Attacked By the Navy

Heroes Remember

Attacked By the Navy

Transcript

When we were at Jessore, we had one bombing trip. I know it was a port off the China Sea. I can’t remember the name, and we could see the anti-aircraft bursts from the ground. And you sort of have a funny feeling because, if they’re going to hit you, it’s from underneath and in my turret, I had the glass floor and the glass thing around so I had a good view of the anti-aircraft fire but they didn’t come anywhere near us. Actually the closest we came to getting shot down was with our own navy. One trip, we were told that we might come across the naval fleet. They were preparing for the invasion of Malaya, and they were out for manoeuvres. And they said, “You might meet them.” They said, “Be careful. Make sure that you reply to their challenge." So, we were ready to reply and all of a sudden, I have a, I forget what the colours were, the flares come up. They challenged us for identification - never had a chance to reply. We couldn’t shoot that [inaudible] pistol out to reply. They started shooting, but it was, oh, I’d say, about a mile in front of us. We were very low. We were about a 1,000 feet underneath, under the cloud, and I guess they couldn’t tell by the sound where we were. So they just shot straight up in the air and there was a lot of stuff that came up. So of course, we veered away, right away, to get away from that. But that’s the closest we ever came to getting shot down.

Description

Mr. Thomarat describes an unfortunate altercation with the navy

Armand E. Thomarat

Armand Thomarat was born on the 19th of February in 1922. His father was a carpenter and a highly decorated first World War Veteran who was awarded, among other medals, the Legion of Honor. Following in the footsteps of his father and four brothers, Mr. Thomarat joined the army in 1941. After serving briefly as a clerk, he transferred to the air force, becoming a bomb aimer and a gunner on the front turret. On long trips, he served as second navigator.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 1:49
Person Interviewed:: Armand E. Thomarat
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Burma
Battle/Campaign:: Burma
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 357 Squadron
Rank:: Flying Officer

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Attacked By the Navy

Heroes Remember