The first German night-fighter surprised us over the Netherlands. Haas, our mid-upper gunner, drove it off before it could do any damage. The next one, not much later, was a surprise, too. It managed to hole both wings and put Haas on back-up oxygen before I was able to shake it off. We were well over Germany when Fitzgerald spotted (finally!) a third one trying to sneak up on us. As I twisted Akaste this way and that, Haas got off a good long burst that set one of its engines alight.
Searchlights coned us over the target, which attracted flak and a single-engined fighter, neither of which did us any harm. Geist expects the photo will show he was spot-on the TI's.
I thought we were home free, but Fitzgerald spotted our fourth night-fighter of the evening on our way back over the Netherlands. This one was a better shot than the others, chewing up the starboard rudder and cutting its control cables, along with hitting both wings, before I got us away.
All in all, a successful outing.
Pilot Officer Leo Feldman
Pilot, Akaste
January 22, 1944
63 Peckham Damage Points