The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 131
131 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN We travelled from Montreal to Prestwick, making a stop at Gander in Newfoundland. As I have said, the bomber was fitted with mattresses and pelisses. The arrangement was that we would all be lying down; there were no seats, and there was no heating, and so all the mattresses and pelisses and coverings were necessary. Over our ordinary suits we had to put on a silk suit and a leather suit and gauntlets and all sorts of things to protect us against the cold. There was an arrangement, we were told, for the supply of oxygen, as the bomber would be flying above 20,000 - there was no pressurization in those days - but it so happened, though we were not warned, that on that particular flight the supply of oxygen failed. Our instructions were to keep the gas masks on, so that we had the worst of both worlds - the evil smell of rubber from the gas masks and no oxygen. I noticed towards the latter part of the flight, which was also the latter part of the night, that some of the passengers were feeling rather troubled. They sat up and then leaned over and then lay back, and I could not understand why this was happening. I was not so affected myself, but some were. It was not until we had landed at Prestwick that we were told that in fact no gas had been coming through the tubes, that something had gone wrong. We arrived in Prestwick between 9 and 10 a. m. and then were driven through the snow to Glasgow Railway Station, where we were told to take whatever we wanted for breakfast and also to provide ourselves with whatever we would need during the day, as the train that was to carry us from Glasgow to London which, of course was not very comfortable, but it was wartime and one could not expect anything better. R R R R R INTERVIEW - JUNE 30, 1962 Question : Last time, Sir, we were talking about your flight from the conference at Mont Tremblant to England. Would you care to say something about the journey to England in January, February, 1943 ? Khan : We arrived in London on 5th January, 1943, from Montreal, and I stayed on for exactly two months, until the 5th of March 1943, although it had been expected that my stay in England would not extend beyond two weeks. In London conditions were fairly comfortable and it was remarkable that the bombing that went on created no panic or disturbance. Everything was extremely well organized.