Slept pretty late, then unpacked again and got set for another trucking
mission. Took off at 1645, this time for Lille, France. Had quite a time picking up the field as it was getting dark and there was haze and a ground fog. Had to circle a while so they could land some fighters
and it was really bad when we tried to come in. There was some damn Limie in the control and he was shooting flares in the middle of the field instead of at the touchdown point. We made several passes at the field before we found the runway - boy, it was great to be down
on the ground. There were still two planes up, so everyone lined up
along the runway shooting flares. The last one in landed too hot and
went off the end and snapped off the nose wheel. About 2330 we saw
a plane trying to land, but he couldn't make the runway. He had one
engine out to begin with and it seemed the other quit as he was circling. He landed in an open field that had been bombed and just bounced from one crater to another. We saw a lot of flame and went over there and it was a Mosquito and pieces were strewn out for about a quarter of a mile, but both men got out. One walked away and the other didn't seem to be hurt too badly. One engine that had been torn from the fuselage had done all the burning. There was a piece of the instrument panel lying on the ground with the gyros still spinning. It's really a miracle how they ever got out alive. Went back to the ship and bedded down soon after that. R/T call is "Javelin".