Originally Posted by
kookabat
If it's that hard to get *in* to a Beau, imagine trying to get *out* in a hurry!
Interestingly enough, Dad had no problem finding the release handle for the overhead escape hatch in the cockpit, much as happened 72 years ago.
Only back then, after releasing the hatch, he thought he was a goner as he went down with the rapidly sinking Beau. Until he remembered to undo his seat belt, after which he popped to the surface like a cork out of a bottle
To flesh out some more of the episode, Dad had downed two Arados but suffered a nicked aileron cable in a 'head to head' encounter the day before (9th November). This put his beloved Z-Zombie out of action and he took a new Beau fresh from a delivery flight. When the patrol was bounced by a flock of Me109s the SOP was to outrun them but Dad was unable to keep up in the new machine and became the target for a shooting gallery.
The 109s took turns to line up for potshots and eventually the starboard engine caught fire. The extinguisher took care of it temporarily but it lit up again and Dad had no option but to ditch.
When he surfaced the (only) fortuitous result of it being a new aircraft was that there was an automatic dinghy release in the port engine nacelle and their doughnut was waiting for them. Unfortunately it was only partially inflated so Bob, being a better swimmer, puffed into the oral inflation tube enough to get some shape into the thing. Then they had to turn it the right way up, but that took ages as it kept folding in half being only partially inflated. Dad gave Bob a boost into the dinghy once it was the right way up, only to be confronted by a yellow face as Bob went into the marker dye in the bottom of the dinghy!
Then there was his earlier life ostensibly as a night fighter pilot, and flying the IIf with Merlins which he thought was much better. Not least because he could see out to each side instead of two socking great Hercules radials filling his vision!