Shortly afterwards I approached an Armoured Car patrol and prepared to make a forced landing. As another attack was then being made on me I did not notice the speed and let down flaps but touched down at 200 mph safely. I left my parachute in the cockpit and ran towards the nearest Armoured Car a quarter of a mile away. The attacking aircraft turned and dived at me, but received fire from an armoured car and turned onto it without firing at me.
I reached the nearest Armoured Car (Forward
Patrol 12th Lancers, 1st Armoured Division) and watched enemy aircraft driven off by fire from the patrol and also two Hurricanes which dived on them from the east. As enemy tanks were now hull up, less than one mile to the west, the Armoured Car in which I was received permission by R/T to return me forthwith to Sidi Azeiz. Thereupon we withdrew 3 miles before brewing tea and arrived at Sidi Azeiz at 1000 hours, where I was able to communicate my tactical reconnaissance observations to Corps Headquarters.
The enemy aircraft appeared to be Me 109Fs of a uniform silvery colour except for wingtips, shaded off to resemble square cut 109Es. The pilots were seemingly inexperienced and did not make the most of their numerical superiority: every time I turned towards one aircraft I saw two and often three close together which simplified evasion.”
By the end of the month, quite the heaviest for casualties so far, eight aircraft had been seriously damaged, eight destroyed with two pilots injured and three missing.
On 21st June
the enemy had taken Tobruk and were moving towards Maddalena. Our own troops were forced to retire to complete the El Alamein line which was being approached by the enemy’s armoured divisions. Once more however the front stabilised and the Squadron, now under the control of 13 Corps, settled down at Heliopolis,tented camp, carrying out reconnaissance flights along the El Alamein line. On 12th July it moved to Wadi Natrun (LG 100) with an advanced flight at Burgh El Arab (LG 39). During this month the Squadron’s reconnaissance commitments were reduced
