John Hunt 01.Better Lucky and Good by Larry Jeram-Croft

Author:Larry Jeram-Croft [Larry Jeram-Croft]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

The days of inaction seemed to drag on for ever. One good thing to come out of it was that all the pilots were really well experienced with their Hurricanes. John found he hardly had to think about what he was doing in his machine, it was all so automatic. But the daily routine was exhausting in itself. They would be shaken from sleep well before dawn which at this time of year was about four in the morning and then driven straight to the airfield where breakfast was ready for them. Breakfast would be interrupted by the sound of all the aircraft having their engines started and warmed up by the ground crew so that by the time the sun was finally making its appearance over the horizon everything was ready for the day to come. Then it was either get airborne for an early patrol or look for something to do. Many went straight back to sleep but were dressed and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

And then on Sunday, everything changed. It was yet another fine summer’s day with only broken high level cloud. It had started like all the others with being woken in the dark, a sleepy ride to the airfield and tea, toast and eggs for breakfast as the sun came up. The squadron was on late duty today and the first flight wasn’t due to get airborne until past ten o’clock.

However, just after nine, it was obvious that something was brewing. Initially, it was not clear exactly what but an air of anticipation settled over everyone. Then the squadron operations officer briefed them that a large enemy force had been detected on radar in the Baie de la Seine and was heading north but their intentions were unclear. People tensed, was this their first real test? Then the Padre turned up and set up his little portable altar. With the squadrons on alert, there was no point in using the local church so he had taken to visiting each squadron in turn.

John and most of the other pilots and ground crew were sitting, listening to a sermon. John had no idea what the man was blathering on about and suspected that most of the congregation were similarly thinking about other things. It soon became a moot point.

‘SQUADRON SCRAMBLE,’ a voice shouted and a bell started ringing. For a second, bile rose in John’s throat as the reality hit him. This was for real, not a practice, not a drill. There wasn’t time to think. He jumped to his feet along with everyone else. Just for a second, he caught a glimpse of affront on face of the Padre. Then he was running for his Hurricane.

He was within twenty yards of his machine when the engine roared into life. As he stopped, panting alongside the port wing, Kenny handed him his parachute and helped him strap it on. He then clambered up on the wing just as Taff jumped out of the cockpit on the other side.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.