We were picked up by a Me-110 over the Dutch coast. I don't know why the pilot didn't take his time and aim carefully, because the first we knew he was there was when tracers came flying up past our wing. I took evasive action and he never got another shot.
Further over the Netherlands, another Me-110 found us, but this one did the job right. Shells slammed into the starboard wing, taking out the #3 engine immediately, and puncturing the outboard petrol tank. Again I took evasive action, and although we took some superficial damage, nothing more serious was hit.
But it was enough. Newton figured that if we continued, he'd need to shut the #4 engine down on the return as we were leaving Germany. Flying across the Netherlands on two engines seemed like it would be tempting fate, so I jettisoned our load and aborted the mission. As it was, the #4 engine ran out of petrol over the channel and I couldn't maintain our altitude, but by then we were out of the Luftwaffe's reach.
F/Lt Jozef Petkov
Pilot, Frenesi
September 15, 1944
37 Peckham Damage Points