The Ragged Irregulars
"...Yet she's not mine. She doesn't belong to anybody. A lot of people, a lot of groups would like to claim her, but she's not for sale. She's America's warplane, and that's how it ought to be."
-Col Robert Knight Morgan, excerpt from The Man Who Flew The Memphis Belle
The year is 1943. The European continent is still firmly under control of the Neuroi menace, which causes major obstacles for the planned Allied invasion of northern Gallia. Merchant shipping from the United States of Liberion has been under increasing attack unrestricted submarine warfare originating in the captured submarine pen at Wilhelmshaven, Karlsland. The Allied command has made its decision – the concrete bunkers and naval yards at Wilhelmshaven must be destroyed to relieve the pressure on Atlantic convoys. It is now up to the 91st Bomb Group stationed in RAF Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire, Brittania to stop the Neuroi's attacks.
Though frequently assigned to the easier 'milk runs' over Gallia, the progression of the war found the 91st deployed in extremely hostile airspace above Karlsland to break the industrial capacity of the Neuroi, by bombing factories, airfields, railways, drydocks, and generally anything that could be used to the enemy's advantage. The tenacity of the 91st BG and their special Bomber Witches unit earned them the nickname, 'The Ragged Irregulars.' The most common motivation for USAAF personnel was a clause in the drafting program, which stated that any airman who could complete 25 successful bombing missions over Europe was free to return home, no questions asked if they desired. In practice, this was easier said than done, as most bomber crews didn't make it more than a few weeks into their tour of duty. For this reason, Cpt. Roberta and 1st Lt. Esther Morgan 'Windy City' were looked up to as a pillar of morale for the 91st – as of the first of May, they had recently completed their 23rd and 22nd missions, respectively in a mission over St. Nazaire. If they could just make it to 25, they could go home. But the worst was yet to come…
In the skies above Wilhelmshaven, Karlsland, May 15th, 1943…
It was a gloomy, overcast day over Wilhelmshaven, Karlsland. Rain descended upon the coastal town in light sheets, as thunder rumbled in the distance. The rumbling increased, though not coming from Mother Nature. The sound of cannons drowned out the storm, as a multitude of heavy flak guns lobbed their shrapnel through the cloud layer. About seven and a half kilometers above Wilhelmshaven, a swarm of B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers wallowed through the blackened puffs of shrapnel fire. At the front of the beleaguered air fleet were two young bomber witches – one wearing a red tube dress, and the other in a blue summer dress with a white sunhat. They were Captain Roberta Kristine Morgan, the 'Memphis Belle,' and 1st Lt. Esther Cecilia Morgan, "Windy City."
Roberta shielded her eyes a little, as a flak round burst just in front of her, sending black soot and shrapnel everywhere. "Watch that flak, boys." She warned.
"S-sis, do you really think we can fly through this?" Esther stammered.
"We have to. If not us, then who? Who will carry out the mission and bring us closer to the war's end?" Roberta said, almost reprimanding her sister.
"Even so, this is much scarier than St. Nazaire…" Esther said gloomily.
"We're heading into the heart of Karlsland, it's to be expected on the enemy's home turf." Roberta asserted.
The other witches in the formation consisted of: Squadron Commander Maj. Haley Aycock of B-24J Liberator unit 'Le Petite Fleur,' Deputy Squadron Commander Capt. Wilma Whitson of B-17F Flying Fortress unit 'Old Bill,' Pilot Jackie A. Hargis of B-17F unit 'Dame Satan,' Pilot Geneva Lockhart of B-17F unit 'Hitler's Gremlin,' Pilot Edwina Roemke of B-17F unit 'Hel-No Gal,' Pilot Clara Gill of B-17F unit 'Royal Flush,' Pilot Lowella Wetzel of B-17F unit 'In Der Fuhrer's Face,' and Pilot Nora Koll of B-17F unit 'Desperate Journey.'
The witches pulled up in front of the bomber formation, as their P-47 Thunderbolt escorts dropped their external fuel tanks and began peeling back towards Britannia for the return trip.
"Alright girls, listen up." Haley commanded. "The 'Jug's' are heading home, which means we are now responsible to get as many heavies as possible to the target area. The Green Force's 300 B-17's and six squadrons of P-47 Thunderbolts will distract the enemy fighters stationed in northern Belgica, as they make their way inland towards Hanover. The Yellow Force's B-26's and Spitfires will attack a major railway junction in northern Belgica to also draw attention away from us and take some pressure off the Green Force. The Blue Force's 100 B-24's are making their way ahead of us up the Karlsland coastline as a decoy – they carry no bombs and will draw the enemy fighters away from us while we turn southward. Our force, the White Force, has 300 B-17's in it heading for the hardened submarine bunkers in Wilhelmshaven, to crush the Neuroi's ability to attack our Atlantic convoys. We're on their radar, so they will be tracking our every movement for the AA gunners on the ground. Be vigilant, stay focused, and save as many planes as you can. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" The girls shouted in unison.
"Man, I can't wait for this war to be over." Edwina groaned. "I wanna settle down, find me a handsome man, maybe marry him and live in one of those beautiful town homes on the west coast."
"There she goes again." Lowella laughed.
"I can dream, Lowella!" Edwina shot back.
"I think we all want to find some peace and relaxation after this is all over." Geneva smiled. "But first we must make sure there's something to come back to."
"Yeah, I hear you there." Clara chimed in. "Hopefully we don't lose many today, I made a bet with one of the lads back in Bassingbourne."
"Gambling again…? Honestly." Jackie sighed. "How much did you bet this time?"
"Nothing much, just $50 and a round of beers at the tavern." Clara looked away.
"Clara!" Jackie fumed. "Is life that meaningless to you?"
"Should I have bet more? I'm pretty confident we can come back with 250 or more." Clara mumbled.
"You should aim not to lose any at all." Capt. Wilma thundered.
"Ah… sorry Cap'n." Clara bashfully scratched her head. "Though the idea of coming back with 100% of our force is too far-fetched… Even you know that."
"Clara!" Jackie fumed disapprovingly.
"Far-fetched as it might be," Wilma admitted. "You mustn't aim for 85 or 90%, but for 100%. We need every plane we can get if we're to win this war."
"Well said, Wilma." Haley concurred. "Now cut the chatter and keep your heads up – we're approaching the next enemy field of fire." She noted, as Wilma logged their progress on the navigation map.
"Some welcome wagon…" Nora scoffed, pointing to the wall of black clouds ahead.
"Tch… Eager beavers, I'll give 'em that." Clara grumbled.
"Major, shall we begin evasive maneuvers?" Roberta asked.
"Yeah. All aircraft resume anti-flak maneuvers and remember your training – don't maintain the same altitude or heading for more than 30 seconds, keep them guessing. Stay with us and you'll be fine." Haley radioed to the B-17 flight leader.
"Roger, we're counting on you." He radioed back from the cockpit.
"Remember, if you take damage in battle, I can try to patch you up." Geneva offered.
"Hopefully it won't come to that, but Clara appreciates the offer." Jackie laughed.
"Hey! Whazzat supposed to mean?!" Clara barked.
As the heavy group moved through the flak with the witches, they flew along for about twenty minutes of continuous flak barrage, losing two planes to direct fire and a third to engine failure. Suddenly, the flak ended, and the group emerged into the broken cloud layer just ten miles outside Wilhelmshaven.
"Flak stopped. You know what that means." Clara muttered, scanning the clouds warily.
"All aircraft, keep an eye out for enemy fighters." Wilma advised, marking their position on the map.
"This is 'Desperate Journey,' going to prime the gun now and test fire, stand by." Nora said, cocking her M2 Browning and firing a small burst into open air. The red tracer rounds disappeared into the thick clouds, as the other witches also commenced a quick test fire to clear their guns.
Heads turned warily, as they all watched for any sign of the enemy. Roberta kept tapping her earpiece, as if experiencing radio static, and Esther came over to look.
"What's wrong, sis?" Esther asked worriedly.
"Nothing, I just… I keep hearing this weird noise. I don't think it's coming from my earpiece." Roberta wondered.
Esther looked above them, and for a momentary break in the clouds saw a formation of Neuroi fighters a mile above them approaching from the front. The sounds grew louder as engines roared, and the unmistakable screech of a Neuroi fighter pierced through the clouds.
"Shit! Twelve o'clock high!" Roberta looked up, as fifteen fighters dove through the ethereal cloud layer, guns blazing.
The girls responded with their own gunfire, and the chattering of Browning M2 .50 caliber machine guns filled the air around them. A few of the initial fighters got past the witches, making high speed passes and weaving in between the B-17 formation behind them. The turrets began rotating, and panicked chatter filled the radio frequency as the heavies called out positions and opened fire on the alien menace.
"Watch those fighters, protect the heavies!" Haley ordered.
Roberta, Esther, Nora and Wilma pulled back into the B-17 formation, bolstering the center defense as Neuroi fighters zoomed around between the lumbering bombers.
"Don't hit any friendlies. Open fire!" Wilma ordered.
"Desperate Journey, fighter at 9 o'clock low." Nora informed.
"I'm on him, eat this!" Roberta fired a burst at the incoming aggressor, piercing its fuel tank and causing it to spiral out of control and back down to earth. "Chalk up another one. Next?"
"Windy City, six o'clock high, need help to cover." Esther worried, firing careful bursts.
"Adjusting position." Nora responded, turning on her back and firing upward at the invader. She was rewarded with a brief explosion, as the Neuroi core was struck and it shattered into pieces.
"Old Bill, got one at two o'clock heading for the flight lead." Wilma reported, being careful not to fire at the friendly B-17 in the way. The enemy fighter passed just underneath her as she tried to track it, and she managed to take its wing off before it could get away.
"How many more?" Roberta demanded.
"Le Petite Fleur," Haley interrupted. "Another wave incoming, fifteen heavy fighters with large caliber cannons and rockets. Everyone get back up to the front."
Roberta, Esther, Nora, and Wilma raced back up through the formation to the other witches, and they all deployed their shields as a volley of rocket fire blazed through the clouds and shattered against their combined defense. Then came the fighters themselves, smashing against the shield barrier with their heavy cannons.
"Jackie, Clara, get around to the outer flank and get them to scatter!" Haley ordered.
"Roger!" The two responded.
Jackie went left around the shield barrier while Clara went right, and they fired an interception volley at the incoming squadron. The enemy lost three heavy fighters, before flying around the shield to attack the B-17 group.
"All witches, fire!" Haley called out, as the enemy got caught in a crossfire and lost five more.
"Memphis Belle, where are you?" Wilma demanded. "Memphis Belle?"
"I found another heavy fighter deep in the formation, he's really ripping them apart." Roberta answered.
"Who told you to break formation?!" Wilma thundered.
"Well what am I supposed to do, let them die?!" Roberta shot back. "This guy is really fast; the gunners can't track him. But maybe I can…" Her sentence was cut short by a burst of machine gun fire, as the Neuroi crossed her line of sight again.
"You idiot. You'll catch hell for this…" Wilma gritted her teeth.
"I'm used to it. Either someone can help me or we're going to lose a lot more here." Roberta retorted.
"I'm coming, sis…!" Esther fell back to join her sister.
"Windy City…! Damn those two!" Haley grumbled. "Always running off."
"It's what makes them unique, in a way. Imagine if Roberta had her own unit…" Jackie chuckled.
"Hah. She wouldn't last a day." Haley laughed, pulling back the bolt on her M2 to remove a jammed bullet.
Meanwhile, Roberta and Esther gave chase to a rather troublesome Neuroi, which had a large caliber gun but was traveling much faster than anything they'd seen before.
"This guy is good." Roberta huffed, firewalling her B-17 unit as she tried to catch the enemy in a dive.
"It's too fast, something's not right." Esther worried, helping her sister to catch the enemy in a pincer maneuver.
Suddenly the quick fighter dove in between two B-17's wingspans, causing Roberta to pull out of the dive and climb again.
"It's smart, too. But if we can just land one hit…" Roberta muttered, giving chase once more.
"Don't go out too far, lure him back in." Esther advised, as the enemy pulled a vertical turn and fired several cannon rounds at the formation rear guard.
There was panicked screaming over the radio, as a B-17 in the rear guard was hit, and began trailing smoke as it careened into two more bombers below it and tore their wings off.
"Shit!" Roberta growled.
"Oh god, no…!" Esther gasped.
"Dammit. Well, if that's the case…" Roberta said, as her hands and hair began to glow. "You leave me no choice – I'm done playing around!"
"I'll help too…!" Esther nervously chimed in, as the wind whirled around her.
As the enemy fighter came in for another pass, Esther positioned herself in its flight path, stretching her hand out.
"Downdraft!" Esther yelled, as a sudden gust of wind acted upon the fighter causing it to lose altitude rapidly. As it began to climb back up towards her for a shot, Roberta dove in at high speed to intercept.
"Firestorm!" Roberta shouted, as flames shot forth from her hands and scorched the enemy with impunity. A volley of bullets from the nearby B-17's shot off the charred skin of the Neuroi, revealing its luminescent red core.
"Now!" Roberta commanded, as she and Esther both fired simultaneously and sliced the core into pieces, shattering the Neuroi.
Glittery shards fell back towards the earth, as the duo panted for breath.
"N-next…" Roberta groaned, having spent a lot of her developing mana reserve to use the ability.
"Well?" Wilma's voice came over the radio.
"Well what?" Roberta panted.
"Did you get it, hot shot?" Wilma asked.
"Yeah, we got him…" Roberta smiled.
"…Then get back up here. We're starting the bombing run." Wilma replied.
"…Roger." Roberta responded. "C'mon Esther, good job."
"You weren't so bad yourself, 'Berta." Esther smiled.
"Hey, don't say that around other people." Roberta blushed.
Esther simply giggled to herself, as they joined the forward sector again.
"What are our losses?" Haley asked.
"Well, we still have 278 operational aircraft, fifteen of which took light damage but can still fly. We lost twenty-two so far to enemy fire and subsequent mid-air collisions." Wilma reported.
Haley sighed. "I can make do with that. All aircraft form up for bomb attack, five minutes until the drop point. Open bomb bay doors."
The mighty B-17's behind them swung their bomb bay doors open, revealing six 1000lb bombs per plane. The Witches also opened their bomb bays which carried identical payloads and they activated their magic variant of the Norden bombsight.
"This is where we're most vulnerable. Can't maneuver if we want to hit the target accurately…" Lowella muttered, her face turning pale as the flak resumed.
"This is a long five minutes of my life…" Clara grumbled, staring through her Norden at the ground below. "Where is that damned submarine bunker?"
"We should be arriving on target soon," Wilma noted, checking her map. "Keep your eyes on the target."
"Wilma is taking point as the bombardier – when she drops, you drop." Haley ordered.
"Got it…" Clara drew her words out doubtfully.
The flak came closer and closer, and planes began to succumb to the deadly shrapnel as the fire intensified. One of the lead B-17's caught fire and dove out of the formation to try and extinguish it, another got hit amidships and began tumbling about as their tail flew off. In a stroke of horribly bad luck, the flight lead's B-17 was hit directly in the bomb bay, and the entire plane was engulfed in flames as it dipped uncontrollably out of formation and exploded moments later.
"Damn… I'm gonna hurl…" Nora groaned.
"Stay on target…" Wilma said in frustration.
"They're getting closer-" Edwina noted the flak.
"Stay on target…" Wilma urged.
Just as she caught a glimpse of the submarine bunker, Wilma saw a shell coming directly at her. She activated her shield instinctively, but a bit of the shrapnel got through and hit her in the nose.
"Ack…!" Wilma screamed pitifully, trying to suppress the blood running down her face.
"Wilma!" Haley shouted. "Geneva, get over here and help her stop the bleeding. Someone else take over lead bombardier!" Haley demanded, as Geneva came over with healing magic.
"I'll do it." Roberta volunteered.
"No way, the next one in rank is… well, actually you." Clara realized to her dismay.
"Please, Major I can do this." Roberta urged.
"No time for debating. Get up here." Haley ordered reluctantly. "Find the target in your crosshairs. Hone your energy and feel where it is." Haley instructed, as Roberta activated her Norden and pushed aside the safety on her bomb release controls.
"Submarine pen… c'mon… Surely we've passed it?" Roberta said in frustration.
"Focus! This is what you're made to do." Haley boomed amidst the flak.
"Please… just drop this thing so we can all go home…" Clara muttered, her bravado faltering.
Suddenly, Roberta caught a short break in the clouds, and the concrete bunkers of the Wilhelmshaven submarine pen lazily passed into her crosshair.
"…That's it." Roberta realized, taking another look to confirm. "That's it! BOMBS AWAY!" Roberta shouted as she clamped down on the red button with all her might.
The whistling sound of bombs falling through the air echoed throughout Karlsland that day, as thousands of thousand-pound bombs rained from the heavens onto the enemy naval facility. Roberta and the other witches felt themselves getting much lighter as all bombs were released, and the B-17's behind them followed suit.
Roberta sighed with relief and looked down through her Norden as explosions ripped across the entire port, tearing through the concrete bunkers and trapping hundreds of submarines inside.
"One step closer…" Roberta laughed weakly.
"Confirmed, all bombs away." Haley tapped her radio. "All units, close bomb bay doors and follow us. We're heading back."
"Just another day at the office…" Jackie laughed weakly.
Indeed, it was just another day in the life of the Bomber Witches. The 91st BG would sortie again and again, bombing targets in Gallia, Belgica, and Karlsland until the destruction of the Neuroi hive in Berlin. Roberta got grounded from the raid following Wilhelmshaven to replenish mana and repair battle damage to her unit, while Esther flew her 24th mission. But they would fly again to Lorient, Gallia on the 17th, and both would complete their 25th missions effectively ending their obliged tour of service. However, instead of returning home, they were both offered positions in the newly created 8th Joint Strike Force under the command of Jamie Doolittle, which would continue to be an effective witch unit throughout the Second World War and demonstrate the effectiveness of the daylight bombing campaign. Their motto was, 'The Bomber Witches Will Always Get Through!'