Mr. Smith describes his frightening ejection from his Spitfire and the experience of parachuting for the first time.
Shot Down and Rescued (Part 3 of 3 )
Mr. Smith describes nearly drowning before manually blowing up his Mae West ( life jacket ), and being rescued by a Maltese fisherman.
Allied Fighter Superiority
Mr. Smith describes the superiority of Allied aircraft and fighter pilots as attrition decimated the German Luftwaffe.
Prelude to Normandy
Mr. Smith describes the mass of ships and landing craft he saw while flying over Solway Firth and seeing gliders being towed toward France. These events presaged the Normandy invasion.
First D-Day Operation
Mr. Smith describes seeing the Allied naval barrage at Normandy and chasing four ME-109's away from the combat zone.
Killing a Focke-Wulf 190
Mr. Smith describes attacking a Focke-Wulf 190 and seeing its pilot eject, burning, from his flaming cockpit.
Strafing an Enemy Troop Truck
Mr. Smith describes strafing an enemy troop truck and its occupants, and being sickened by the experience
The Deathly Silence I’d Heard About
Mr. Smith describes the explosion of two buzz bombs near the hotel where he was spending his leave in London.
Killing ME-109's at Nijmegen
Mr. Smith describes two air actions over Nijmegen where heavy losses were inflicted on German fighter patrols.
A Marvellous Thing Aerodynamically
Mr. Smith describes his Squadron’s encounter with a new ME-262 jet fighter, and how it was shot down.