《空军战士》第33章

re　seen。　The　group　returnedto　Cerignola　without　casualties。
McGovern　flew　again　the　next　day　and　it　was　no　milk　run。　The　targetwas　a　refinery　near　Vienna。　Because　of　cloud　cover；　the　lead　plane　usedits　Mickey　and　no　results　were　seen；　but　dropping　bombs　by　radar　insteadof　visually　meant　few　of　them　hit　what　they　wanted　to　hit　and　the　damagewas　minimal。　Flak　was　intense　but　inaurate　and　all　planes　returned　tobase。
On　November　20；　on　McGovern　’s　final　mission　as　a　co…pilot；　the　targetwas　factories　at　Zlin；　Czechoslovakia。　It　was　a　secondary；　or　alternative；target；　but　the　original　objective　had　been　obscured　by　clouds；　so　the　leadpilot　took　the　group　to　Zlin。　There　the　weather　was　clear　and　the　bombingwas　done　visually；　with　excellent　results。　Best　of　all；　there　was　no　flakover　Zlin。　All　planes　returned　safely。
After　debriefing；　McGovern　would　meet　with　Rounds；　Adams；　and　his　crew。They　fired　questions　at　him　about　what　it　was　like；　most　of　all　the　flak。〃They　were　filled　with　questions　every　day；〃　McGovern　recalled；　〃waitingfor　me　when　I　came　back。〃
Once　the　session　was　over；　McGovern　would　steer　his　way　into　the　officer’s　club　for　a　Coca…Cola　or　a　beer。　There　he　would　listen　to　the　veteranpilots　talk　and　ask　his　own　questions。　It　was　shop　talk。　From　almost　everyone　of　the　discussions　he　would　absorb　information。　The　topics　were　theB…24"s；　the　crews；　the　Germans。　What　rpm　at　what　altitude？　Why　was　thisgauge　or　that　instruments　malfunctioning？　Is　there　any　way　to　stay　straightand　level　over　the　target　and　still　avoid　the　flak？　How　long　can　an　enginebe　on　fire　before　it　detonates　the　gas　tank？　What　can　you　do　when　a　bombgets　stuck　in　the　bomb　bay？　How　does　the　plane　fly　with　only　three　enginesoperating？　With　two？　When　the　hydraulic　system　has　leaked　or　been　shot　out；how　do　you　get　the　wheels　down？
McGovern　had　flown　four　missions　on　four　days。　These　consecutive　missionswere　about　the　absolute　limit。　They　left　the　pilot　and　his　crew　haggard；worn；　jumpy；　frazzled　and　spent。　But　each　one　of　the　attacks　counted　towardthe　thirty…five　missions　that；　when　pleted；　would　allow　McGovern　to　returnto　the　States。　When　he　had　time　to　write　to　Eleanor；　McGovern　noted　thenumber　in　his　letter —　number　five　after　the　mission　to　Zlin。
〃I　worried；　as　any　wife　would；〃　Eleanor　said　three　decades　later。　〃Iwould　feel　a　stab　of　fear　whenever　someone　knocked　at　the　door　or　the　telephonerang。　The　first　thing　I　would　do　when　I　got　a　letter　from　George　was　toscan　through　it　for　a　number —　the　number　of　missions　pleted。　Thatwas　the　first　thing　I　wanted　to　know。　Then　I’d　go　back　to　read　the　letter。〃
___________________________
On　December　16；　radio　operator　Sgt。　Mel　TenHaken　flew　his　first　mission；against　a　refinery　at　Brux；　Czechoslovakia。　Because　the　crew　were　new；　thepilot；　Lieutenant　Cord；　was　a　veteran　ofthirty…one　missions。　TenHaken　’s　regular　pilot　flew　as　co…pilot　that　day。　There　was　another　newer；　aphotographer　on　his　seventeenth　mission。　Theirs　would　be　one　of　the　lasttwo　planes　on　the　bomb　run　and　his　photos　would　be　among　the　official　recordsof　the　raid　’s　effect。
When　the　Group　formed　up　and　headed　toward　the　target；　TenHaken　saw〃a　seemingly　endless　line　of　planes。　I　had　never　seen　this　many　in　one　placeat　one　time。〃　He　thought　that　〃obviously　Rosie　the　riveter　back　home　hadbeen　very　busy。〃　The　bombers　were　at　25；000　feet；　just　below　the　26；000…footceiling　for　the　craft。
On　his　B…24；　TenHaken　was　in　charge　of　the　haff；　what　he　had　called〃Christmas　tree　tinsel〃　back　home。　Its　purpose　was　to　confuse　German　radar；which　otherwise　would　lock　onto　the　group　and　know　what　altitude　to　setthe　fuses　for　the　shells　to　explode。　The　chaff　was　in　packets；　each　onewrapped　and　tied　with　a　plain　brown　band；　each　one　crimped　to　open　in　thewind　and　allow　the　foil　to　drift　down　in　individual　pieces。　Most　veteransthought　the　chaff　didn’t　do　much　if　any　good；　but　they　tossed　them　outof　the　plane　with　great　gusto　anyway。
When　his　plane　got　to　the　initial　point　and　turned；　then　straightenedfor　the　bomb　run；　TenHaken　saw　〃numerous　little　puffs　ahead　forming　a　blackcloud　shaped　like　an　elongated　shoe　box。〃　The　leader　of　his　squadron　wasflying　through　it。　Those　behind　were　about　to　enter　the　German　box。　It　wastime　to　pull　the　flak　jackets　on。　These　were　for　the　crew；　whose　membersdid　not　have　the　cast　iron　protection　the　pilot　and　co…pilot　did。　The　jacketsconsisted　of　irregularly　shaped　metal　plates　stitched　between　two　sheetsof　canvas　to　form　a　vest。　To　TenHaken；　〃their　purpose　seemed　primitive；identical　to　that　of　suits　of　armor。〃　They　weighed　about　twenty　pounds　each。Most　veterans　decided　early　on　not　to　wear　them；　but　to　put　them　betweentheir　seats　and　their　butts；　thus　protecting　the　most　important　part。
Over　the　target；　with　flak　bursting　from　the　shells　all　around　his　plane；TenHaken　started　dropping　the　chaff　packets　through　one　of　the　waist　windows。After　dropping　one；　he　tried　to　count　to　ten　as　he　had　been　told　beforeletting　the　next　one　go；　but　in　the　midst　of　the　flak　he　seldom　got　pasttwo　or　three。　Then　the　plane　to　his　right　got　hit。　〃A　flak　explosion　atits　number　three　engine　had　blown　the　right　wing　from　the　body。　The　scenewas　inprehensible —　the　wing　tumbled　over　and　down；　and　the　fuselagewas　nosing　into　a　dive。〃　There　were　no　parachutes。　〃The　bam…bam…bams　andpoof…poof…poofs　were　exploding　everywhere；　it　was　inconceivable　to　fly　throughthis　unscathed。〃
The　bomber　lurched。　Have　we　been　hit？　TenHaken　wondered。　Through　theinter；　he　heard　the　bombardier　say；　〃Bombs　away。〃　（〃The　most　beautifulwords　in　the　English　language；〃　aording　to　one　pilot）。　Then　the　bombardiercontinued；　〃Now　let　’s　get　the　hell　out　of　here。〃　After　a　pause；　he　cameon　the　inter　again　to　say；　〃I　wasn　’t　supposed　to　add　that　last　part。〃
Lieutenant　Cord　banked　the　plane　into　a　steep　dive　to　the　right。　TenHakenthought；　thank　you；　God。　Cord　came　on　the　inter　to　ask　each　crew　memberto　report　any　damage。　None。　When　they　were　out　of　the　flak；　TenHaken　liftedhis　oxygen　mask　and　shouted　above　the　engine　noise　to　the　photographer；〃You’ve　been　through　seventeen　of　these　now。　Was　this　flak　typical；　lighter；worse；　or　what？〃　The　photographer　grinned　and　shouted　back；　〃It　wasn’tli