COMBAT REPORT: 01:35 HOURS SEPTEMBER 12, 1941
“I saw an aircraft come out of the thin cloud about 3,000 feet below and to my left. With a height advantage, I closed rapidly at about 320 mph. It was a Heinkel He 111 shadowing the convoy. With a perfect attacking position, I closed to 600 yards and opened fire with my four cannons … and missed. The retarding effect of the cannon blast dropped the nose and my shots went low. The He 111 returned fire immediately, but the gunner’s aim was high. I opened fire again from above and dead astern, firing up the fuselage and across into the starboard engine, this time allowing for the retarding effect of the blast. The He 111 swerved to the right as the starboard engine stopped in a cloud of smoke.
THIS COMBAT REPORT FROM PILOT OFFICER KEN MACKENZIE DFC MAKES DRAMATIC READING, EVEN MORE SO WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT THIS WAS HAPPENING IN THE DARK!
I throttled back, ready for another attack, and gave another burst into the port engine. We were very near the sea by this time and, as I broke off from only about 200 yards, bits and pieces broke off the raider; some hit my aircraft and tore the fabric in the fuselage behind the
