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OFFICERS' MESS,
My dearest Mum, I am glad you're getting away for a time, I'm sure it will help a lot. What news I have for you is peculiar and fairly mixed. First, I've had another forced landing, in that, whilst diving through clouds at 300 m.p.h. the other day, my propeller blades suddenly flew off the boss! However thanks to the high speed and the grace of God I 'made' the aerodrome O.K., and put it down without breaking anything. Luckily, too, I had managed to throttle back the engine before it got too high revs, so it didn't seize, and Harker of Rolls was at Wittering when I arrived. He was very pleased, as they've had four other cases, and in each case the engine had seized, so that a 'war' was going on between Rolls and the airscrew makers. This, of course, wins the war for Rolls! The war was about which had failed first, the engine or the airscrew. Other flying news is that I broke my own personal height record by going up to 32,500' the other day, and staying there for half an hour. I was so cold up there that I exceeded 500 m.p.h. on the dive down! Dick has broken three aircraft in the last fortnight, one with a collapsed under-carriage, one on its back, and one bent wing tip while landing. All carelessness, too! We've just had a day and night of concentrated operations. I was on duty solidly except for 1½ hour's sleep at about 2 a.m., & 2 hours sleep at about 5 p.m., from half past six on Thursday evening, having been on normal working hours before, until half past nine on Friday night, and was I tired! Awful it was. Rangi, I'm sorry to say, has not yet been married, as I couldn't get down to the bloke's place without a car and he couldn't collect me owing to his sister arriving back from the South of France suddenly. I'm afraid it's getting a bit late, too, so that he may not mate at all this year. I'm not sorry to hear that Nausea has gone. I never thought much of her, and after some of the cheek she gave you, I didn't think anything of her at all. Must go now, so please give my love to all down South, Ormiston & Fortiter I mean not the whole of Surrey! Best love, Ever your loving Derek. |