is published in the 1 August 1942 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, credited only to "an RAF pilot at present in this country for medical reasons." This marks the beginning of his writing career. 20 September Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Seversky B6, 7203, '16', of Flotilla 6 (F6), written off during landing at Karlsborg at 10:25 by neophyte pilot who attempts a go-around without applying power and stalls. Pilot G. B. H. Lindstrom killed, flight cadet A. G. Nystrom in the rear seat is severely injured. Aircraft stricken 22 October 1940. 29 September Avro Ansons, L9162 and N4876, of No. 2 Service Flying Training School RAAF (2 OTU RAAF) collide in mid-air becoming locked together. A successful emergency landing was made at Brocklesby, New South Wales. L9162 became a ground instructional airframe, while N4876 was repaired and returned to service. 30 September Two Messerschmitt Bf 109Es of II./JG 2 collide on take-off from Octeville, France, killing both pilots. Mid-October A hangar fire aboard HMS Illustrious, which damages or destroys several Fairey Swordfish, forces postponement of an attack on the Regia Marina at Taranto, originally planned to take place on 21 October, Trafalgar Day, until the night of 11–12 November, now known as the Battle of Taranto. 18 October First Bell YP-39 Airacobra, 40-027, crashes near Buffalo, New York, on eighth flight when only one main landing gear extends. Bell test pilot Bob Stanley bails out at rather than try a wheels-up landing, suffering only minor injuries when he lands in a tree. Examination of the wreckage shows that universal joints attached to the torque tubes driving the main gear struts had failed, as had limit switches placed in the retraction mechanism to shut off the electrical motors. 10 November Three die in the crash of North American O-47A, 37–320, of the 1st Observation Squadron, based at Marshall Field, Fort Riley, Kansas, when it strikes a hillside 10 miles S of Centerville, Alabama, in a rainstorm and burns. Piloted by Lt. Richard R. Wilson, assigned at Fort Riley, the other victims are Lt. Benjamin F. Avery, of Aurora, New York, and Pvt. G. A. Catlin, assigned at Maxwell Field, Alabama. The flight left Candler Field at Atlanta at 1545 hrs. bound for Maxwell Field at Montgomery. "N. B. Poe, who lives two miles from the crash scene, pulled the three bodies from the burning wreckage and called air corps