Captain Raymond P Burl SAAF

[HarryB]

I know this is very belated, but I have a newspaper article in my possession from the 1970s in South Africa in which Ray Burl is interviewed and he describes their attack on that Ju52 at the top of the list. His Spitfire Mk.V took damage from return fire from one of the Ju52s in that flight and they had to break the attack off. Quoting directly:

(Weekend Argus Magazine :Supplement to Weekend Argus - May 14, 1977)

TO the air crews in a formation of Junkers 52s, droning their way above the shimmering Aegean on a brilliant afternoon in September 1943, the realities of war must have seemed far away indeed. The formation was on its way from the German-held island of Rhodes to the occupied mainland of Greece. As far as the air-crews were concerned, they were safer than they would have been flying across the Fatherland. All the islands of the Dodecanese were under Axis domination — at least that was probably their assumption — and this may have accounted for the fact that their escort of JU 88s was far ahead and hopelessly out of position to offer them protection.

Suddenly the tranquility of the afternoon was shattered as two Spitfire Mk Vs of 7 Squadron SAAF dived out of the sun and — guns blazing — fell upon the formation of ponderous transports. Flames and smoke erupted from one of the JU 52s, the stricken aircraft flipped abruptly and plunged to destruction in the sea. As the two Spitfires swept through the German formation, a fluke burst from a gunner in one of the Junkers raked the leading aircraft piloted by Lieutenant Ray Burl of Alice, Cape. Bullets smashed into the fuselage, damaging the Spitfire severely and put its radio out of action. Ray Burl had no alternative but to break off the engagement and Lieutenant Dennis 'Snoek' Fisher — flying as his number two — in turn had no option by to escort his side-kick's crippled aircraft back to base.


'If it had not been for a lucky burst by a German gunner that afternoon, I think "Snoek" and I could have shot down most of the JU 52s in that formation,' Ray Burl said at his home in Rondebosch this week. [ I don't know why this software insists on splitting my paragraphs into separate quotes]

My father in Law was also in 7Sq. with him.

Harry
Vancouver
CANADA