Spitfire Across The Atlantic

On December 24, 1943, Flt Lt J. Storey was briefed to cover Crossbow sites in the Calais-Abbeville areas. He was airborne at 11 a.m. and set course for the French coast, passing over London at 15,000 feet. 50 miles before reaching the objective, he was warned by noisy oscillations in his earphones that the German anti-aircraft battery had caught him in the radar beam. To conserve fuel, he began a gradual climb up through 40,000 feet and levelled off at 41,500 feet. Over the objective, he took photos of everything on his list of objectives and then turned home.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 05 March 2024
Publisher: Fonthill Media Ltd

On the morning of December 24, 1943, 542 Squadron's intelligence officer briefed Flt Lt J. Storey on the task of covering Crossbow sites in the Calais-Abbeville areas. Flt Lt Storey was airborne at 11 a.m. and set course in his Spitfire for the French coast, passing over London at an altitude of 15,000 feet. The weather over the Channel was perfect, so he leveled off and proceeded to Dunkirk, then set course for Abbeville. Approximately 50 miles before reaching his objective, noisy oscillations in his earphones alerted him to the fact that his aircraft had been caught in the radar beam used by the German anti-aircraft battery to direct fire. Occasionally, he rolled the Spitfire up on its side to check beneath him. To conserve fuel, he began a gradual climb up to 40,000 feet and leveled off at 41,500 feet. Over the objective, he lined up the aircraft and began his runs, taking photos of everything on his list of objectives. Unmolested by flak, he spent as much time over the objective as possible and then turned home.

As Flt Lt Storey was flying over the North Sea, he was unaware that a special trip was waiting for him in the not-too-distant future.

Weight: 482g
Dimension: 164 x 243 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781781553572