We took off into the cold clear winter skies over Lincoln and turned toward the North Sea. The flight over the dark waters was uneventful, our first encounter with Jerry occurring well into Germany. About 70 km out from Leipzig Sgt York spotted the exhaust flames of twin engine AC approaching from behind and below. He opened fire, scoring some damage and then I threw Belligerent Bulldog into a series of evasive maneuvers. My efforts were to no avail, Jerry hitting with both his main and rear guns, damaging the starboard tailplane root and rendering the port flap inoperable, as well as peppering Belligerent Bulldog. As the Me 110 came in for another pass James (Sgt Edgecombe) caught him in the sights of the mid upper turret. The EA burst into flame, the crew bailing out.
As we approached the target we could see fires from some of the preceding AC's bombs. Percy (Sgt York) was sharp tonight, catching sight of another Me 110 making a go for Belligerent Bulldog. Percy missed and I again put our trusty Lanc through her paces. Though Jerry persisted in his attacks, neither he nor we scored any hits. As the Tame Boar flew off the German searchlights criss-crossed in front of us but somehow failed to acquire Belligerent Bulldog. The Ack-Ack was light and ineffective and, with the aforementioned fires below, Arthur (W/O Thomas) managed to place at least 40% of our bombs on target.
Turning for home as the Huns concentrated on the next AC in line, we encountered no further enemy units. The landing at Lincoln was thankfully uneventful. The maintenance boys say they'll have Belligerent Bulldog patched up and ready to fly by tomorrow.
F/O James Tewsbury, Commanding
Belligerent Bulldog