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Death at Daybreak – A Kiwi goes to war in a Hawker Tempest

An exceedingly rare color photo of a Tempest in its element, in this case, NV696 with Hawker test pilot Bill Humble in the cockpit. The photo was taken during a pre-delivery test flight from Langley on November 25, 1944. The next day the aircraft was delivered to 20MU Aston Down and later flew with 222 Sqn. (Photo courtesy of RAF Museum, rafmuseumphotos.com)

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Early morning darkness was total as we stumbled cursing from the mess at Uden in the Netherlands. It was the sort of darkness you can feel. The truck waiting to carry us to the airfield at Volkel had a shield over its headlights, and only a minimum of the muddy rutted road was dimly lit. This carriage way was the lifeline for the army as they moved their tanks and equipment to the Rhine front,...

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