for me to pick out the Plough and Polaris, and I was heading north. Throttling back for maximum economic cruising conditions I did a 180° turn as judged from the star and my DI. I called base again and reported my predicament. Then followed a series of calls for radio fixes from which I was able to deduce a more accurate heading and set my DI accordingly. It seemed ages before lights on the North German coastal islands came into view through the bits of cloud below. Another fix, coupled with my sighting of the coastline, told me which way, visually, to head for base. The distinctive lights of Wilhelmshaven soon showed up - a blessed relief. I called base again, stated my position, descended, and came in to land. I had only been airborne for 30 minutes but it had seemed like an age. A check of the aircraft revealed that the compass was u/s and the DI suspect. Both instruments were changed, the compass swung, deviation card updated, and the aircraft declared serviceable again.
With the incident of the night behind me I was, next day, detailed for Battle Flight duty.3 We were scrambled three times. On the first sortie I flew the spare aircraft and scrambled as ordered but then broke away at 10,000 feet for a 25 minute solo aerobatic sortie.
It was during this sortie that there was a very strong westerly jet stream at altitude. Realising this, and knowing that the briefed wind speed was greatly in excess of a Vampire's stalling speed, I carried out an experiment. I found that if I reduced speed to just above the stall, with lowered undercarriage and flaps, I actually flew backwards over Wilhelmshaven. Slowly, certainly, but I actually flew with a negative ground speed. This must have been done many times before in early stick and string aircraft, but to have done it in a jet gave me a degree of personal satisfaction.4
The next sorties, of 40 minutes duration each, involved practice attacks on 'Bogies' picked out for us by the GCI Radar Controller.5
That same day we were told officially that we had won the Duncan Trophy. Squadron Leader Allen threw a celebratory party at his house that night, at which, as a member of 'B' Fight, the lowest scoring flight, we had to pay for the drinks during the first part of the evening. The Boss's house was the first on the left just outside the Guardroom on the married patch. It was larger than average, one of its rooms having been, in Luftwaffe days, some sort of control room. As such it was big enough for the Boss to be able to entertain all his Squadron pilots without too much disruption to the domestic scene.
With the award of the Duncan Trophy it was standard ritual that a Presentation Parade was called for. The first rehearsal (of many) for this followed the Station Commander's Parade next (Saturday) morning. With flurries of snow about, and a stiff breeze which swept the unprotected parade ground clear, it was essential to dress to protect oneself from the conditions. Parades meant a lot of standing still, either 'At Ease' or 'To Attention', with comparatively little marching. Harsh winter weather, in these circumstances, would soon penetrate through a greatcoat and other clothing. On very bad days - and there would be quite a few - when we were either rehearsing for a parade or actually on parade (virtually the same thing) further protection was necessary for one's personal comfort. Layers of underclothing could be used to good effect but I always chose another method. That was to cut out a waistcoat from thick brown paper and put it on over my vest and under my shirt and pullover. This was very effective in keeping the wind out and the
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3 Battle Flight aircraft were always fully armed. They were used as the first response in the event of a hostile attack.
4 I have to be careful here. This may not have been the actual date, but I certainly achieved this at this time of year, and this appears, from my Log Book, to have been the only opportunity when it could have taken place.
5 GCI = Ground Controlled Interception. GCI stations were radar sites monitoring the skies for potential enemy aircraft and at which the Intercept Controllers were based. It was from these sites that Battle Flights received their instructions after being scrambled by Group.
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