Air Force Page #5

- Any airplane, sir.

- I'll take a pursuit ship for mine, sergeant.

- Well, you can take pursuit and...

Yes, sir.

Oh, chief, that's my last apple.

I'm saving it.

Don't leave it laying around, then.

There's a pursuit pilot back there.

Morning, sir. How we doing?

You too? Every 15 minutes, somebody

wakes up and comes here to find out...

...if I know where we are or if I'm gonna

get this airplane lost. I'm getting sick...

- Yes, sir.

- Oh, I'm sorry, sergeant.

- I guess I'm a little on edge.

- Oh, that's all right, sir.

That's the way

your old man would've told me off.

Except he'd have done it

with a four-star cussing.

- Yeah, I guess he would.

- Tell me, sir, how are we doing?

We're all right. I think we're gonna

hit Wake right on the nose.

Sure we will, sir.

Say, chief, what happens if the Japs

have took Wake Island before we get there?

I wish you'd learn

to control that imagination of yours.

- I was just asking.

- Don't you know we're not at war?

- Ain't we in the war yet?

- Hasn't been declared.

- I don't get it.

- Them Japs.

They smear Pearl Harbor, smack Manila,

raid Wake, Guam and Midway...

...and still there ain't no war.

They send a couple of oily gents

to Washington...

...with a olive wreath for the president...

...while the boys back home slough

Uncle Sam over the head with a crowbar.

Your Uncle Sam

is a pretty tough old gentleman.

You just wait till he gets mad.

I hope you don't mind

if I get slightly annoyed in the meantime.

- No. But I didn't expect it of you.

- I still don't get it.

Message coming through, sir.

And good news.

Thanks, Peterson.

Hey, you guys, take a look at this.

That's wonderful.

If the head surgeon says that,

she must be okay.

- Sure she is.

- Boy, I feel a lot better.

Oh, me too.

It was mighty swell of the CO

to think of sending this.

Better show it to our passenger.

Poor guy must be worrying.

- Let him worry. He's got it coming.

- You're being a little tough with Rader.

- I haven't kicked him in the face yet.

- You couldn't be jealous, could you, Bill?

Well, maybe I am.

Peterson, ask Lieutenant Rader

to come up front, will you?

That's the stuff.

Now, look, stay out of arguments.

- We never...

- You can't outtalk that guy.

He's been shooting off his face against

big airplanes since they gave him wings.

But he doesn't know any better.

Just quit arguing.

- You'll be a lot better off.

- Okay, captain.

- Somebody up here wanna see me?

- Yeah.

- We got some good news for you, Tex.

- Yeah?

Boy, that is good news.

She's a swell kid.

You know, Tex,

we were all pretty upset last night.

If we said anything out of line...

Oh, forget it, I know how you felt.

I don't blame you.

Thanks, Tex. After all,

we've known each other a long time.

We've had our arguments about these

big bombers and your Peashooters, but...

Forget it, Tommy.

Just a matter of opinion.

You know, Tex, we were wondering,

what was it like yesterday at Hickam?

- Oh, an awful mess. We just weren't ready.

- How good are those Japs?

They're pretty good

when they got the edge, 10 or 12 to one.

They don't like an even fight.

Every time you get one alone,

he lights out like a scared sage hen.

- We heard you did a swell job.

- Thanks.

Hope you get a decoration.

I'd still like to know

how all their carriers got away.

We didn't even get a bomber off.

- Caught them on the ground.

- You make it sound like the bombers' fault.

Okay, you two, quit it.

You guys are awful touchy

about these crates.

- Oh, it's not that...

- Hold it.

- Go ahead, Monk.

- The wind shifted again.

Give me three degrees to the left.

You'd better make it 2.44.

Okay, two-four-four.

- That's the new flight control?

- You know the old type?

- Yeah.

- Well, this is a whole lot better.

Why don't you fly her

and find out what a B-17 will do?

Oh, no, not me. Looks to me

like she's flying herself anyway.

Well, she is right now, yeah.

She seems to be getting us there,

not very fast though.

She'll out-fly your pursuit ships

up high.

- Will she?

- Yeah, she will.

- You can't sell me.

- What'll a P-40 do at 30,000?

- We'd have to tow it to get it up there.

- We'd run away and hide on you.

- Well, that's all you could do.

- Oh, sure, no arguments.

If you guys will give me a chance,

I'll prove something.

- All right, go ahead.

- Three minutes and no interruptions.

- Anything to get this settled.

- Let him talk.

Irish, the navigator gave you a course.

You reach down and turn a knob

and you're on it, right?

Tommy, that gadget there is almost as good

as your bombsight, isn't it?

- Well, not quite...

- Well, almost.

- And you call the sight the brain, don't you?

- Yeah.

- Then this is a sort of mechanical brain too.

- It does everything but think.

It seems to be doing the thinking

right now.

- Well, I don't...

- Watch out for him.

- Did you hear about it too?

- Hear what?

- I got it pretty straight.

- What?

Why, they're gonna give commissions

to these mechanical brains in bombers.

Put them in uniform and teach them to talk,

turn out bomber pilots on the assembly line.

We pursuit pilots

will be upstairs fighting.

We'll look down and see

a flock of these freight trains coming.

Press a button:
"Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir?" says that thing.

"Drop a load of potatoes on the enemy."

"I'll tell Captain Bombsight right away."

"Very well. Where's your pilot?"

"We left him on the ground.

We don't need them.

Their heads take up too much room."

- Very funny.

- Did you ever think...?

- Keep them quiet, Irish.

- Shut up, you guys. Give him a chance.

Now, seriously, guys,

these big crates are all right.

I just don't wanna fight in any airplane

that more than one man can ride in.

I don't wanna be responsible

for eight or 10 guys.

Or depending on them,

the way you're on Hauser now.

What do you mean, depending on him?

In a pursuit ship, you're a one-man army,

not a taxi driver.

You're on your own.

You don't wait for orders

from a guy who can't fly, a bombardier.

Hey, that's enough.

You give orders to these taxi drivers

when you go to lay eggs.

"Where to?" says the Irishman.

You say, "Go a few blocks and turn right.

Give me change for a nickel, conductor."

When you get to 33rd and Broadway,

throw an egg out the window and run.

Very exciting. I wouldn't fly this crate

if they made me a brigadier for it.

Bill, pipe down. Shut up, Rader.

Go ahead, Peterson.

I've picked up Washington

on the short wave, sir.

- The president's on.

- Thanks.

Washington's on short wave.

Get below and grab some headphones.

Yeah, and take that

pursuit pilot with you.

- Do I have to?

- Take him.

- Come on, lone eagle.

- Drop him out if you get a chance.

The attack yesterday...

... on the Hawaiian Islands...

... has caused severe damage

to American naval and military forces.

I regret to tell you that

very many American lives have been lost.

But always will our whole nation...

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