空军战士-第23章

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rom　Surbeck。〃It　was　his　job　to　check　on　the　crew；　frequently。　He　needed　to　make　surethat　nobody　’s　oxygen　hose　had　e　unhooked；　if　a　tail　gunner　or　someoneelse　failed　to　answer　when　the　pilot　called　to　him　on　the　inter；　he　mightwell　have　passed　out　from　a　lack　of　oxygen　or　frozen　because　his　electricplug　had　e　out；　without　ever　noticing　that　his　hose　or　wire　was　unhooked。These　and　other　things　Surbeck　did　as　a　matter　of　routine；　McGovern　noted。
To　get　the　engines　started；　Surbeck　would　signal　to　the　flight　engineer；who　would　start　the　single…cylinder　gasoline…powered　unit　on　the　B…24。　Itwas　called　the　〃putt…putt〃　and　gave　a　boost　to　the　batteries。　Engine　numberthree；　the　one　nearest　McGovern；　started　first。　It　powered　the　generatorswhich　helped　start　the　other　engines。　When　all　were　operating；　Surbeck　dida　〃run　up；〃　checking　on　each　engine　’s　performance；　magos；　temperatureand　pressure　checks　of　fuel；　oil　and　hydraulic　systems。　When　a　flare　wentup　planes　began　to　move　out　of　their　hard　stands　over　the　taxiway　and　ontothe　runway；　looking　like　elephants　getting　ready　for　a　circus　parade。　Surbeckcalled　out　the　final　checklist　to　McGovern：
〃Booster　pumps〃　—　〃On〃
〃Mixture〃　—　〃Auto　rich〃
〃Props〃　—　〃Full　high〃
〃Superchargers〃　—　〃Set〃
〃Half　flaps〃　　—　〃Set〃
and　so　on。
Surbeck　lined　his　plane　up　on　the　taxi　strip；　behind　some　planes　andahead　of　others　—　there　were　28　in　the　group；　seven　in　each　squadron。　The454th　Bomb　Group　was　on　the　other　side　of　the　runway；　parallel　to　the　455th；so　that　the　planes　from　each　group　could　take　off　side　by　side。　Settingthe　brakes；　Surbeck　pushed　the　throttle　to　get　the　engines　running　at　maximum。When　his　turn　to　take　off　arrived；　the　roar　was　almost　deafening。　The　planevibrated　as　every　nut　and　bolt；　every　rivet　and　tube　rattled　and　shook。
Twenty　or　at　most　thirty　seconds　after　the　plane　ahead　of　him　beganto　roll　down　the　runway；　Surbeck　released　the　brakes。　A　modern　air　trafficcontroller；　or　a　pilot　of　a　mercial　airliner；　would　be　appalled　at　thesight；　but　for　the　bomber　pilots　of　World　War　II　that　was　how　close　to　eachother　they　were。　Down　the　strip　Surbeck　started　rolling；　picking　up　speeduntil　he　reached　160　mph。　He　had　his　flaps　set　at　20　degrees；　brought　theengines　to　maximum　power；　and　at　the　end　of　the　runway　he　pulled　the　noseoff　the　ground　and　became　airborne。　With　the　bomb　load；　the　full　tanks　offuel；　the　weight　of　the　crew　and　their　equipment；　including　the　。50　calibermachine　guns　and　ammunition　for　them；　Surbeck　had　to　fight　to　gain　altitude。It　seemed　to　McGovern　that　he　would　not　get　the　plane　above　tree…top　altitude；but　he　did。　Barely；　but　he　did。　Once　the　plane　was　in　the　air；　even　if　onlyjust；　McGovern　as　co…pilot　had　the　task　of　raising　the　landing　gear　andbringing　up　the　flaps。
Surbeck　circled；　as　did　all　the　other　pilots；　their　planes　looking　ratherlike　hawks　over　a　marsh。　And　he　climbed。　The　gunners　tested　their　guns。They　were　Browning　M…2　。50　caliber　machine　guns。　Each　gun　had　about　150working　parts　and　the　men　had　been　required　to　strip　and　reassemble　it　blindfoldedwearing　gloves。　The　guns　weighed　sixty…four　pounds　and　fired　800　roundsof　ammunition　per　minute　at　a　range　of　600　yards。　Sgt。　Louie　Hansen；　a　tailgunner　in　the　743rd　Squadron；　once　discovered　that　both　his　guns　were　jammed—　the　cocking　levers　had　been　put　in　backward　after　the　guns　had　been　cleanedfrom　the　previous　mission。　He　described　what　he　did。　〃There　was　only　spacein　the　turret　to　get　one　hand　through　to　a　gun。　I　did　one　with　my　righthand；　the　other　with　my　left。　Sweat　started　to　trickle　down　my　back；　mygoggles　steamed　over　which　made　no　difference　as　there　was　no　way　to　seewhat　I　was　doing。　The　intense　cold　made　me　afraid　to　remove　my　gloves。　ButI　got　the　job　done　and；　as　most　bat　crew　members　know；　one　can　sweatat　50　degrees　below。〃　Fortunately　for　Surbeck　and　McGovern；　the　guns　ontheir　Liberator　tested　okay。
After　an　hour　or　so；　Surbeck’s　plane　had　bee　a　part　of　the　formation。It　was　a　squadron　box　of　seven　aircraft。　There　were　two　three…plane　echelons。The　lead　plane　had　a　wingman　just　behind　and　on　either　side。　Surbeck　wasone　of　those　on　the　wing　of　the　leader。　The　second　echelon　was　forty　feetbelow　and　forty　feet　back　of　the　lead　echelon。　The　seventh　aircraft；　knownas　〃Tail　End　Charlie；〃　was　behind　the　second　echelon。　Flying　the　wing；　evenfor　Surbeck；　was　more　difficult　than　being　in　the　lead；　but　easier　thanflying　Tail　End　Charlie。　As　the　last　plane　in　the　squadron；　Tail　End　Charliewas　the　most　vulnerable　if　German　fighters　attacked；　and　it　was　the　hardestposition　to　hold。　Usually　new　pilots　and　crews　got　that　assignment。　On　thewing；　Surbeck　wanted　to　stay　close　to　the　plane　he　was　flying　on　so　as　tomake　as　small　and　infrequent　power　changes　as　possible；　to　save　the　enginesand　save　fuel。　Pilot　Lt。　John　Smith；　said　that　〃in　due　course　flying　formationbecame　a　reflex　like　driving　a　car。〃　The　group　consisted　of　four　squadrons；the　lead　box；　the　high　box；　the　low　box　and　the　middle　box。
More　climbing；　to　20；000　and　eventually　25；000　feet　over　the　Adriatic。Then　off　for　the　target。　When　the　group　got　to　the　initial　point　it　turned。But　clouds　had　moved　in　over　Linz　and　the　lead　pilot　decided　to　abort。　Heturned；　so　did　the　others；　and　returned　to　base；　still　fully　loaded　withthe　bombs。
________________________
McGovern’s　first　mission　went　better　than　that　of　Lt。　David　Gandin；a　navigator　in　a　B…24。　In　his　war　diary；　Gandin　reported　that　when　his　Liberator；called　the　Snafu；　was　over　the　target　a　piece　of　flak　came　through　the　cockpitwindow。　The　pilot；　Lt。　Bill　Marsh；　lost　the　top　of　his　head。　The　co…pilot；Lt。　Hilary　Bevins；　was　on　his　first　mission。　He　called　to　his　radio　man；who　came　to　the　cockpit　wearing　a　walkaround　oxygen　bottle　〃and　removedMarsh　from　the　pilot’s　seat。　Bevins　couldn　’t　stand　it　with　Marsh　in　theseat　and　all　the　blood　flowing　around。
〃Bevins　moved　over　to　the　pilot　’s　seat　and　kept　in　the　formation　untilit　headed　off。
All　the　passes　were　out；　so　Bevins　flew　the　opposite　direction　ofthe　setting　sun。　All　the　men　were　freezing　because　of　the　hole　in　the　topof　the　cockpit。　The　engineer　was　sick　to　his　stomach　from　all　the　blood。Bevins’　eyeball　was　scratched　and　Marsh’s　blood　was　frozen　on　his　hands。〃
When　darkness　descended；　Blevin　’s　flew　opposite　the　North　Star。　FinallySnafu　got　back　to　base　　—　but　Bevins　had　never　made　a　night　landing　before。〃As　he　came　in；　he　banked　too　far　to　the　left　and　knocked　off　the　left　landinggear；　bounced　over　and　did　the　same　to　the　right　one；　the　ship　crash…landedand　caught　on　fire。
〃Thank　God　all　got　out　okay；　though　Bevins　wouldn　’t　leave　till　theytook　Marsh’s　body　out　also。　The　plane　burned　to　a　crisp。〃
Learning　to　Fly　in　bat（2）
On　November　17；　McGovern　flew　his　second　mission　as　Surbeck　’s　co…pilot。The
target　was　marshaling　yards　in　Gyor；　Hungary。　Over　the　target　the　flakbegan。　It　was　heavy　and　accurate。　Sticking　tight　to　the　formation；　his　planeand　the　others　could　achieve　a　better　bomb　pattern　but　it　also　made　a　concentratedtarget　for　the　flak　gunners。　〃It　was　just　solid　black　except　for　flashesof　red　where　shells　were　exploding；〃　McGovern　remembered。　The　Germans　wereusing　a　box…type　defense。　Each　of　the　88s　fired　into　an　area　as　the　bombersapproached；　the　shells　traveling　faster　than　the　speed　of　sound　and　setto　explode　at　the　group　’s　altitude。　〃They　just　boxed　it。〃　The　boxes　were2；000　feet　deep　and　2；000　feet　wide；　sometimes　more。　The　German　antiaircraftunits　employed　almost　a　million　personnel　and　operated　over　50；000　guns；most　of　them　the　dreaded　88s。　The　shells　were　time…fused　to　explode　at　20；000feet；　or　above　or　below　that　altitude　according　to　the　flight　pattern。　Asthe　shells　exploded；　sending　out　hundreds　of　pieces　of　steel　shrapnel　thathad　a　killing　zone　radius　of　some　thirty　feet；　the　bombers　flew　into　them。〃Well　they　had　filled　that　box；〃　McGovern　said。　A　standard　expression　fromSurbeck　or　crew　members　was　that　〃the　flak　was　so　thick　you　could　walk　onit。〃　McGovern　〃often　wondered　if　that　’s　the　way　hell　looks。〃
Another　pilot；　Lt。　Robert　Reichard；　recalled　that　〃the　barrage　was　sointense　that　the　daylight　disappeared　and　it　was　as　if　someone　had　cut　outthe　sun。〃　The　B…24's　had　nowhere　to　hide　and　with　the　ground　25；0