Back and: forth the Sunderlands made their Journeys. On one trip 85 persons were carried safely in one fyingboat. whose normal maximum Yoads are 25 and 35. The pilots had to fly during the night and over land unknown to their crews. Nor was ting motorboat towards safety all the way from Athens laden with hundreds of gallons of valuable petrol. He travelled at night hu coast of Greece and hiding his bot with blankets during the day, from prying German aircraft, Aboard with him were two nursing sisters who had been rescued from Athens by thres British and one Greek airmen, The squadron leader fitted out the with four machine-guns which he had found Ju Athens and a wireless set which kept him in touch with his base, One night "he spent doing ferry work taking passengers board a Sunderland, He then went fon his way leaving' the two nurses safe aboard the flying-boat. advised him by radio to leave the petrol ship behind," his command. ing amicer said, "as T thought the job dangerous enotigh without having all that petrol on the deck, but the squadron leader said he was going bring tt back and being it back he Than there is the Blenheim Aghter which was shot up on. the ground at a ruined aerodrome. The tail, wheel had gone and the rumpled rudder rested on the ground. A. pilot, an American who had enlisted as a1 Canadian, clamber ed into the cockpit and slarted the engines while another pilot found a wheeled trolley and pushed it under the damaged tail, and as the aircraft gathered speed he chased down the Tunway Keeping the trolley in poslton until the tail was in the alr. 'The plane got back, was repaired and flew day and night' in defence of British convoy their work Gnished when the alr-craft were brought back safely to their bases. During daylight they had to make normal reconnaissance their most important work during this precarious manquvre. Having ttle food and perhaps on hour's sleep before taking off, the pilots and crews had to set off again on their return from prolonged flights over the Mediterranean. Some of the men had less than six hours' sleep jin as many days and nights on end.
'A Sunderland was refuelling off 'Athens when it was attacked by five 'JUB8's. 'The latter carried out seven attacks. During the third the Sunderland and' its refuelling tender were set on fire. Despite the flames the crew remained at their post. Two of the centre gunners, one of whom could not swim, blazed away at the enemy in the ' direction of Stuka, bringing down one of their planes which crashed into the sea. They continued to fire at the attackers until the flying-boat was a mass of flames and had foundered beneath them. The crew then made for the shore, the second pilot towing towards safety a non-swimmer who kept himself afloat with his life jacket.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.