Document-23.  


BOBHSOC

Text of Charles Gardner's BBC Broadcast
Dover - July 14th 1940

The Germans are dive-bombing a convoy out at sea; there are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven German dive-bombers, Junkers 87s. There’s one going down on its target now — Bomb! No! he missed the ships, it hasn’t hit a single ship — there are about ten ships in the convoy, but he hasn’t hit a single one and — There, you can hear our anti-aircraft going at them now. There are one, two, three, four, five, six — there are about ten German machines dive-bombing the British convoy, which is just out to sea in the Channel. 

I can’t see anything. No! We thought he had got a German one at the top then, but now the British fighters are coming up. Here they come. The Germans are coming in an absolute steep dive, and you can see their bombs actually leave the machines and come into the water. You can hear our guns going like anything now. I am looking round now. I can hear machine gunfire, but I can’t see our Spitfires. They must be somewhere there. Oh! Here’s one coming down. 

There’s one going down in flames. Somebody’s hit a German and he’s coming down with a long streak — coming down completely out of control — a long streak of smoke — and now a man’s baled out by parachute. The pilot’s baled out by parachute. He’s a Junkers 87, and he’s going slap into the sea — and there he goes. SMASH! A terrific column of water and there was a Junkers 87. Only one man got out by parachute, so presumably there was only a crew of one in it. 
This Ju87 that Charles Gardner described was in fact a Hurricane and the pilot baling out was actually Pilot Officer M Mudie who was later picked up by the Navy, but he died the next day of his injuries. 

Now, then, oh, there’s a terrific mix-up over the Channel !! It’s impossible to tell which are our machines and which are Germans. There was one definitely down in this battle and there’s a fight going on. There’s a fight going on, and you can hear the little rattles of machine gun bullets. Grump! That was a bomb, as you may imagine. Here comes one Spitfire. There’s a little burst. There’s another bomb dropping. Yes. It has dropped. It has missed the convoy. You know, they haven’t hit the convoy in all this. The sky is absolutely patterned with bursts of anti-aircraft fire, and the sea is covered with smoke where the bombs have burst, but as far as I can see there is not one single ship hit, and there is definitely one German machine down. And I am looking across the sea now. I can see the little white dot of parachute as the German pilot is floating down towards the spot where his machine crashed with such a big fountain of water about two minutes ago. 

Well, now, everything is peaceful again for the moment. The Germans, who came over in about twenty or twenty-five dive-bombers, delivered their attack on the convoy, and I think they made off as quickly as they came. Oh yes, I can see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten Germans haring back towards France now for all they can go — and here are our Spitfires coming after them. There’s going to be a big fight, I think, out there, but it will be too far away for us to see. Of course, there are a lot more German machines up there. [Can you see, Cyril?’] Yes, there are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven on the top layer, one, two, three — there’s two layers of German machines. They are all, I think, I could not swear to it, but they were all Junkers 87’s. 

[There are two more parachutists? 
No, I think they are seagulls.] 
You can hear the anti-aircraft bursts still going. 
Well, that was a really hot little engagement while it lasted. 

No damage done, except to the Germans, who lost one machine and the German pilot, who is still on the end of his parachute, though appreciably nearer the sea than he was. I can see no boat going out to pick him up, so he’ll probably have a long swim ashore.  

Well, that was a very unsuccessful attack on the convoy, I must say. 

Oh, there’s another fight going on, away up, now — I think about 20, 25, or even 30,000 feet above our heads, and I can’t see a thing of it. The anti-aircraft guns have put up one, two, three, four, five, six bursts, but I can’t see the aeroplanes. 
There we go again — [What?]. Oh, we have just hit a Messerschmitt. Oh, that was beautiful! He’s coming right down. I think it was definitely that burst got him. Yes, he’s come down. You hear those crowds? He’s finished! Oh, he’s coming down like a rocket now. An absolutely steep dive. Let us move round so we can watch him a bit more. Here he comes, down in a steep dive — the Messerschmitt. [Looking for a parachute?] No, no, the pilots not getting out of that one. He’s being followed down. What, there are two more Messerschmitts up there? I think they are all right. No — that man’s finished. He’s going down from about 10,000, oh, 20,000 to about 2,000 feet, and he’s going straight down — he’s not stopping. I think that’s another German machine that’s definitely put paid to. I don’t think we shall actually see him crash, because he’s going into a bank of cloud. He’s smoking now. I can see smoke, although we cannot count that a definite victory because I did not see him crash. He’s gone behind a hill. He looked certainly out of control. 

Now we are looking up to the anti-aircraft guns. There’s another! There’s another Messerschmitt. I don’t know whether he’s down or whether he’s trying to get out of the anti-aircraft fire, which is giving him a very hot time. There’s a Spitfire! Oh, there’s about four fighters up there, and I don’t know what they are doing. One, two, three, four, five fighters fighting right over our heads. Now there’s one coming right down on the tail of what I think is a Messerschmitt and I think it’s a Spitfire behind him. Oh, darn! They’ve turned away and I can’t see. I can’t see. Where’s one crashing? No, I think he’s pulled out. 
You can’t watch these fights very coherently for long. You just see about four twirling machines, you just hear little bursts of machine-gunning, and by the time you’ve picked up the machines they’ve gone. Hullo, there are one, two, three; and look, there’s a dog fight going on up there — there are four, five, six machines wheeling and turning around. Now — hark at the machine guns going! Hark! one, two, three, four, five, six; now there’s something coming right down on the tail of another. Here they come; yes, they are being chased home — and how they are being chased home! There are three Spitfires chasing three Messerschmitts now. Oh, boy! Look at them going! Oh, look how the Messerschmitts! — Oh boy! that was really grand! There’s a Spitfire behind the first two. He will get them. Oh, yes. Oh, boy! I’ve never seen anything so good as this. The R.A.F. fighters have really got these boys taped. Our machine is catching up the Messerschmitt now. He’s catching it up! He’s got the legs of it, you know. Now right in the sights. 
Go on, George! You’ve got him! Bomb — bomb. No, no, the distance is a bit deceptive from here. You can’t tell, but I think something definitely is going to happen to that first Messerschmitt. Oh yes — just a moment — I think I wouldn’t like to be in that first Messerschmitt. I think he’s got him. Yes? Machine guns are going like anything. No, there’s another fight going on. No, they’ve chased him right out to sea. I can’t see, but I think the odds would be certainly on that first Messerschmitt catching it. [Oh, look!] Where? Where? I can’t see them at all. 
Just on the left of those black shots. See it? Oh, yes, oh yes, I see it. Yes, they’ve got him down, too. I can’t see. Yes, he’s pulled away from him. Yes, I think that first Messerschmitt has been crashed on the coast of France all right. 

CHARLES GARDNER, JULY 14, 1940


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