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Graham said that the homing beacon on the Ulster Queen was showing very clearly on the radar at a range of ten miles. I called Trademark and gave my call sign, which was Pistol Five Zero. Immediately the reply came back that they were receiving us loud and clear and we were to patrol on an east/west course at 500 feet. The QFE was 1010.6. I reset the altimeter to the QFE. The time was 9:50 p.m. and we were now under the control of the Ulster Queen. We climbed to 500 ft. and started the patrol. Trademark was giving instructions to Steele, who appeared to be having difficulty locking on to a bogey. A few minutes later we heard Trademark tell Steele to go to Angels 10 and head for base. We faintly heard Steele acknowledge and suddenly we felt quite lonely as we thought of them going back to base. We had no idea of what success they had experienced on their patrol and wouldn't know until we also returned. We now had the patrol and Trademark turned his attention to us. Communication between the Controller and us now became very relaxed. There were no verbal formalities during an interception and all that was required was quick, concise directions. This was also the case between Graham and me. During the two years we had crewed together, we had developed and practiced a certain patter to use during an interception. Typically, after the Controller had given directions to get us to within ten miles of the target, Graham would expect to see the target on his radar. At this point he would follow the target until he was comfortable that he had it firmly established. Then he would tell me to inform the Controller we wished to take over the interception. I would do this by using the code word Tallyho. The Controller would then follow the interception and be ready to help us if needed, but he would not talk to us. Graham would continue giving me directions every few seconds until he had talked me into a position where I should be able to see the target. He would relay such information as slight changes of course to follow, the approximate speed of the target, the range as it diminished, and changes in height as required. I had become so familiar with the way he presented all this data during an interception that I could usually tell by the inflection in his voice how the interception was proceeding. Sometimes, from the mental picture that was forming in my mind, I was able to anticipate the directions he was going to give me. As we got closer to the target and before I could see it, I would tell him where I wanted the target to be in relation to us. This would depend on the weather conditions and was intended to keep us unobserved as long as possible. The bond between pilot and radar/navigator was very important and was the reason why night fighter crews liked to stay together. For me, it was exciting to be led along blindly on a dark night and to suddenly see another aircraft appear. We had practiced interceptions for hours with other members of the squadron, taking turns being the fighter and the target, always hoping that some night our training would pay off. At 9:50 p.m. the Controller told us to change altitude to 1000 feet. It was almost an hour later at 10:48 p.m. that we were beginning to doubt we would encounter any enemy aircraft. We had patrolled back and forth and nothing had come within radar range of the Ulster Queen. We had been in the air nearly three hours and were beginning to get a little tired and depressed. Suddenly, as we were on our eastern leg I saw two green lights cross our path from port to starboard on a southwesterly course. I turned hard to starboard to investigate. Trademark called and said there was a bogey in our vicinity. I replied that we had seen the bogey and were turning to intercept. Again from Trademark telling us to flash our weapon. He wanted me to push our IFF button that enlarged our radar blip, thereby allowing him to see which was the friendly and which was the bogey. This was often done to help the Controller when the blips were too close to tell one from the other. I told him we had the bogey on our radar and were intercepting. He would now monitor our progress and be ready to give us assistance if required. I could no longer see the lights, but Graham was directing me closer to a position where I could see and identify the other aircraft. We were slowly losing altitude and the target was coming closer. When we were 200 feet above the water, Graham said I should be able to see the other plane dead ahead. I turned my head from side to side, using my peripheral vision. Quite suddenly another plane came into view about 300 yards dead ahead, 100 feet above me. When the range was down to 250 yard it was not necessary to go any closer to obtain identification. It was a Dornier-24 flying boat. I could clearly see the three engines and the twin tails. The Dornier-24 had a wingspan of just over 100 feet and looked huge. To attack from optimum range the wingspan had to appear to be twice the width of the ring on my gun sight and we were at that position already. I told Graham to take a look and he confirmed the identity. It was at this stage of the interception that we started to receive gunfire from the enemy and |
