Eric Spence, 52 Rifle Squadron, RAF Regiment

Contributed by
Mike Spence

During the raid of 22 May on Ramat David, we were at the time living in Tents. We were moved into the hangar when the raid started. I don’t recall a lot of the battle but remember Cpl. Farent shooting down a Spitfire with a bren gun. One other plane that was attempting a landing (I believe it may have been a Dakota) crashed and I was ordered with another airman to go retrieve the people on the plane. There were fires and bullets flying all around. We loaded up the four people and I was looking for the quickest and safest retreat to the hospital. It so happened that route was straight down the runway, an absolute no-no. I guess no one saw us or also thought it was the best route as we did not get in trouble for it. We found out at the hospital that all four persons on the plane were dead, and the next day we had to transport the bodies to the morgue atRamat St David Hospital.

Eric Spence

A.C. 2 ser # 2351375

52 Rifle Squadron, RAF Regiment