Mission 13: Are you superstitious? Triskadekatoraphobia! Triskadekatoraphobia!

[Rain Man]

If you make this one, you're over halfway home.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

1 in 6, actually, if a bomb gets hit. Other than one unfortunate plane early on, you're beating the odds.

aaah...yeah, I wouldn't have guessed that.

I didn't "see" the plane die a horrible death early on -- I wasn't paying attention to this back then.

BTW, I want to commend you on the fine job you're doing. I'm frankly stunned that there's so much complexity to it. I never would have guessed that one possible result in this game would be serious fog over the landing strip, resulting in coming in at a slight angle, which has the expected disastrous results. It takes a very well developed game to include stuff like that.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by JazzzLovr

It's a good thing I'm right-handed.

Well, if you weren't, you are now.

[PastorMikH]

What are the odds now of Fooo Fighters getting a bomb shot and it explodes????

Amnorix may have just jinxed the plane. But then again Amnorix, if you die and get put on a lower numbered plane you don't have to wait a week to see the results of your flight.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by PastorMikH

What are the odds now of Fooo Fighters getting a bomb shot and it explodes????

Amnorix may have just jinxed the plane. But then again Amnorix, if you die and get put on a lower numbered plane you don't have to wait a week to see the results of your flight.

Tell me about it. The suspense is killing me. Hopefully the flight won't, however....

[Rain Man]

Hopefully I'll get the final two missions run tomorrow. I've got a charity event to go to tonight, so if it wasn't for those stinkin' orphans you'd find out sooner.

[PastorMikH]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Hopefully I'll get the final two missions run tomorrow. I've got a charity event to go to tonight, so if it wasn't for those stinkin' orphans you'd find out sooner.

Don't worry about it Kevin. I'm really in no rush now that I know I survived the mission.

[Lzen]

Lzen drops out of formation and El Duderino circles at the base until the other planes land. Even on two engines, it’s a good landing.

Ta Daaa!!

[Loki]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Actually, seems to happen all the time. I think there's been at least 15-20 hits on bombs without exploding yet. Seems to be a VERY low probability event.

i meant in a row. 2 missions back to back.
if that's still common then i'll


ps: how's new baby? sleeping thru the night yet?

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Loki

i meant in a row. 2 missions back to back.
if that's still common then i'll


ps: how's new baby? sleeping thru the night yet?

"Sounds like he has a touch of colic", the doctor said. In other words, our lives are hell at the moment...

They say it tends to subside when they're about 12 weeks old, so we're about 2/3rds of the way there. Can't subside soon enough...

Thanks for asking, btw, and I hate to complain, but damn he's a handful.

He's also a future middle linebacker. My oldest is destined for either WR or just avoiding the sport altogether for fear of breaking him in half. This one is very solid indeed.

[Loki]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

"Sounds like he has a touch of colic", the doctor said. In other words, our lives are hell at the moment...

They say it tends to subside when they're about 12 weeks old, so we're about 2/3rds of the way there. Can't subside soon enough...

Thanks for asking, btw, and I hate to complain, but damn he's a handful.

He's also a future middle linebacker. My oldest is destined for either WR or just avoiding the sport altogether for fear of breaking him in half. This one is very solid indeed.

sorry to hear he's under the weather. as i'm sure you know, it won't last forever. it's ok to complain every now and then, you're not a bad guy (for a libbie)

happy mother's day to your wife.

[PastorMikH]

I might as well put up the 6,000th post in the hanger area.

[Rain Man]

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B-17 #18 – Fooooo Fighters

Pilot NaptownChief (12)
Copilot Tommykat (12)
Bombardier kcnut
Navigator Adam (12)
Engineer Amnorix (12)
Radio Op. KC Kings (12)
Tail Gunner el borracho (12)
Ball Turret Gunner NewChief (12)
Right Waist Gunner mlyonsd (1)
Left Waist Gunner Otter

Target: Rotterdam
Mid-formation horizontally and vertically (low vulnerability)
Distance: 4 zones

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel

No enemy

Zone 3 Out: North Sea

No enemy

Zone 4 Out: Netherlands (Entering Target Zone)

2 Me110s attack – 1 is driven off by fighters

Newchief fires, misses
Kcnut fires, misses
El borracho fires, damages Me110

Me misses, breaks off attack

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
Light Flak - misses
The rookie kcnut scores a hit – 20% score

Zone 4 Out: Netherlands (Leaving Target Zone)

5 Fw190s attack

Adam fires, misses
Amnorix fires, misses
Kckings fires, hits Fw190
Kcnut fires, misses
El borracho fires, misses
Newchief fires, damages Fw190

3 Fws miss, break off attack

Fw scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to tail
-tail – rudder slightly damaged
-superficial damage to tail

Fw scores 5 hits
-starboard wing root damaged
-radio room – KC Kings takes a light wound to the back of the left thigh
-port wing – inboard fuel tank begins leaking
-pilot compartment – tommykat loses her oxygen and switches to her backup system
-starboard wing aileron destroyed

2 Fws circle, attack again

Amnorix fires, damages Fw190
El borracho fires, misses
Mlyonsdfires, misses
Otter fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

Fw scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to bomb bay
nose – starboard cheek gun is damaged

Fw circles, attacks again

El borracho fires, misses
Newchief fires, misses
Amnorix fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

3 Fw190s attack – 1 is driven off by fighters

Kcnut fires, hits Fw190
Adam fires, misses
Amnorix fires, damages Fw190
Mlyonsdfires, misses
Otter fires, misses

2 Fws miss, break off attack

tommykat ponders the fuel leak, and decides that it shouldn’t be a serious problem unless something unexpected happens.

Zone 3 Out: North Sea

2 Me110s attack – 1 is driven off by fighters

El borracho fires, misses
Newchief fires, misses
Otter fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

Zone 2: English Channel

No enemy

Zone 1: England

Good weather
Good landing, and there's still enough fuel to have flown another hour.

Aftereffects

None

Eligible for next mission

Pilot NaptownChief (12)
Copilot Tommykat (12)
Bombardier kcnut
Navigator Adam (12)
Engineer Amnorix (12)
Radio Op. KC Kings (12)
Tail Gunner el borracho (12)
Ball Turret Gunner NewChief (12)
Right Waist Gunner mlyonsd (1)
Left Waist Gunner Otter

Not a bad mission overall.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Not a bad mission overall.

Cupcake mission to a nearby target while flying in the middle of the formation. A helluva lot better than being the lead bomber, as we were last time, that's for sure.

Halfway home!!!

[Rain Man]

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B-17 #19 – War Dog II – Back in the Habit

Pilot DenverChief
Copilot Boozer (12)
Bombardier Sure-Oz (12)
Navigator Gunther_Fan (12)
Engineer Lightning Rod (12)
Radio Op. Stinger
Tail Gunner Chief Faithful (12)
Ball Turret Gunner Braincase (6)
Right Waist Gunner SNR
Left Waist Gunner the Talking Can

Target: La Rochelle (extra flak and extra fighters – good luck)
Mid-formation horizontally, low vertically (high vulnerability)
Distance: 8 zones

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel

2 Fw190s, 1 Me109, 1 Me110 attack – 1 Me109 is driven off by fighters

SNR fires, misses
The Talking Can fires, misses
Chief Faithful fires, misses
Braincase fires, misses
Gunther_Fan fires, hits Me110
Sure-Oz fires, misses

Me, 2 Fws miss, break off attack

Zone 3 Out: Western Channel

3 Me110s attack

Gunther_Fan fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, misses
Chief Faithful fires, misses
Braincase fires, hits Me110
The Talking Can fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

Me scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to nose
-superficial damage to bomb bay

Me scores 3 hits

-Tail – tail gun is knocked out of commission. That’s not good this early in the mission.
-superficial damage to port wing
-tail – rudder slightly damaged

2 Mes circle, attack again

Gunther_Fan fires, hits Me110
Lightning Rod fires, misses
Sure-Oz fires, misses
SNR fires, misses

Hit Me misses, breaks off attack

Me scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to pilot compartment
-starboard wing root damaged

Me circles, attacks again

Braincase fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, misses

Me scores 2 hits
-tail – rudder is heavily damaged
-tail – superficial damage to tailplane

Me breaks off attack due to fuel.

Zone 4 Out: France

No enemy

Zone 5 Out: France – out of fighter range

5 Fw190s attack

Sure-Oz fires, misses
Gunther_Fan fires, hits Fw190
Lightning Rod fires, misses
Stinger fires, hits Fw190
Braincase fires, misses
The Talking Can fires, misses

2 hit Fws, Fw miss, break off attack

Fw scores 3 hits
-nose – Gunther_Fan takes a light wound to the right hip
-tail – superficial damage to tailplane
-bomb bay – bomb bay doors are jammed (though it’s not known yet)

Fw scores 2 hits
-radio room – stinger takes a light wound to the left foot
-superficial damage to tail

2 Fws circle, attack again

Sure-Oz fires, misses
Gunther_Fan fires, misses
Stinger fires, hits Fw190
Lightning Rod fires, misses

2 Fws miss, break off attack

2 Fw190s attack

The Talking Can fires, hits Fw190
Lightning Rod fires, misses
Sure-Oz fires, misses
Gunther_Fan fires, misses

2 Fws miss, break off attack

Zone 6 Out: France

No enemy

Zone 7 Out: France

1 Me109 is driven off by other B-17s

Zone 8 Out: France (Entering Target Zone)

2 Me110s attack

Braincase fires, damages Me110
The Talking Can fires, misses

2 Mes miss, break off attack

5 Fw190s attack

Sure-Oz fires, misses
Gunther_Fan fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, damages Fw190
Braincase fires, misses

4 Fws miss, break off attack

Fw scores 1 hit
-pilot compartment – Denverchief and Boozer lose their heat. It’s going to get cold up there.

Fw circles, attacks again

SNR fires, misses
Braincase fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
Heavy Flak - misses
This isn’t good. The bomb bay doors won’t open – 0% score, as War Dog flies over the target without a bomb release.

Zone 8 Out: France (Leaving Target Zone)

Chief_Faithful, without his gun, is ordered by DenverChief to try to unjam the doors. Wearing his parachute, Chief Faithful climbs down into the bomb bay, hangs on with an unparalleled motivation, and tries to kick the doors open. He has mixed feelings when it won’t break open. They’re jammed solid.

Up front, Boozer frowns as other planes pass War Dog. Burdened by its bombs, the B-17 can’t keep up with the accelerating formation and is falling back through the pack.

1 Fw190 attacks

Sure-Oz fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

2 Me110s are driven off by other B-17s

Zone 7 Out: France

War Dog has some serious problems. DenverChief’s and Boozer’s fingers are freezing to the yokes, and they’re now dropping out the back of the formation. Frowning, DenverChief drops the plane out of formation and descends to 10,000 feet to at least get some warmth and hopefully sneak out alone.

4 Me110s attack

Sure-Oz fires, misses
Gunther_Fan fires, kills Me110
Braincase fires, damages Me110
The Talking Can fires, misses

Me110 misses

Damaged Me scores 2 hits, breaks off attack
-PING! Bombs are hit right next to Chief_Faithful, but don’t blow up.
-starboard wing root is moderately damaged

Me scores 2 hits
-#3 engine is hit and dies gracefully. War Dog is really losing speed now.
-superficial damage to waist

2 Mes circle, attack again since War Dog is alone and out of formation

Lightning Rod fires, misses
Sure-Oz fires, misses

Me misses

Me scores 3 hits
-tail – control cables are damaged, but operable
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-nose – nose gun is knocked out of commission

2 Mes circle, attack again

Lightning Rod fires, misses
Sure-Oz fires, misses
Gunther_Fan fires, misses

Ground flak fires and misses

Zone 6 Out: France

No enemy

Ground flak fires and misses

Zone 5 Out: France

Stinger radios out that they’re coming late and low, and requests any fighter help possible as soon as they get back into fighter range.

2 Fw190s, 2 Me109s, 1 Me110 attack

Gunther_Fan fires, damages Fw190
Lightning Rod fires, kills Fw190
Braincase fires, damages Me109
SNR fires, kills Me109

Damaged Fw misses, breaks off attack

Damaged Me misses, breaks off attack

Me scores 1 hit
-superficial damage to waist

Me circles, attacks again

Sure-Oz fires, misses

Me scores 5 hits
-nose – port cheek gun out.
-port wing – inboard fuel tank is hit, but self-seals with no fire, explosion, or leakage
-#1 engine is hit and grinds to a halt. War Dog is now down to two engines
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-superficial damage to starboard wing

Me circles, attacks again

Lightning Rod fires, misses

Me breaks off attack due to fuel

SNR moves up and helps with the bomb doors, but to no avail. Even bouncing their entire weight on the doors, SNR and Chief_Faithful can’t unwedge the twisted metal. Chief_Faithful gives up and reports that the bombs can’t be dropped. They’ll have to carry them home.

Veteran copilot boozer is now officially worried. With two engines and a full bomb load, War Dog is struggling to maintain altitude even with no maneuvering. Any type of turn or evasive action is going to cost them altitude from here on out.

3 Fw190s attack

Lightning Rod fires, damages Fw190
Braincase fires, misses
The Talking Can fires, misses

2 Fws miss

Fw scores 1 hit
-nose – sure-oz takes a serious wound to the right chest. He goes down.

Lightning rod and braincase both report running low on fuel. Chief_Faithful scuttles back to his inoperable tail gun to grab his spare ammo.

3 Fws circle, attack again. The gunners are quite unhappy because the loss of three guns now, which is limiting their ability to fight back.

Gunther_Fan fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, misses
Braincase fires, damages Fw190

Damaged Fw misses, breaks off attack

Fw scores 3 hits
-starboard wing – landing gear is destroyed
-tail – Chief_Faithful is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and sustains a serious wound to the right thigh. He goes down in the in the empennage part way to the tail.
-superficial damage to waist

Fw scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to tail
-waist – starboard waist gun is destroyed. That’s now four guns positions that are destroyed.
-tail – tailwheel is destroyed

2 Fws circles, attack again

Lightning Rod fires, damages Fw190
Braincase fires, misses

2 Fws miss, break off attack

Ground flak fires and misses

War Dog is now at 8,500 feet.

Zone 4 Out: France – back in fighter range

SNR hustles back to get the spare ammo that Chief_Faithful had initially gathered.

With 4 guns out of commission, Stinger radios out to any nearby fighters asking for immediate support.

1 Fw190, 1 Me109 attack

Stinger fires, misses
Braincase fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, misses

Me misses.

Fw scores 2 hits
-tail – the tail pod is destroyed. Fortunately, Chief_Faithful wasn’t in it, as he lies seriously wounded closer to the waist
-pilot compartment – Denverchief and Boozer lose oxygen, but it doesn’t matter since they’re already at a low altitude.

Fw, Me circle, attack again

Lightning Rod fires, damages Fw190

Fw, Me miss, and circle to attack again.

The Fw and Me come in at angles where they can’t be attacked. The crew just flinches and ducks, but both planes miss and have to leave due to low fuel.

War Dog is now at 7,500 feet.

2 Fw190s, 1 Me109 attack. It is obvious that the Germans have pinpointed the stricken War Dog and are going all out to bring it down.

Lightning Rod fires, hits Me109
Gunther_Fan fires, misses
Braincase fires, kills the same Me109

Fw scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to port aileron
-superficial damage to starboard wing

Fw scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to nose
-nose – sure-oz, lying on the deck wounded, takes another serious hit to the left foot, shattering it. He bleeds out and dies on board.
-nose – the nose gun pod is completely destroyed, leaving a gaping hole at the front of the plane. Gunther_Fan hangs on against the wind, manning the only surviving gun in the nose.

2 Fws circle, attack again

Gunther_Fan fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, misses

Fw scores 2 hits
-control cables are badly damaged. It’s hard to control the elevators now.
-superficial damage to tail

Fw misses.

2 Fws circle, attack again. The crew can’t get positioned to fire at them. Fortunately, bo

Fw misses

Fw scores 2 hits
-pilot compartment – lightning rod’s oxygen system is destroyed, but it doesn’t matter at this low altitude.
-superficial damage to waist

The 2 Fws have to leave due to low fuel.

Ground flak fires and misses

War Dog is now at 6,000 feet.

3 Fw190s attack. They’re learning, and are coming in from the nose and the tail, where War Dog has difficulty defending itself.

Gunther_Fan fires, misses
Lightning Rod fires, damages Fw190
Braincase fires, misses

Damaged Fw scores 2 hits, breaks off attack
-superficial damage to bomb bay
-superficial damage to pilot compartment

Fw scores 2 hits
-port wing – aileron is destroyed
-superficial damage to port wing

War Dog is now at 5,000 feet.

Fw scores 2 hits
-port wing – the #2 engine is hit and sputters to a stop. War Dog is now down to only the #4 engine and is dropping fast. The crew realizes that they won’t be landing in England, and a scramble begins for the parachutes.
-tail – Chief_Faithful once again is unlucky, taking a light wound that shatters his right knee. He loses consciousness.

To the crew’s cheers, 3 British Spitfires streak in from 12 o’clock. The Spitfires furiously drive off 1 Fw

Fw circles, attacks again

Braincase fires, damages Fw190

Fw scores 3 hits
-radio room – With a whoosh, the wiring in the radio room catches fire. Stinger limps to the nearest fire extinguisher and gets the fire under control.
-nose – the bomb controls are destroyed, not that it matters
-superficial damage to starboard wing

The Spitfires return and drive off the other Fw.

War Dog is now at 3,000 feet and the descent is accelerating. Denverchief continues flying while boozer lets everyone know that the plane is in imminent trouble.

Zone 3: Western Channel

Limping on one engine, with much of the crew hurt and guns damaged, War Dog crosses the coastline and enters the Western English Channel. Boozer shakes his head, though. At this rate, War Dog will go into the drink long before it even comes close to England.

It gets worse. Since the plane is still carrying it’s bombs, they can’t attempt a water landing, or the bombs will probably explode on impact. And they can’t land on a French airfield for the same reason, since two of their three landing gear wheels are inoperable.

Bailing out over water would be a near-suicide, because the water is choppy and they’re still a long way from British-controlled waters.

A decision has to be made soon, as the plane is now down to about 2,000 feet. Denverchief looks to the veteran Boozer for guidance. Boozer reluctantly recommends that the plane turn around and fly back over France, so the crew can bail out over land. At least they’ll have a strong chance of surviving the landing, and then they’ll be on their own to escape.

War Dog radios its attentions to the loyal Spitfires, and they waggle their wings and accelerate away. They can do nothing to help at this point, and wish their best to the War Dog crew.

DenverChief turns the plane around and flies back over the coast, heading for the most wooded area he can find. Down in the nose, Gunther_Fan offers a crash course over the intercom system about where they’ll be bailing out, and the crew all wishes each other good luck. Once over the woods, parachutes begin blooming from War Dog at an uncomfortably low altitude.

Bombardier Sure-Oz (12) is KIA on the plane, and goes down with it.

Tail Gunner Chief Faithful (12) is mistakenly assumed to be dead as he lies unconscious in a pool of blood. He too goes down with the plane as there was no time to check on him more thoroughly.

Rookie Left Waist Gunner the Talking Can is the first to bail out, and he lands well in a copse of woods. Fresh from American soil and well-fed, he heads straight north at a jog, and covers the 200 miles to the coast in less than four days, hiding the entire time and traveling mostly at night. Once he reaches the coast, he “appropriates” a small sailboat at gunpoint and heads northeast. Twelve house later, he pulls into a small port in England and gives the sailboat to a young boy who helps him dock. He surprises central command by merely showing up at base a week later, but never explains why it took him a week to get from the port back to the base.

Copilot Boozer (12) and Radio Op. Stinger bail out next, both landing well. Unfortunately, stinger isn’t overly mobile on his injured foot. Boozer stays with him, and they don’t have much of a chance. They evade detection for three days, but haven’t made much headway when a French farmer turns them in at gunpoint. Off to the Stalag.

Ball Turret Gunner Braincase (6) dives out, pulling his chute quickly since the plane is now at less than 1,000 feet. He lands hard, but eventually determines that he didn’t break any bones despite hitting the ground hard. He rises and starts walking, eventually meeting an elderly lady driving a haycart. With the old woman’s help, he hides in the haycart, and that night, after a good simple meal of meat and potatoes, he joins the French Underground. Killing two Germans and blowing up a railyard on his way north, he discovers a dark side that enjoys sneaking up behind another human being and strangling him to death silently while his victim struggles, writhes, and eventually falls limp. It is an enjoyment that will come back to haunt him later in life. However, it’s a skill that comes in handy at the moment, and it’s with great reluctance that he finally says goodbye to his noble allies on the northern coast. A French fisherman trolls him to a meeting point where an American speedboat takes him aboard and delivers him back to base. Braincase will fly again.

Right Waist Gunner SNR bails out closer to the ground than he hoped, and lands hard as well. Too hard. Hobbling on a broken right leg, he nonetheless hides out for three days, crawling over two miles, before he’s captured and sent off to the stalag.

Engineer Lightning Rod (12) and Navigator Gunther_Fan (12) go out next. Gunther_Fan is nursing an injured hip, and the landing didn’t help it any as it dislocates and causes serious internal damage. Lightning Rod, who was fortunate to avoid injury, helps carry him, but it’s no use. With the Germans closing in, Gunther_Fan offers up the noble, “Leave me and save yourself” speech. Recognizing the truth of it, Lightning Rod shakes hands and takes off from an otherwise certain capture. As Gunther_Fan delays the Germans and gives them bad information during his capture and interrogation (and long recovery in Germany), Lightning Rod is off like a rabbit. He meets a beautiful auburn-haired woman who takes him in, and enjoys three days of hiding under her bed before the Underground picks him up. Sending him south and west through less hostile territory, he eventually finds his way to Spain, then heads down to Gibraltar and identifies himself joins the garrison there for the short term. A week later, he’s on a Destroyer headed back to base.

Pilot DenverChief is the last one out of the plane, as he sets it on autopilot. War Dog is now at only 400 feet, and 2 Me110s have discovered it. As DenverChief bails out, one of the planes goes for the kill. Helpless in his chute, DenverChief feels bullets rip his parachute, and he also takes a light wound to the head. When he wakes up, he’s in a temporary POW hospital, lying unattended. Looking around, he sees no one guarding the place, and merely walks out the door, confused and somewhat disoriented. At the edge of town, a wide-eyed townsperson frantically waves him into a Safe House. A week later, he’s sporting a flashy scar but otherwise is back to 100 percent, and his rescuers drive him on the backroads to a British rendezvous point. British Special Forces pick him up on their way back from a mission they won’t talk about, and he rides with them on a mini-sub headed back to England, thereby completing a rare escape from his captors.

Aftereffects

Surprisingly, almost half the crew made it out. War Dog is still flying.

Eligible for next mission

Pilot DenverChief
Copilot XXX
Bombardier XXX
Navigator Lightning Rod (12), promoted
Engineer XXX
Radio Op. XXX
Tail Gunner Braincase (6), promoted
Ball Turret Gunner XXX
Right Waist Gunner the Talking Can, promoted
Left Waist Gunner XXX

War Dog took 55 hits, and still four guys got home! They lost three engines, four guns, two landing gear wheels, most of the bombing system, part of the nose pod, the tail pod, an aileron, most of the rudder, most of the control cables, and probably more, and still kept the bird in the air for most of the mission.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

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The new symbol of "unkillable" Damn!!!!

A decision has to be made soon, as the plane is now down to about 2,000 feet. Denverchief looks to the veteran Boozer for guidance. Boozer reluctantly recommends that the plane turn around and fly back over France, so the crew can bail out over land. At least they’ll have a strong chance of surviving the landing, and then they’ll be on their own to escape.

....and saves most of the crew with his correct and decisive leadership.

Tail Gunner Chief Faithful (12) is mistakenly assumed to be dead as he lies unconscious in a pool of blood. He too goes down with the plane as there was no time to check on him more thoroughly.

Which would be about the fourth piece of stunning bad luck for him this flight...

Braincase .... Killing two Germans and blowing up a railyard on his way north, he discovers a dark side that enjoys sneaking up behind another human being and strangling him to death silently while his victim struggles, writhes, and eventually falls limp. It is an enjoyment that will come back to haunt him later in life. However, it’s a skill that comes in handy at the moment, and it’s with great reluctance that he finally says goodbye to his noble allies on the northern coast.

Let's hope the Krauts do him in first....

Lightning Rod is off like a rabbit. He meets a beautiful auburn-haired woman who takes him in, and enjoys three days of hiding under her bed before the Underground picks him up.

I'll bet he enjoyed the three days hiding "under" her bed...

Pilot DenverChief is the last one out of the plane, as he sets it on autopilot. War Dog is now at only 400 feet, and 2 Me110s have discovered it. As DenverChief bails out, one of the planes goes for the kill. Helpless in his chute, DenverChief feels bullets rip his parachute, and he also takes a light wound to the head. When he wakes up, he’s in a temporary POW hospital, lying unattended. Looking around, he sees no one guarding the place, and merely walks out the door, confused and somewhat disoriented. At the edge of town, a wide-eyed townsperson frantically waves him into a Safe House. A week later, he’s sporting a flashy scar but otherwise is back to 100 percent, and his rescuers drive him on the backroads to a British rendezvous point. British Special Forces pick him up on their way back from a mission they won’t talk about, and he rides with them on a mini-sub headed back to England, thereby completing a rare escape from his captors.

I now see where Chief Faithful's luck went... Simply amazing.

War Dog took 55 hits, and still four guys got home! They lost three engines, four guns, two landing gear wheels, most of the bombing system, part of the nose pod, the tail pod, an aileron, most of the rudder, most of the control cables, and probably more, and still kept the bird in the air for most of the mission.

And speaking about amazing.... That's one damn tough dog....