Page 71 - Demo

69sticks of 3 bombs going off one above the other on the cliff, with the inevitable score %u201c30 yards short%u201d. Pretty, but no coconuts!Two days later my turn came. The first couple of runs were done by John, our Nav Radar, the professional bomb-aimer on board. %u201c30 yards short%u201d came up each time. John was the oldest man on our crew %u2013 he%u2019d joined the air force the same year I began infants%u2019 school. My turn came, and holding my breath I delayed pressing the button just for that fraction of a second, and was overjoyed when the score came in %u201cDead Hit%u201d! Next time round I was a few yards over, but still good.I was feeling at the top of my game!Then John said %u201cthose sound awfully loud for 25lb practice bombs%u201d, at which point our captain had a thought and said %u201cwhat%u2019s the safety distance for 25-pounders?%u201d %u201c470 feet%u201d came the answer. %u201cHow high is Filfla rock?%u201d was his next question. %u201c300 feet%u201d. %u201cSo we%u2019re only 200 feet above the bombs? We%u2019ve probably damaged the underside of the aircraft, we%u2019ll have to have it checked when we land.%u201d So my joy turned to dust, and my captain carefully told later that I was lucky there was no damage found. As if it was my idea to drop freefall bombs on that rock in the first place? But this does make me the only person I know to nearly bomb his own aircraft.Then a few days later, our CO decided we would have a party in the mess, and he would organise invitations to the (female) British nurses and teachers based on the island. There would be lots of women joining us! The party started, no women arrived, and after a while it began to look as if we%u2019d have to pair off with each other for dancing.Then the door opened, and three girls came in. The CO pounced on them straight away, as if it was his idea, and introduced them. Turned out they were air hostesses from Luton, who had heard that the RAF Officer%u2019s Mess might be a good place to find a party. The short end to this story is another Dead Hit: that I%u2019ve been married to one of these girls for 45 years now, so Exercise Sunspot produced a great result for me!Martin Johnson