The 918th Group has just finished 21 missions in the 30 days since May 1, 1944. They have been bombing for Operation Point, the lead up to Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. A 10 day leave is authorized then cancelled and instead they are assigned to fly the Overleaf missions, dropping leaflets all over the French coast. Everyone is exhausted from Gallagher on down. General Pritchard tells General Britt that they need all groups in the air. Britt explains he only has two flyable Groups left, 918th & 966th, he has used the 82nd to replace men & aircraft for the other Groups. Later at Wing, General Britt explains to Gallagher that this could be the ""real thing"". Gallagher says he has heard that before. Britt also tells Gallagher that the G-3 is moving up and the position could go to Gallagher if he wants it. On the first ""Overleaf"" mission to Youreville, they get hit by flak and Pat Barstow's ship gets shot down. Back on the ground, Lieutenant Col. Christy is upset over losing

On a bombing mission into Norway, Lieutenant Col. Christy aborts the mission after 10 out his 21 planes get shot down. When he returns, Gallagher sends an angry note to newly promoted Major General Britt asking why the target is secret, ""How can his men keep risking there lives for a secret target"". Summoned by Britt to what turns out to be Britt's promotion party, he is surprised to see his father Lieutenant General Max Gallagher. General Gallagher intercedes with General Pritchard to keep Pritchard from seeing and disciplining Colonel Gallagher.

Harv and Lieutenant Colonel Rogers, the 918ths acting commander, watch the latest mission come back very chewed up and missing at least 6 six planes. Harvey feels responsible. Sandy hands him a telegram, his son is an MIA. Harvey goes to see General Britt and requests to go back on flying status. He gets an age waiver. Gallagher comes back and is furious with Harvey. He passes his physical by memorizing the eye chart. Gallagher puts Harvey through the wringer but Harvey passes his flight test. On the mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Antwerp, they make the run then get attacked by ME-109's.

Maintenance problems plague the 918th. General Creighton from G-2 orders the 918th on a mission to drop a spy (Ilka Zradna) into occupied Poland. Aircraft Army 262 has to abort the mission, (Langaard & Hetz are killed) and only 3 crew (Komansky, Rodman, Booker) survive along with Ilka. Back at Group a furious Komansky slugs Podesta and both are busted to Private by Gallagher. General. Creighton informs Gallagher that 20 German saboteurs are known to be in England impersonating Allied airmen and they will be closing in once they can identify the entire Group and the leader. Podesta is later found murdered beside some sabotaged ammunition and it is learned that the saboteurs are on base. It turns out that Podesta was a CIC agent (as is T/4 Thibideaux). General. Creighton orders CIC Major Adams on base disguised as Master Sergeant Young. Gallagher orders a plane on the mission to drop Ilka. He then switches to the Piccadilly Lilly. Just before they take off, T/4 Hansen delivers coffee to

After completing On his 25th mission, Major Tom Parsons is going home. At Wing HQ General Britt is chewing out his Group Commander (Fred, Gallagher & ?). Sveringen is the production centre for the new ME-262 rocket powered fighter. They have tried to bomb several times and failed. Gallagher suggests nighttime precision bombing. Britt says the RAF have tried and failed. Gallagher suggests sending in a pathfinder to mark the target by dropping incendiaries on either side. Gallagher picks Parsons to fly the pathfinder mission; he refuses as he has completed his tour. At the officers club Parsons meets his former co-pilot Captain Cowley who has just got out of the hospital. Cowley asks about Parsons girl, Naomi. Is he taking her back to the States with him? Parsons is non-committal. Gallagher orders Cowley to fly the pathfinder mission and gets Parsons to train him. General Britt has been reviewing Parsons orders to rotate back the States; he finds that Parsons has only flown milk runs, ev

A flight instructor goes to war.

The Dulabine Shipyard bombing mission is turned back due to overcast. On the ground in Emstad, the German commander, Oberst Erhland is frustrated that he can not attack due to fighter maintenance problems. It will be at least 5 days before the weather overcast clears. Erhland orders Hauptman Schmidt, his maintenance officer to take the time to repair his fighters (18 are in need of repair, 7 are unserviceable). Erhland also talks with his Radar Officer Hauptman Schiller. Back at the 918th's Base, General Britt is waiting and introduces Gallagher to Dr Michael Rink from the Signal Corps. He has a new airborne radar device called Bomb through Overcast (BTO) Radar. Three aircraft sortie on a test mission to bomb Duronde, the BTO performs perfectly and they get an 80% success rate over the target. Dr. Rink has a heart condition and collapses as they complete the mission and his assistant Master Sergeant Zemler has to take over. On the ground, the Germans try and figure out how the American

On a bombing mission to Focke Wulfe Factory in Marienberg, East Prussia the 918th is attached by fighters and loose 9 AC & 100 men. The 966th was hit the same way yesterday. Gallagher's radioman overhears the German and Gallagher gets the idea of trying to confuse the Germans by broadcasting on that frequency. . When the group lands they find out that everything on the mission was broadcast by the ""Danzig Lady"". Sandy is dating an English girl, Helen Graham. Seeing her react badly to the ""Danzig Lady"" , Her father is a retired Major in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Helen Graham is really Helen Conboy and her sister Patricia Conboy is the ""Danzig Lady"". Sandy reports it. British Intelligence says it will ask an agent to find out the information. The agent speaks to their contact, a waiter who is being watched by the Gestapo. The waiter is killed by Gestapo agents.

Colonel Harry Connelly is up for the Medal of Honor for the pinpoint bombing of a Radar station without hitting the church next door in Italy. Connelly has done 43 skip bombing missions in Europe and the Pacific. In Adelberg the Germans have a group of scientists working on the Atomic Bomb. All around them they have placed POW's including high ranking officers. Connelly is currently doing Transitional Training in London and is called on do one last precision bombing mission. Connelly & Gallagher decide on a plan. One man mission in a B-25 will bomb the target while the rest of the Group acts a diversion. In training Connelly misses the target twice then hits it 6 times dead on. On the mission the pond Connelly was using as his IP is missing, he drops on wrong house killing some Allied officers. Axis Sally broadcasts the news, Connelly cracks, hits Gallagher. General Britt orders Gallagher to ""get that building"" by saturation bombing which will kill the POWs as well. On the second missi

Off the base, JayDee Jones is working up the nerve to go on his next mission. He gets Jan Warner to sneak him back on base. He gets spotted by Chapman who is stealing 3 45 pistols to sell . JayDee's older brother Frank talks to him and tells him to straighten up. JayDee says he has had enough, he wants out. Jones & Chapman make briefing at 04:30. On takeoff JayDee over-revs engines, and they don't have enough speed to take off, his co-pilot tries to help but the plane flips over killing the bombardier and badly injuring the co-pilot who dies later. Frank covers for his brother and says it could be a maintenance problem. Colonel Hunter the Wing G-4 (Supply) comes to investigate. Chapman sells his pistols to an Englishman who gets caught. Captain Mason from CIC comes to investigate the stolen guns. Jones co-pilot dies. Chapman & JD talk, Chapman says him will back Jones up. Hunter & Gallagher interrogate JayDee Jones, Frank Jones & Chapman. Chapman backs Jones who still can not remember

Mission to bomb a refinery & fuel storage area at Kasendorf. A pilot from the 53rd Fighter Squadron, Lieutenant Harley Wilson hits Gallagher's plane while trying to shoot an enemy fighter. Wilson is very eager to fit in, he feels like an outsider and hitting the Colonels plane doesn't help. The young pilot has been trying to get a kill for two months. He goes to the Star & Bottle where he is snubbed by Sandy, tries to chat up Agnes the Barmaid but she is too busy, and even tries to ask out Captain Vincent not realizing she is Gallagher's date. He volunteers for the next mission, a photo recon over Kasendorf. On the Photo recon mission, Gallagher blows a jug while flying a P-51 and has to bail out. Wilson disobeys orders, breaks off & lands while being strafed by enemy fighters and saves Gallagher. He is put in for the DFC and becomes a ""hero"". Later in the Star & Bottle, he is cheered by the group and gets to talk with some Reporters (Harkness, Toley, and Barnes) The Photo Recon shows

A cashiered pilot slips in for another try.

Captain Dula, a pilot who is flying as Navigator, Harvey flies as co-pilot wounded. Gallagher wounded, Dula takes over, argues with Komansky, Komansky saves Harvey from bleeding to death charged with mutiny. Komansky talks with Jeanne who gives him a letter from Jimmy Sinclair saying that Dula abandoned the crew.

Commodore Leon Crompton is the leader of USN Task Force 10. His job is to find and sink Wolf Pack Laika , 8 German u-boats operating off the Azores. The 918th is assigned under Gallagher as the Hunter portion of the team and Compton's ships will be the killers. Gallagher assigns 9 B-17's , Cromptons force is 4 DD's, 1 CVE Flights of three searching, Gallagher's get attacked. Two bombers are shot down. On the next mission Gallagher carries bombs, carrier sunk bombers sink subs. He gets shot down, picked up by Destroyer. Gallagher is wounded and goes home on Crompton's new flag ship.

A straggling B-17 joins the formation and it turns out to be a captured plane flown by Germans. It strafes the lead plane flown by General Savage which is shot down. Later it is reported that Brigadier General Frank Savage the Group Commander has been killed and will be buried with full military honours by the Germans. Brigadier General Ed Britt from SHAEF HQ must decide who should take command of the 918. His candidates are the Deputy Group Commander Lieutenant Colonel Joe Gallagher, and the other two Squadron Commanders, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Bailey & Lieutenant Colonel Chick Heindorf. Gallagher is the temporary Group Commander. On the next mission Gallagher's crew shoots down a B-17 who does not acknowledge a signal thinking it is an infiltrator. It turns out to be a legitimate straggler with radio trouble and a wounded crew. When asked by General Britt, Gallagher says he would do the same thing again if the same situation occurred. Because he can make tough decisions, Gallagher

On a mission 9 out of the 10 crew of the Piccadilly Lily are wounded save one - Komansky. Komansky fly's and lands the plane, becoming a press celebrity. A wounded Gallagher puts him in for the Silver Star. Kirby Wyatt, the 918th press liaison calls Susan Nesbitt, an American correspondent working for the BBC. She takes advantage of Komansky realizing this story could make her (he rescued General Gallagher's son). Kirby Wyatt goes along with Susan. Sandy is very uncomfortable with the celebrity. He is kidded about being a jinx by Technical Sergeant Chapman, Major Benson's Flight Engineer. Sandy replaces him on a mission, and has to kick a bomb loose. Sandy is awarded the Silver Star.

Flying back from Russian sector for the Invasion of Europe is coming and Stace & Krasker are returning with information about Russian troop strength. Plane is shot down, one general jumps, the other rides the plane down with Trask is afraid to jump Sandy is afraid of snakes. Trask is a clerk cryptographer for Stace.

An escaped POW, 1st Lieutenant Wally Bolen returns to the 918th after 5 months of captivity. He is welcomed by Komansky and promoted to Captain by Gallagher. At the officer's club, they are having a welcome back party; his ""girl"" Ruth is there along with Ken Shaw, a press corps journalist and his buddy Chuck Nielson. Also there are Captains Lewis & Stewart, former fighter pilots. Bolen wants to fly again and gets checked out by Gallagher. The Group is going to be bombing Battenheim again. They will be sending a pathfinder group of 3 in at a low altitude to mark the target. Gallagher chooses Bolen as Flight Leader, and Lewis & Stuart who both have low level experience. On a practice mission, Bolen orders Lewis & Stewart to close up, Stewart flies to close and collides with Bolen's aircraft. Bolen freezes and his plane hits Lewis' plane. Stewart's B-17 crashes, the entire crew is killed and they injure a civilian, the Rector of the Archbury Church. Bolen orders his crew to bail and every

The RAF(& USAAF) is getting pounded by very concentrated flak over Weisbaden, the latest Squadron has been wiped out. General Britt visits Gallagher to tell him that RAF Air Vice Marshal Kingsford is out for Gallagher's head, the target must be destroyed or Britt will replace Gallagher. On the next mission the 918th looses 11 aircraft out of 21. It turns out that there is a radar directed Fire Control Station in the area. A team of 8 British commandoes, led by Major Mallory will parachute in and blow it up. After dropping the commandoes, Gallagher's B-17 is shot down, his co-pilot is killed, and only he and Komansky meet up with the commando unit. One of the commandoes, Pte. Cane is badly wounded by a German patrol and is left behind with an ""interrogation pill"" which is really an ""L(eathal) pill"". Mallory makes it clear to Gallagher that he and Komansky are unwelcome ""glamour flyboys"". Mallory, his remaining 6 commandoes, Gallagher & Komansky head to the home of Kurt von Heurtzel a Ge

After a tough mission, Gallagher needs a new gunner. Corbett, a replacement has a perfect gunnery score (1000, Komansky only has 400). He takes over from the wounded Staff Sergeant Abbott as Left Waist gunner & joins Gallagher's crew on a practice mission. He spots the target first but his gun jams. The other gunners kid him and he does not join in the after hours fun at the Star & Bottle. Komansky adopts Corbett and helps him, they go to another pub and Corbett meets Gillian. On the next practice mission, Corbett spots a real German FW and shoots it down. He gets promoted to Sergeant but is upset by killing someone. He checks in to the hospital, confesses to being only 15 and runs away to see Gillian at the pub. He comes back to see Gallagher and sneaks aboard for the next mission. Hachensberg is the target. After the other gunners are hit Corbett takes over ands performs well. On the return Gallagher chews him out and says he will get court-martialed. After he is taken away Gallagher

The 511th Fighter Group arrives at Archbury to escort the 918 on the home leg of the shuttle mission. On the way Troper attacks a train making him 10 minutes late for the rendezvous. The 511th does not give the proper recognition codes and one pilot is shot down. On the ground an angry Lieutenant Col. Troper slugs Gallagher. Gallagher tells Troper to forget about it. They are ordered to train together. In London Troper gets drunk, insults Gallagher, and takes off with Gallagher's date Fay. Gallagher orders a brief at 0400, only 12 of the 511th pilots show up. Gallagher has Troper put under house arrest. Merritt leads the fighters and not one bomber is lost.

B-17 ""Angel Babe"" is returning from a perfect mission to Willemshaven as the Group Lead. Flight Engineer Willets explains that when ""Angel Babe"" leads they always come home safe. On the ground Major Stovall waits with a team from the Public Relations Office (PRO) who are filming & photographing the plane which has completed its 49th mission. They want to take the plane back to the US for a promotional tour as it will be the first in the Eight AF to complete 50 missions. The Flight Engineer, Technical Sergeant Willets thinks that ""Angel Babe"" is a fighter and she won't want to go home this way. The PRO team will fly on the next mission, her last and some of her crew including Willets, Harkness and the two pilots think that ""Angel Babe"" is their lucky charm. The plane blows a tire and aborts the mission. When they land Willets hits Cameraman Staff Sergeant Ben Prinzi to keep him from going back in the plane, because of the live bombs. Major Budd the PRO feels that the crew is trying to s

Sandy almost runs down a Master Sergeant looking for the 918th. He has a German accent. Gallagher is briefing his Squadron commanders. Turns out to be a specialist. Muhlendorf Stetten factory in houses. 6 hours flying time, but fuel for 3 vector 343. land in a field in Russia captured by Germans, Lawson goes to destroy bombsight and is killed. Danzig Fighter Defense Command Reiniger Engine Works in Stetten Crew is interrogated, pick out Schultz because he stands out. They find out who he is, Gerlach is killed, and Brunner takes command. Brunner orders the men shot.

On a Shuttle Mission to bomb Fredricksburg then land in Foggia Italy, General Chandler leads the whole wing. Gallagher's plane is hit and the Bombardier, Navigator, and the Ball Turret Gunner are killed, and General Chandler & the Radioman are wounded; Another gunner is killed bailing out. They crash land at Sabina Island Control. They are aided at the base by it's commander, Major Glenn Luke a medical officer, and the sole enlisted man, Staff Sergeant Conklin. The base also has 4 German prisoners. On the ground Chandler, Komansky, Pargon and the Radioman are picked up by Major Luke. Gallagher and one of the waist gunners Sergeant Shadrack Ellis are still unaccounted for. A German fighter pilot, Hauptman Holtke, is shot down as well. He sneaks into camp following Sergeant Shadrack Ellis and kills him along with Pargon & Conklin. Holke takes Chandler hostage and takes over the base. We learn that Major Like is really a former signal corps officer named Jim Prince, a pacifist who was red

On the way back from a mission, a mentor of Joe Gallagher's, Colonel Gus ""Pappy"" Wexler is flying as an observer. Gallagher asks Fowler to let Wexler fly in the co-pilot seat. They are attacked by ME-109's and Joe is wounded, Pappy takes over calling Gallagher ""Bernie"". At HQ General Pritchard ask Harvey Stovall's opinion of Wexler. General Britt is away in Washington and if he is not back, Pritchard will be looking for a new Wing Commander. He is thinking of Wexler or Gallagher. Gallagher is on the sick list so Wexler becomes acting Group Commander, and Gallagher the acting Wing Commander. Wexler wants things run by the book. On the next mission, he takes 3 planes and turns too early & aborts. He calls his Bob Fowler, his co-pilot ""Bernie"", and when Sandy questions him, Wexler orders him to stand down and report to the Flight Surgeon when he is back. Later in the Star & Bottle, the pilots celebrate with Wexler and he makes a good show of it. He arm wrestles Captain Banazek and wins. H