空军战士-第20章

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iel　through　Linz　on　their　way　to　theItalian　front。　He　warned　the　pilots　and　bombardiers　to　make　every　possibleeffort　to　avoid　hitting　the　cultural　sites　and　educational　buildings。　Bythis　stage　of　the　war；　the　bombardiers　in　the　squadron　would　toggle　theirswitches　when　they　saw　the　lead　plane；　with　the　best　navigator　and　bombardier；drop　its　bombs。
Next　the　men　were　told　who　would　be　the　pilot　of　the　lead　plane。　Hewas　always　a　good　pilot。　Sometimes　he　was　a　major；　but　often　Colonel　Snowdenwould　lead　the　missions　—　when　that　happened；　the　men　would　again　mummertheir　approval。　The　briefing　would　conclude　with　the　group　chaplain　leadingthem　in　a　prayer。
Dismissal　came　from　Snowden；　but　only　after　he　had　the　men　〃hack〃　theirwatches。　They　would　pull　the　stems　of　their　watches　when　the　second　handreached　12。　Snowden　would　have　them　set　the　minute　and　hour　hands　to　correspondto　his；　then　count　to　ten　and　call　〃hack；〃　and　they　would　push　the　stemsback　in。　They　filed　out　of　the　briefing　room；　to　go　to　another　briefing—　one　for　pilots　and　co…pilots；　another　for　radio　operators；　another　fornavigators　and　bombardiers；　still　another　for　gunners。
The　men　climbed　into　trucks　for　the　ride　to　the　storage　sheds　just　offthe　runway　where　their　flying　equipment　and　parachutes　were　located。　Eachcrew　got　out　and　dressed　for　the　mission。　They　were　going　up　to　20；000　feetor　even　higher　and　it　was　going　to　be　cold　up　there；　between　20　and　50　degreesbelow　zero　Fahrenheit。　McGovern　and　the　others　pulled　on　heavy　winter　underwear。Next　they　put　on　long　wool　socks　and　a　wool　military　uniform；　slacks　andshirts　……　olive　drab。　Then　a　leather　jacket　and　leather　trousers；　both　linedwith　sheepskin；　then　sheepskin…lined　heavy　boots。　Big；　heavy　silk…linedleather　gloves　followed。　The　sheepskin…lined　helmet　came　down　over　the　ears。Surbeck　and　McGovern　wore　Colt　。45　pistols　in　a　shoulder　holster；　then　puton　backpacks　containing　their　parachutes。　The　other　crew　members　pickedup　their　parachutes　in　chest　packs；　which　they　carried　into　the　plane　byhand。　They　could　snap　them　on　if　needed。　The　parachute　packers　made　theirstandard　joke　when　giving　them　out；　〃If　it　doesn’t　work；　bring　it　backand　I　’ll　give　you　another。〃
Dressed；　they　walked　to　their　plane　on　its　hard　stand。　Surbeck；　acpaniedby　the　chief　of　the　ground　crew；　walked　around　the　B…24；　checking　it　outvisually。　The　navigator；　bombardier；　radioman；　and　gunners　would　check　outtheir　equipment。
Later；　when　the　plane　had　gotten　up　to　10；000　feet；　the　pilots　and　crewput　on　their　oxygen　masks。　It　covered　the　nose。　They　plugged　electric　cordsfrom　their　electrically　heated　flight　suits　into　an　outlet　on　the　plane—　the　four　engines　created　the　power　for　the　electricity。　They　could　adjustthe　heat；　turning　it　down　a　little　or　up　a　bit　as　needed。　Below　15；000　feetthe　crew　took　off　their　oxygen　masks。　Surbeck　and　McGovern　kept　theirs　onuntil　they　were　down　to　10；000　feet。　At　that　altitude；　all　the　smokers　littheir　cigarettes。　The　smoke　was　so　thick　it　looked　like　there　was　a　fire。
The　bombs　had　been　loaded　during　the　night　into　the　bomb　bay　by　theground　crew　led　by　an　ordnance　officer。　They　assembled　the　bombs　by　takingthe　stabilizing　fins；　stored　in　a　separate　box；　and　screwing　them　on　thebombs。　Using　winches　and　tractors；　the　ground　crews　had　hoisted　the　unwieldy；blunt…nosed　500　pound　bombs　into　their　racks。　They　were　inserted　into　theB…24's　womb　in　a　horizontal　position　and　attached　to　the　metal　racks。　Theyhad　a　cardboard　tag　between　the　bomb　and　the　nose　fuse；　and　at　the　backend　a　wire…arming　pin。　The　tail　gunner　would　crawl　out　on　the　cat　walk　overthe　bomb　bay　door　to　pull　the　tag　and　then　the　pin。
Climbing　into　the　B…24　with　those　big　heavy　boots　and　the　layers　ofclothes　was　always　cumbersome；　as　the　men　waddled　ponderously。　They　carriedflak　jackets；　mandatory　since　Ploesti。　The　crew　members　had　difficulty　gettingthemselves　into　and　adjusted　in　their　cramped　positions；　especially　thenose　turret　and　the　tail　gunner。　The　belly　turret　gunner　waited　until　theywere　in　the　air　before　squeezing　　—　with　the　help　of　the　waist　gunner—　into　his　bubble。　Surbeck　and　McGovern　settled　into　their　seats；　withtheir　parachutes　serving　as　a　sort…of　back　rest。　The　seats　were　encasedin　cast　iron。　The　iron　came　up　to　the　knees；　then　under　the　seat　and　upthe　back。　It　was　there　in　the　event　that　flak　hit　the　plane　on　the　bottomside　so　that；　in　McGovern　’s　words；　〃the　pilot　and　co…pilot　would　havesome　chance　of　survival　because　somebody　has　to　fly　the　airplane。　It　wasn’t　that　they　were　worth　more　than　anybody　else　on　the　crew；　but　if　bothgot　killed　or　badly　injured；　that　plane　is　going　to　go　down。〃
The　moment　Surbeck　got　into　the　plane；　went　to　his　seat；　and　put　onhis　earphones　and　mike　　—　attached　to　his　helmet　—　he　was；　in　McGovern’s　words；　〃totally　in　mand；　of　the　officers　and　sergeants。〃　McGovernalready　knew　that；　but　watching　Captain　Surbeck　go　through　his　routine　reinforcedthe　point。　McGovern　explained；　〃It　had　to　be　that　way　because　the　pilotwas　the　only　one　with　his　hands　on　the　controls　that　determined　where　theplane　was　going　to　go　and　how　it　was　going　to　be　flown。〃　Of　course　he　hadhelp；　especially　from　the　navigator　and　bombardier；　the　radio　operator　andthe　flight　engineers；　〃but　the　request　for　their　help　came　from　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　squa