Chapter 13

They found the order at reception the following day. Report to Captain Silverman’s office at headquarters at 11am that day.

The four officers presented themselves to the WREN secretary who made a phone call then indicated for them to go through the door with the sign ‘Captain Silverman’ on it.

The four walked in and came to attention in front of the desk with their hats under their arms.

Captain Silverman was not in uniform but wearing grey slacks with an open neck shirt. He appeared to be around his mid-forties with a head of silver white hair. His face was lean and brown from the sunlight. He wore horn-rimmed spectacles. You were aware of being in the presence of a very intelligent person.

He looked and smiled. “Be at ease gentleman and grab yourselves a chair,” he remarked in a pleasant voice.

Once they were seated he began. “You must be wondering why I called for this meeting. By the way you can smoke if you wish. I’ve read the report of the raid that destroyed the Axis aircraft. But what I’m interested in is the reason for the various actions that you used before, during and after the raid which is not in the report.

“I understand that you, Captain Ramage, conducted a reconnaissance of the airbase with your patrol. Based on that reconnaissance you based your plan of attack.”

Shaun nodded “yes Sir.”

“Would you mind explaining the reason for your plans?”

Shaun took a deep breath before beginning. “First of all, owing to the distance to travel, a route had to be found that allowed a reasonable chance of not being discovered by the enemy. Secondly, we needed to establish the bases routine in regards to guard changes and aircraft flights. Also, enemy gun emplacements, radio office, and barracks.

“We spent 48 hours checking these aspects out. Thirdly was our escape plan once the mission was completed. It seemed obvious to me that if we tried to escape immediately after the attack we would be discovered due to the open terrain. Therefore I decided that we needed a place to hole up in until the heat was off so to speak. We located a spot further west at Wadi Al-Kuf. A cave we could put the trucks in and fortunately it contained a source of water. I decided that this would be ideal for creating a cache prior to the attack. When we were sure after nine days the enemy had lost interest in us we returned to base.”

The Captain had been making notes as Shaun spoke. He now looked up and smiled, “Thank you, Captain. Would you say your equipment was adequate for the mission?”

Shaun looked at the others and frowned. “The equipment we used was what we always use with the exception of the Browning .50 calibre machine guns. We had three of those on three of the trucks. The .50 Armour Piercing Incendiary round was probably the reason for the success in that it pierced the fuel tanks of the aircraft and the incendiary ignited the fuel.”