Attacked by a 110 just off the coast of the Netherlands. His guns must have hit us a dozen times, but lucky for us, they were mostly superficial hits. Sgt Nash in the Mid-Upper gun fired a few spraying fire shots at the 110 before his gun jammed.
As we passed north of the Netherlands Sgt Nash reported his guns were still jammed. When we were just off the coast of Denmark, as I was about to turn towards Berlin, Sgt Nash's voice came onto the radio. "Sir, my guns are useless. Damaged beyond repair", he reported. I wasn't sure if I should continue my turn 180 degrees and head back home. It only took me a second to decide. "Men", I responded over the radio, "King George has given us a mission. We are in the air to deliver our bombs to the heart of the Third Reich. That's what we are going to do tonight. God save the king, and God watch over us tonight".
Someone must have been watching over us. We encountered no more resistance until we were almost to Berlin. Another 110 suprised us, but once again only did minor damage.
Over Berlin, a 110 tried to sneak up on us, but Sgt Humphrey in the Tail spotted him and chased the 110 off before he could fire his guns at us. We saw flak explode around us, but none came close to us. Pilot Officer Stallings took over the controls and guided us to the target. He delivered our cargo. It looked like about half of our bombs exploded in the target area.
Our flight home was quiet. No German fighters were spotted. Our landing was safe and uneventful.
Flight Officer Arthur Hampton
Pilot of Thunderbird