"The smoke from innumerable fires in Dunkirk and other French coast towns was terrific about that time. A fellow pilot described it as being like a gigantic piece of dirty cotton wool lying right across the seashore, following the coast down the Channel as far as he could see, even from two or three miles up. There were times when we found that same smoke of great assistance in outwitting enemy fighters.
"One of our squadron, for instance, used up all his ammunition in shooting down two Messerschmitt 110's one day and found himself being chased by two more.
"Without ammunition he could do nothing, so he dived into the smoke over Dunkirk. He emerged above the smoke a few miles away and there the Messerschmitts were still waiting for him.
"They simply stuck above the smoke waiting for him to emerge, a victim for their guns. "But he outwitted them by diving-back into the smoke and was able to slip away Home, only to be off again into battle the same evening.
"We were stationed in France eleven days. I remember' that when we went away the roses were in bud; and when we came back they were in full bloom. In between, we'd had eleven glorious days of action."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.