13 October 1944

[Wim de Meester]

Hello All

an almost impossible message from a war diary of the Ninth Brigade Highland Light Infantry which was part of the forces of operation "Switch Back" (to throw the germans out of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and free the Scheldt waterway to Antwerp).
For the date 13 October the following entries have been made:
1200 hours - A Spitfire is in pursuit of a Fw 190 over Biervliet. The German a/c had machinegunned the mainstreet of this place.
1210 hours - An enemy a/c had strafed ground targets near Driewegen (a hamlet 3 km west of Biervliet) and had also dropped two small bombs.

I realize that it is almost beyond imagination that german a/c could operate that far away from their base, especially during full daylight hours. Nevertheless the entries are there.
Who may have a reasonable explanation for this?

best regards