up, 8 of us were tasked to hold a farmhouse some 500 yds distant. Before we moved off a very young German soldier, probably Hitler Youth, came down the earthen road. He was wearing only boots and trousers and had his hands in the air. One of the glider pilots yelled: “Effing Gerry!” and then shot him. A photograph of the dead German appeared in the 'London Illustrated News' a week later with the headline: “German soldier killed in action near Hamilkeln.”
Having walked to the farmhouse we inspected the premises which were occupied solely by an elderly housewife and her young daughter. Going into the ground floor cattle pens, which were timber enclosures with walls and doors full height to the ceiling, one glider pilot with a Bren gun heard a noise. He kicked open the pen door and opened fire. Result, one very dead cow!
Shortly afterwards a prisoner, a Lt Col of the SS, was put in an empty pen with a young L/Cpl Para as guard. It greatly amused us that his Officer didn’t fully trust this young Para since every 4 or 5 minutes he checked on him. Each time this happened we heard the young Para say: “Please sir, let me take him outside and shoot him – I don’t care if I do get Court Martialed when we get back.”
The Lt Col SS was highly delighted to be moved to a POW compound with an intact skin.
Looking back towards our RV we could see Paras around the T Junction of 2 earthen roads. There was a roar as a German fighter appeared and began to strafe. Lots of brown backsides disappeared into ditches either side of the road. The German fighter (an Me 109) did not escape as 6 Typhoons and 3 Tempests joined in. They circled the 109 and, as one aircraft tried to line up a firing opportunity, 2 more would cut him out. This went on for about 10 minutes. The German pilot, realising escape was hopeless, turned his aircraft upside down and bailed out.
The Paras shot him on the way down.
It being fairly quiet by then, Ted and I walked over to a gun battery which had set up near our old RV. We thought we recognised the gun crew and were correct – it was the crew we had flown in. By the time we met up they had hot tea and sweets awaiting us. However we were prevented from socialising because shortly afterwards a shoot was called in. We retreated to our farmhouse.
Last edited by ExAscoteer; 25th Sep 2010 at 03:29.