Chapter 14 - Flight into Danger

The morning of May 27, 1944, the airfield was covered in the noise of B-17 bombers, their four engines multiplied by every bomber going on the mission, the sound reverberating through the English predawn morning. Major Frank Lewis read off the instrument readings and control system settings, while his co-pilot Lieutenant Arthur Gray checked them off the preflight checklist, it was a routine they had been doing for months now, a precursor to every flight. Lewis was a flight leader, on this mission today, and his plane was lead aircraft in his flight, hopefully the crew thought it was going to safely lead all the planes on a successful bombing run and back home that day.

Directly behind the pilots, running through his top turret check was Sergeant Anthony (Tony) Trabuco, a New York City boy from the part they called Little Italy, he was also the flight engineer. In the nose checking out the bomb sight was Captain Carl Speer, a third generation American of German descent. The navigator, Lieutenant Sam Jensen went over his maps, while the radio operator, Sergeant Marty Siberski went through his radio check out procedures and noted the code signals for the day. The rest of crew consisted of gunners, the two waist gunners, Sergeant Tommy Hall and Sergeant Jimmy Thornton, and the under belly ball turret manned by Sergeant Larry Creech, Finally, rounding out the crew, in the back of the plane, was the tail gun manned by Sergeant John Smith, who never seemed tire from people not believing that John Smith was his real name.

The ten men did their preflight checklists for another mission over Germany, a mission every airman, on every aircraft, that day, hoped to come back from. It was just a little bit later that the B-17 nicknamed 'Happy Jack' lifted up from the airbase in England, to form up with its flight, and that began the plane's crew's long flight to their target. As the plane settled into its best cruise configuration for the flight, its crew went through their in-flight checklists and all other normal flight routines, unknown to them, there were four small bombs, one in each of their engine nacelles and their timers were counting down to activation.

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Sheldon had gotten up early that day to head to the flight line and watch the planes take off, his nervousness not allowing him to sleep hardly at all the night before. He was surprised when another officer saw him walking around the flight line fence, and was offered a chance to go to the control tower to watch the early morning takeoff. Sheldon had stood quietly off to the side, holding the binoculars a Lieutenant gave him to help him watch the aircraft take-off, trying to keep an unsettling feeling in his gut at bay, the whole time he observed the operation. He remembered how he felt when he saw the 'Happy Jack' lift off, then looked at his pocket watch and noted the time would be perfect for their return to base from the target, when detonation of the bombs would occur. It was after the last plane left, Sheldon actually felt relieved and he made sure to thank all the officers in the control tower for their allowing him to be there, before he left and began his walk to the chow hall to eat breakfast.

Sheldon thought about just what happened that morning, as he walked, and found no joy in what he had done, he even momentarily having a couple regrets, but they didn't last long. Because although he didn't feel joy, there was still the satisfaction that Raymond Lewis was getting what he deserved. Lewis had violated every ethic of being a Scientist, he had stole someone else's work and then falsely presented it as his own. The time that Sheldon came from was never going to punish Lewis, so Sheldon thought it was his duty to punish him and it wasn't really his fault his family suffered too. Raymond Lewis was responsible for everything that was happening as far as Sheldon was concerned. Suddenly with that thought, for the first time since arriving there, Sheldon was actually very hungry, he thought he could even eat Army food, today.

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The flight into the target was intense, German fighters attacking them just outside the target area, only their fighter escort able to drive most of the German fighters off. Then there was the flack, air-burst artillery shells made to explode around their aircraft to spread killing shrapnel. The flack was now all around them, as they approached the bomb release point, and as the plane bounced around in the disturbed air of explosions, the small bomb Sheldon put in the first engine nacelle broke loose. When Sheldon dropped it, the adhesive strip became contaminated with debris from the tarmac and now with its bonding compromised by the debris, it failed to hold, soon being thrown from the engine nacelle of engine 1, never to be seen again.

'Happy Jack' was the lead bomber for the flight, which consisted of twelve B-17s arranged in a 'Combat Box', so when Captain Spear ordered bombs away, eleven other aircraft released their bombs with 'Happy Jack'. Captain Speer was an American, and he knew a few people in the wing didn't like the idea of a officer named Spear fighting Germans with them, so Speer worked harder than any other officer to do well and prove himself every day. The bombs from 'Happy Jack's' flight all hit their target that day, making the mission a success and so the planes from the flight made the turn to go home, along with all the other bombers in the formation that day.

It was just when they were about to leave the target area, and its flack, that the three remaining bombs went off in 'Happy Jacks' engine nacelles and their effect was quick. Each bomb, at the set time, energized the solenoid which caused a small plunger to shoot forward, detonating the primer on each of the huge 45 caliber cartridges that was very close to an engine cylinder. The resulting small explosions, unseen from the aircraft cockpit, was damaging to each cylinder and each began to leak oil, the lifeblood of any engine. The number 2 and 3 inboard engines were the worse, each having the top of the cylinder blown off, oil pouring out of them as smoke poured out of each nacelle. The other outboard engine, engine 4, was a different story, an ammo manufacturer, in the future, that made the 45 caliber shell Sheldon used, did not quality inspect every round, so the round that exploded, did not have the energy the others had. The result was very little damage, the explosion only producing a small crack in the cylinder wall that only allowed a very fine oil leak occur, not enough to prevent the engine from making it back to England.

Major Lewis now flew out of the flack with an aircraft having three smoking engines, with the oil pressure dropping quickly in two of them. The crew believing they were unlucky and they were hit by flack, not by bombs planted by a man from the future. Lieutenant Gray summed up their situation that day perfectly in three words. "Shit….We're screwed."

'Happy Jack', on only two good engines, was now slow, much slower than the rest of the formation, so the aircraft slowly fell behind the group, and lost altitude. If being alone, away from the concentrated gun fire of the group, wasn't bad enough, the three smoking engines signaled every German fighter where they where. They wouldn't have lasted very long if it wasn't the fighters that stayed with them as long as they could, and the fighter combat going around their bomber was something the bomber crew would tell their grandchildren about, if they survived.

The fighters drove the Germans off, but they had used all their spare fuel and had to leave, so it wasn't long before the 'Happy Jack' was alone trying to limp home, luck now their only hope. It was less than a half hour later that 'Happy Jacks' luck ran out, when four German fighters found the stricken plane. "Fighters at one o'clock" Tony yelled over the intercom from the top turret. All gunners and turrets immediately turning that way.

The first German fighter came in fast, diving from above, a few rounds hitting the bomber, but doing little damage, however Tony's top turret and the waist gun manned by Jimmy scoring direct hits on the German and the fighter flew off, smoke now trailing behind it. The second fighter came from underneath, Larry, in the under belly ball turret, quickly picking it up, however this pilot was better and his rounds hit the B-17, the men hearing a sharp grunt on the intercom and a soft 'Help Me' before there was silence. Lewis immediately asked for a crew check, which everyone answered except the navigator, who Sergeant Siberski went to check on and determined was dead, a hole through the middle of his chest. The crew went silent for a second, but only a second as the third German fighter began his attack. "He's coming from my side, left waist." was all Tommy got out before his finger mashed on the trigger, the 50 caliber heavy aircraft machine gun firing at almost 500 rounds a minute.

The German plane hit them hard, a round going through the cockpit hitting the head rest of Gray's seat, the co-pilot's seat sending splinters against his head. Lewis looked at his co-pilot, slumped in his seat, blood covering his face. "Marty, Arts hit, get up here." Lewis yelled.

Sergeant Siberski seemed to take forever, but only a couple seconds later he was next to Lieutenant Gray with a medical kit. "He is still alive, Major, but he is really out. I bandage him, but I don't think he is going to do much the rest of the flight."

Lewis nodded, "Okay Marty do what you can."

The fourth German came diving from the side that Jimmy was on, his gun fire deadlier than the third. He strafed the B-17 with accurate fire, but as he passed underneath, Larry's turret guns had him in the sights, the twin 50 caliber guns poured rounds into the small fighter. The fighter blew up in a huge fireball. "I got him, I got the bastard." Larry yelled.

"Calm down Larry, stay alert, there are two more." Tony told him from the top turret.

Lewis was now having a little trouble with the plane, the last fighter must have damaged his control surfaces, he just knew it, and the plane was now slow to respond. However he didn't have much time to think about it, "They are coming around, One o'clock again and it is both of them." Tony yelled, the two fast fighters bearing down on the damaged the B-17. They weren't going to survive this and as Lewis thought that he saw the cloud bank just off to the left of his flight path. The B-17 banking towards the clouds, Lewis manhandling the controls to get the large aircraft to turn, he just wondered if he and the plane would be fast enough.