A Story of War

A recco plane vanishes with Blackall and Ritz, pupils, on board. A Blenheim is attacked four times by an ME 110 at Mosul and 6 109s are seen nearby in Northern Iraq. 5 go off to drop leaflets on Falluja, which requires no small skill, and the prisoners mail, addressed to postmaster there. Then last night I go up solo, 2.15 to 4.30, half asleep all the time, and having nothing to do but think of MEs landing by moonlight and the first light of dawn. Then yesterday I lead a formation to Rachid – Slack and Brown – but Slack cannot keep up and we go on alone. I miss my hangar but put 4 bombs through a house nearby, then overshoot with the next stick.

A Bombay arrives from Egypt with a load of Marmite. We wants guns here, not butter!

Today I do 2 half hour patrol and shoot up some derelict cars on the desert road out of Ramadi. I spot 17 lorries on the left bank of the Euphrates opposite the ferry pier at Ramadi, and the boys go out to bomb them. Then I see a car on Falluja Plain. It sees me too, stops, and out get the passengers, being in too much of a hurry to shut the doors. I front gun the car, and notice the passengers are Arabs with rifles. I give one long burst, and I see one man lying in the sand and his body vanishes under the dust spurts, but he gets up afterward and runs off. I go down on another, but the Vickers jams, and whilst clearing it, I think this game is hardly cricket, so push off home and leave them.