Dear Father,
I have seen the elephant! Last night, this morning I suppose it is, we struck at the city of Leipzig. We are all safe and Reggie Barnyard claims a Junkers destroyed (modestly calling it beginners luck) and Gosling a Messerschmitt damaged over the target.
I'm too excited to sleep after this fist "trip" but too tired to write much either I think. I have an awful headache from the engine noise and the chaps are being noisy outside my room relating to each other the (exaggerated) tales of their skill and derring do (and trying to pretend we weren't all wetting ourselves with terror or bored witless staring at inky blackness searching for the telltale spark, or gleam, or shadow that might betray a nightfighter coming in to attack.
Barnyard's Hun tried it on as we approached the target and though he had a free shot at us before we spotted him, somehow he missed us. Maybe he was as green as we were. Barney got him on his second pass by spraying the whole sky with bullets and getting very lucky. Getting shot at by Jerry in the air wasn't as frightening somehow as getting coned in searchlights and flaked. Shrapnel pinged around and my beautiful aeroplane got a little perforated — but none of us did thankfully and I was able to keep her steady enough for Sgt Ashley to land his bombs on the markers.
I must close, as you can probably tell from the handwriting I'm shaking too hard to write legibly. Love to Mother and Hetty, and do tell them not to worry. This is a good crew and they'll look after me.
Cheerio
Kit