The Wings of Pegasus by George Chatteron

The second story concerns a Halifax horse accommodation that was intercepted again by

condors and the glider forced to cast off a ditch about 140 miles west of Cape Finnistair.

The three man crew, Sargent's Antonopoulos, Hall and Conway, were adrift in a small

rubber dinghy for eleven nights and days, but their spirit never failed, despite extraordinary

observations. Antonopoulos narrates their experience quite simply, here is his story

in his own words. The first few hours after the attack, we were too occupied to give much

thought to the series of incidents which had led to our being in a dinghy buffeted by a

rough swell, 140 miles west of Cape Finnistair. For two of us, Dennis Hall and myself, this

was a quasi-humorous repetition of a similar happening only a week previously when the

tow rope snapped and forced us to ditch in the same spot of the ocean, in the company of

Major Cooper, our squadron commander. This second time, two enemy planes, which we took

to be condors, had finally compelled the tug pilot to request us to cast off after a

gallant but hopeless struggle. During the fight, I did my utmost to assist the tug by following

the evasive twists and turns with all possible accuracy, while Hall in the co-pilot seat

was alert to every move and ready to take control in case of any failure on my part.

Once for the third man, Paddy Conway, he had apparently been rarerls from a quiet rest

while eating a Mars bar in the back of the glider. Good old Paddy. He dashed up and down

the length of the glider, giving us a running commentary on the fight and hits with appropriate

epithets and even going so far as to poke his rifle through one of the port holes.

The ditching went well and everyone acted as per drill, so much happening. The grabbing

of odds and ends, the box with the thermos flask, the ground sheet, the small have a sack,

...