I was greatly interested to read the abovementioned feature in The Malta Independent as I am a war veteran. At that time I was in the army, stationed at St Paul’s Bay coastal defence.

The sentence that hit me hard was “On one occasion he even shot down five enemy planes in one day.” I suppose that this “one day” was taken from the records. I saw the actual act taking place at about 10am when a number of Junkers bombers escorted by squadrons of five Messershmits came for an attack on Ta’Qali Airdrome passing over St Paul’s Bay. Lots of people came out in the streets to watch the drama.

After the bombers came the squadrons of German fighters. As soon as a squadron was over St Paul’s Bay, a Spitfire fighter swooped down from the sky onto the German fighters. Two short bursts of gunfire and two German fighters crashed to earth. The Spitfires kept going down below the German fighters and then, turning up, shot another Messershmit. That left the German squadron with only two planes.

Here the Spitfire played one of her famous aerobatic tricks. He wanted to let the Germans get forward while he remained behind. He did the trick known as the “Falling Leaf”. Here the Maltese started pitying the Spitfire thinking he was falling down.

I knew the trick and shouted he was not falling down. In fact, after some seconds, the Spitfire revved his engine, approached the German from below, a short burst of gunfire and another German went down.

The remaining German fighter, finding himself alone, just turned tail, swooped down to get more speed and let it out to sea back home

But the Spitfire followed him over the sea zigzagging all the way to avoid the German rear gun. Notwithstanding this zigzagging, the Spitfire reached the German before the horizon, gave him a short burst of 20mm cannon fire and raised a column of water which we could see from the shore.

Then the Spitfire came back at sea level. When he reached the coast it climbed high, doing the Victory Roll and continued to reach his friends over Ta’Qali to attack what was left of the Germans. The day and time of attack could be taken from the war records. I think this, the exact description of what that Canadian – “Screwball” George Beurling – did that day; in just less than half-an-hour, not a day. He deserved several D.S.O’s. He was really a “Screwball”, but a very cunning and able one.

Joseph S. Ellul

Zurrieq