Returning from forays inland, three Messerschmitt fighters dived out of a formation yesterday to machine-gun three trawlers off the south-east coast. Then they attempt. ed to attack a balloon barrage, but were driven off by anti-aircraft fre. The trawlers, which began to zigzag when attacked, carried on.
A few minutes after it had machinegunned the streets of an Essex town, a German Dornier was shot down by Hurricanes, who were returning from patrol over the North Sea.
"The German pilot tried dodging in and out of a cloud, but several Hurricanes got in bursts of machine-gun fire, and the Dornier crashed 20 miles away near a searchlight post, One of the Hurricane pilots who had helped to shoot dows the raider landed near the place and was congratulated by the searchlight crew, who had taken four of the German airmen prisoners.
The searchlight men were surprised at the size of the pilot. Standing only four feet three inches, he is said to be one of the smallest pilots in the RAF.
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