Daily Post - 02.10.1941, Side 2

DAILYPOST
Stalkiig a Black Sbape in the Sky
DAILY POST
is published by
Btaaahringnriim.
Editors: S. Benediktsson.
Sgt. J. I. McGhie.
Office: 12, Austurstræti, Tel.
3715, Reykjavík. Printed by
Alþýðuprentsmiðjan.
Thursday, Octobter 2, 1941
adí.
ICzechoslofakia
i -■ 1
In September 1938 while
Hitler was ranting in Nurn-
berg about his last territorial
demands in Europe and the
brutal oppression of Germans
by Czechs in Czechoslovakia, a
quarter of a million men and
women, including representa-
tives of the Sudeten Germans,
demonstrated in Prague their
will to resistance against Nazi
tyranny. Two weeks later they
were forced by powers beyond
their control to watch with
tears of bitter rage the Nazi
hordes goose-stepping ihto
their land. Five months later
they watched helpless and
alone while their countiry was
turned into a slave-state under
the Gestapo and an arsenal for
the Nazi war-machine. In spite
of their bitterness and despair
they have never ceased to re-
sist and have had few Quis-
lings. Today while the Czech
govemment in London has
formed a military alliance with
Britain and with the Soviet
Union; while Czech pilots are
in action against the Germans
in the West and a Czech army
is being formed in Russia, the
Czech armament workers, rail-
waymen, peasants and students
are fighting a heroic and des-
perate war against the enemy
in their own country. All the
most varied types of sabotage
and strikes are being used
against all the most vicious
forms of terrorism. The worker
who deliberately does bad
work for Hitler is as much a
soldier as the man in uniform
behind a gun. The political
weapon is of far greater im-
portance in this war than in
any previous one. A general
strike in the oppressed coun-
tries would end the war. To
produce it we shall have to
help to organise it and exert
our full strength against Hitler
in the field.
By a Night Fighter Pilot
...................
pOMltr
HALLO, — There’s an e n'emy planc in your vicinity, crossing coast at
going north.”
That message, as it comes through my earphone over the radio-telephone from grou*i
Control, is a trumpet call.
Control asks for my position, direction, speed and gives me a course.
Moving. to interqept, my gunnr
er and I eagerly await the next
message. Hene it aomes: “Ene-
my’s height 12X100. You ane no»w
ren miies behind. Steer 33 zeno.
Go flat out.“
Thrilled by the chase, wie bre-
athe 'Our oxygen a liftle faster.
Night fighters use it fnom the
time \ve leave the gnound. It
sharpens our senses. Besides, a
su'rprise call may take Us hurri-
edly into altitudes where v(e
should be helpless without oxy-
gen.
The moon is iin our favolur.
The Nazi is betrween us and its
silvery radianae.
If we don’t overshoot the mark
|we shall get him silh'ouetted
against the bright hoiizon; if
Control’s devices suoqessfully det-
ect all his evasive taeties; if I
an flymg dead aocurate by my
istmments.
STALKING THE ENEMY
The ifs of this supetbly organ-
ised >et appanently magical moon
game are innumerable. If any one
of many factors goes wrong
we shall lose our man.
Interminable seoonds pass.
Eyes axe strained watchrng the
luminous paint of my instruments
in an unlit cabin. We soour the
grey mass of horizon for that
first glimpse of a blurned speck,
líke a blackened match-sticik, fin-
ating in spaoe.
Gontnol calls: “Ten degress left
and he sbould be right in front'
of you, about 3,000 yards atway.“
Ten degnees left it is — black
Beaufighter cneeping up after
black homber.
Steady, steady, m ane getting
near. Must keep him bettween us
and that bright horizon. It’s not
so easy to get a “visual“ of him
His kite is matt black, no chanoe
of a moonbeam giving him away.
Then see a faint black smudge
a bit darker oouldn’t have seen
it a hundred yards off.on a bad
night, but visibility is good to-
night.
“Yes, that’s the blighter", I
whisper grimly to the gurener
Over our Inter-com. Strange, how
wie often whisper cneepimg up, as
if Jerry could hear!
“Bit cioser .... JU 87. Naw,
lit it go!"
TWO MEN FIGHTER TEAMS
The ciack of several guns qom-
es fnom our sturdy kite.
Tongues of flame squirt from
the Nazi iwhich appears to bneak
in twto. Dowtn he goes; no time
for baling out.
We have an anxious moment
as splinters of debris whizz past
us and I go into a dive to see
the flaming plaree dotwn.
Areother “kill“ apiece to us.
Night fighter pilot and gunner
share honours alike. We’ne the
tiwo-man team, the closest team
in the R. A. F. Each of us is
half the other, working for
that spl t-se ond iwhfin th» shofw
starts.
Take it fnom me that 95"/« of
Film Reviews
Rj “D«uj Pnit” cnttes
‘DRUMS ALONG THE
MOHAWK’
(Nýja Bíó)
Cast:—
Claudette Colbert
Henry Fonda
Edna May Oliver
Eddie Collins
John Carradine
Twentieth Century Fox.
Director — John Small.
ExcRing, skilfully dinected, •om
petently acted, beautiful setttog*
lon a lavish scale, this is a fli<st
class adventuhe drama.
Claudette Golbert, far fnom the
sophisticated socialite she
. ,, . -c • * . ^ , ally píays, pnoves hjer versatHfcy
our rught stuff ís team kwork, í , , ^
„..j _________ ^ ' and 0005 FstKB to a oostJumw
nole, but Henry Fondo is rather
stilted as the swashbuckling hen°.
Spectacular bartle sequenqtsare
the hightights of the film, wbicfr
and that also gœs for the Con-
tnol staff iwtho put us on the
mark.
We inseparables of the Beau-
fiighters and the Defiants don’t
chop and charege about. Westitek
together and get to knaw each
other inside out. Our mutual ad-
mdratiion is only equalled by the
way we rag each other.
“What the heck d’you think
you’re doing — hurdling?" isall
I get fnom my gunreer as I make
a fair landing along the flaree-
path after that shoot-up.
Hazard apari, I don’t exactly
enjoy night landing. I kreow ev-
erybody who may be on the
field, fnom the station oommand-
er downwards, is thete to watch
me in with appnopriate oomments.
RADIO NEWS
Thursday: Signals Ooncert
Pariy.
Friday: Special Anniversary
Programme.
Sunday: Studio Variety.
The price of the book by
Major Bratby on “Icelandic
Birds” is Kr. 2.
is superbly photograpabfid
in beautitoi techniqolour thnoug'
hoet ; [I
‘BEYOND TOMORROW’
11
(Gamla Bíói
Cast:—
Charles Winninger
Richard Carlson
C. Aubrey Smith
Jean ParkJer
Harry Carey
Helen Vin&on
Maria Ousenpouska
R.K.O. Radio,
Director — A. Edward
Sutherland.
,Unique and reovel in
this ölm is helped by
extnemely clever trick pitoto'
graphy and masteriy direct*on‘
There male ghosts netum fio®®
the beyond to straighten out tbe
pnoblems of a young man,
having found fame, strays a
from the straight and narnotMw
Wúh their help, he is finally
oonciled to his childho^d
heari.
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