Page 26 - July 2019

Ashfield's buddy was assigned to preside over the One steep turn got them out of that -- but it had been a
court of inquiry, flew his Auster all over England and close call by anybody's standards.
Western Europe gathering evidence ("He had a great
"The old girl didn't say anything," he recalled.
time," Ashfield noted), then exercised his powers to
exclude most of this evidence and acquitted his "She just took out a package of Life Savers and said, "Would
buddy. Another pilot showed off before his girlfriend you like one?"
by putting the little Auster-- against orders --into a Ashfield seems to have made a good impression. Not so
perfect loop. long after, he was tracked down by a female captain who
Landing, he spied an air force type and asked, "What was overseeing the repatriation of Canadian servicewomen
ya think of that?" and needed to travel.

"Technically, not bad," replied the airman. "but I'm Ashfield, who was not on flying duty that day, demurred.
Group Captain Such-and-Such and I want to see you "I'm not supposed to fly. You can check."
in the morning because you're one of my pilots." A "I did -- and I have the authority," she replied. "We're
sequel: the loop had damaged the Auster's main spar. going."

Ashfield had to fly it -- carefully -- to a maintenance "When?"
depot. There was mail to be flown between division
and corps headquarters and an amazing array of "Right now. Here and there and there," she said, laying out
a lengthy trip on a map.
people began classifying themselves as VIPS and
demanding flights. Ashfield figured it would take them about two weeks to
cover it.
"Finally, orders come down that nobody would fly
without authorization from G- 1 Army." "I don't even have a change of underwear," he protested.
One of the officers who got through was one who "It's all been arranged."
complained all the way to Oldenburg about how
"Why me?"
much he had done for the war effort, about the army
system that gave those serving overseas a certain "Because I've had you recommended to me."
number of points, with the highest scoring individuals
getting home first. Over and over the officer noted
that he had acquired 52 points. "How many have you The German equivalent of the Auster was the Fiesler Storch
("Stork") which "looked like a grasshopper, but despite its
got?" he asked Ashfield.
looks did a real job for the Germans".
"I said, '228, sir!', so he never said anything again."
Instead, despite a beautiful, sunny day, the grumbler
clutched the structure of the Auster as if Ashfield
would try to throw him out. "I was pretty happy to
get rid of him," Ashfield confided.
He also carried a senior woman officer -- or tried to.
The first day, the weather was bad. Ditto the second.

Talking over the situation on the third day, Ashfield
admitted, "I know I can get there: I just don't want
you to get hurt." The female officer was willing to
take her chances, and they were off -- in the little
Auster, which Ashfield remembers as being "well
equipped " for bad- weather flying, having a compass,
turn-and bank indicator and a "rickety" altimeter, and It had a 240- horsepower engine, compared with the 130-
nothing else. hp engines in the various Austers.
They got into a spin, got out of it, and then, "right in
front of me, the clouds broke and there was a forested
mountain".