The Spitfire
‘Scramble! '
‘Take the lead, Blue Leader, '
Spat the voice on the R/T,
While the ground crew pulled the chocks
Another plugged the battery,
Then the prop was turning over
And the Merlin roared to life
As the pilot, Michael Adams,
Kissed the picture of his wife!
They had only just been married
On a sudden 36,
They had just one night together
Then raced back to face the blitz,
She to work the board, the plotter,
He to fly, and do his best,
There were twelve of them together
Flying over Sheerness!
There were Dorniers and Junkers
Who were raiding from Beauvais,
There were Heinkel One-Elevens,
Also heading London's way,
Then the R/T sprang to life again
‘Blue Leader, change your course,
There are Stuka's bombing shipping
In the channel, off the coast! '
So the flight in V-formation
Turned to face the rabid Hun,
Climbed to 30,000 feet,
Were almost blinded by the sun,
But they ran into the Heinkels
And they peeled off and they dived,
And of thirty German bombers
Only seventeen survived.
Then the Messerschmitts arrived just like
A swarm of angry gnats,
And Michael had to loop and dive
To shake one off his back,
He pulled in close behind
A lagging Me 109,
Gave a seven second burst, and watched
The German hit the brine.
Jenny moved the counters as
Intelligence came in,
The Controller spoke in earnest
To the R/T microphone,
[...] Read more
poem by David Lewis Paget
Added by Poetry Lover
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