Читать книгу Remembering D-day: Personal Histories of Everyday Heroes - Martin Bowman - Страница 63

Spitfire IX pilot, 317 ‘City of Wilno’ (Polish) Squadron, which flew four separate patrols over the invasion beaches.

‘We must have been amongst the first fighter aircraft over the beachhead as dawn was just breaking upon our arrival. The invasion armada was enormous. Most of the landing craft were still heading towards the beaches. It really was quite a spectacle. There was flak everywhere though, mostly from the fleet, and that was quite frightening. Watching the start of Europe’s liberation was a fantastic experience, particularly the naval bombardment. You could see the guns fire and the shells landing on the coastline, getting further inland the more our troops advanced. It was amazing.’