Raid on the Calais gun
The Vancouver Sun, 22 June 1940 · The Calais raid, June 1940
Canadian Flier Leads Deadly Dive-Bombing Raid On German Long-Range Gun Emplacements at Calais
LONDON, June 22.—Bombers of the Fleet Air Arm, striking at German military preparations in French Channel ports apparently for forthcoming attacks on England, raided the key harbor of Calais Friday—led by a young Canadian airman—and blasted important gun emplacements.
Britain thus took the initiative in striking at enemy points where the Germans may be establishing bases from which they might be expected to attempt any planned invasion of Britain.
The “successful attacks” on the Calais guns—with a range of 30 miles or more and pointing at this island across 22 miles of the Channel — were carried out at about the same time that Royal Air Force fliers dropped more than 400 incendiary bombs on the German-held airdrome at Rouen, France.
The Canadian aviator, whose name was not given, dropped his bombs on Calais gun positions and then circled around, photographing the rest of the attack. He brought back vivid pictures of devastation caused by many direct hits.
The same Canadian discovered and photographed the German gun emplacement on a previous reconnaissance when he flew at less than 1000 feet. German gunfire then was so heavy he only brought his machine home by great skill. One wing was shattered and collapsing, the fuselage riddled and the gas tank split.
A pom-pom shell wounded his navigator.
He made a forced landing at a south coast airdrome. Friday he got his revenge.
The Air Ministry said the naval bombers, protected by Hurricane fighters, “swept down on the target at Calais in three waves, dive-bombing in the face of tremendous fire.”
One British plane was hit and downed in the sea.
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