Sunday, 20 October 1940

RAF Tangmere

By the evening the weather is little better. It looks unpromising, but Farley is determined to help his stranded friend. Schneidau has no wireless transmitter and, having despatched his two pigeons, now has no means of contacting London.

Farley takes off at 22.00. F/Lt Keast estimates that Farley has fuel for a little more than 6 hours’ flying. The earliest he is expected to make contact is 02.15, with earliest return to base at 03.00.

France

Farley lands near Montigny at about 00.15 hours BST. He lands on the three-torch layout agreed with Schneidau beforehand. The format is a simplified version of the layout recommended in the RAF Army Cooperation manual. Farley would have known about it from his early service in two Army Cooperation squadrons.

While Schneidau clambers aboard, Farley will have re-set the flaps and tailplane for take-off; it would have been standard drill to reset the gyro-compass. Soon after they take off, Farley realises that the tailplane has somehow been damaged. He would have had to control the aircraft’s climb and descent on the throttle. Soon after takeoff there is a loud noise: Farley believes they have been fired on from below. The course-setting compass between Farley’s legs has been damaged. They make their way north-west. With distance the gyro (if still functioning) would have become more approximate, so they increasingly have to fly by the stars and the moon, now risen behind them. Farley has to climb above the thick blanket of cloud to keep the firmament in view, but once up there he has to fly on a low throttle to maintain level flight. It is also very economical on fuel, giving them a range much greater than normal. There is a strong south-westerly wind, but they have no way of telling how strong it is; it pushes their track to a more northerly direction.

RAF Tangmere and RNAS Ford

At 03.20 Keast and Schneidau’s escorting officer are told that a faint transmission has been received, but it is unintelligible. They hear nothing more. The weather is still poor, strong wind and heavy rain. Shortly after 4.15, they assume that the Lysander will have run out of fuel, and must have come down somewhere. They issue a signal to warn all airfields to look out for a Lysander, and at daybreak set about organising a search party. Three Blenheim crews, one of whom has just returned from a patrol, to take them up and search along the coast. They are still in the air when they are contacted by Tangmere control and informed that a Lysander has recently landed near Oban.

RAF Connel, Oban

Farley and Schneidau have continued northwards. The unbroken cloud beneath them gives no clue as to their position. As it starts to get light they guess they might be over the Frisian islands, but the sight of some hills leads them to conclude they are probably somewhere off the Irish coast. They decide to land as soon as possible after daylight. Shortly before 07.00 the Lysander runs out of fuel, and they aim for a level field. They realise, too late, that the field is studded with poles, a precaution against an enemy landing. Farley tells his passenger to get his head down in case one of the Lysander’s wings hits a pole and folds backwards above the rear cockpit.