Читать книгу Remembering D-day: Personal Histories of Everyday Heroes - Martin Bowman - Страница 56

RAF bomb aimer, 218 Squadron.

‘In April 1944 we attacked three targets in France and then began training to use a new type of G called GH. This would enable the navigator to direct the pilot to fly to within a few yards of a position on the ground to allow bombs to be dropped blind. We practised during May using Lincoln cathedral as our target and taking photographs to record the results. This work continued in the first week of June and then on 5 June we took part in Operation Glimmer to simulate a naval attack on the Pas-de-Calais area in order to deceive the Germans into believing that the D-Day landings were there and not Normandy. This was achieved by flying a progressive square search pattern between Newhaven and Boulogne, dropping Window continuously. The plan was successful and we shared the task with 617 Dam Busters Squadron with additional crew members to ensure that a continual dropping of the packets of Window was maintained. I understood that no aircraft were lost during this risky operation. We returned to Woolfox Lodge after five hours 15 minutes of demanding flying. After the usual breakfast we slept for a few hours and awoke to find out on the 1 p.m. news that today, 6 June, was D-Day and the landings in Normandy had begun. In my diary I noted that it was cold and miserable at home.’