Captains of the Clouds Page #9

You'll see that your course

carries you through Area D.

You'll receive a position report:

Longitude 30, 41 West.

Latitude 49, 28 North.

This is considered

the area of greatest danger.

Once you pass this,

all should be plain sailing.

Each squadron,

in command of a squadron leader...

...will consists of five flights

of five bombers each.

Number 1 of each

will be in charge of a lieutenant.

Numbers 2 and 3 will be flown

by RCAF personnel...

...and Numbers 4 and 5,

by civilian pilots.

- Is that all quite clear?

- Yes, sir.

Carry on, then. And good luck.

Thank you, sir.

See you in the air.

- Walter Billings?

- Sir.

- Dumont?

- Here. Here, sir.

- You're with Flight Lieutenant James.

- Let's go.

- Norman Holdsworth.

- Here, sir.

- Robert Monroe.

- Right here.

Go with Flight Lieutenant Holt.

- Richard Henderson?

- Yes, sir.

- Martin Crowley?

- Yes, sir.

- You're with Flight Lieutenant Tucker.

- Come with me.

- Philip Cranbrook.

- That's me, sir.

Go with the Squadron Leader Dutton.

You and Francis Patrick Murphy.

- Tiny.

- Here.

Francis Patrick Murphy.

- Irish?

- Close, thank you, sir.

Squadron Leader Dutton,

here are your pilots.

- All right, let's go.

- Pierson. Ronald Pierson?

- Yes, sir.

- Ferguson. Albert Ferguson.

- Cranbrook?

- Yes, sir.

You'll fly Aircraft 39.

It's warming up for you.

Very good, sir.

McCord? William McCord? Go with...

I wanna talk to you alone.

- Gibbons? Harold Gibbons?

- Here, sir.

Close the door.

Well, go ahead. Sound off.

This ought to make you feel pretty good.

It sure does.

We have a few things to straighten out.

Now, let's try

to stick to one of them, huh?

Do I fly that bomber?

There's something else.

Not for me there, isn't it.

Now, look, fella. There's nothing left

for me this side of the ocean.

I know that. I'm all washed out.

But with the RAF, I may get

a crack at another start. Who knows?

There's one slim chance

I can get even for Tiny.

- For Tiny?

- Yes.

He was the one that was killed

at the wings ceremony at Uplands.

He was flying Popcorn's plane.

You saw him crash.

- That was Tiny?

- Yeah.

I was responsible. It was all my fault.

I went through his things.

He didn't have relatives.

So I took all his papers and here I am.

And there's only one thing

that's important: That I fly that bomber.

Are you gonna stop me?

Nobody's gonna stop you.

But that other thing, I...

I saw Emily in Ottawa.

She told me why you married her.

You fly number 21.

Scrounger's your navigator.

- Old home week, huh?

- Practically.

Listen, Mr. Murphy. If you don't

keep your eyes on those dials...

...l'm gonna punch

a real hole in your head.

Been taking lessons?

Number 53 to tower. Ready to take off.

Tower to 53. Wait a minute.

We'll give you the signal.

Give him the Aldis light.

Here we are.

We're making better time than I thought.

Must have a strong tailwind.

Yeah, must have.

Keep a good radio watch,

but don't use the transmitter.

We have to keep WT silence.

Why don't you pull that cot

and get some sleep.

No, I'm not tired. Besides, I don't wanna

miss the first sight of England.

I'll call you when we pass Ireland.

Ireland. All out for Ireland.

Next stop England.

Change for the Berlin shuttle.

What I want to know is what

they'll do with us after they get us there.

Probably send us back by boat.

Oh, no, not me.

I don't risk my life on no boat.

You needn't worry. They'll have to keep you

to fly this bomber.

- You think so?

- Positive.

After the trouble you had

getting in that seat...

...you're part of the fixtures.

Seems to be getting light early.

We're going east so fast

I've lost all track of time change.

Sunrise was 0612 GMT.

Six-twelve.

We're only a couple of hours out.

Fish and chips for tea, my lads.

Cigarette?

- Yours?

- No, yours.

Oh, thank you.

Say, take a good look at me, will you?

- Scrounger, that's asking too much.

- No, seriously.

Imagine what I looked like 12 years ago

without a mustache.

- Got it?

- I think so.

If you'd known me then,

do you think you'd recognize me now?

- Probably, why?

- Oh, dear, very upsetting.

When I left London,

I owed so much money to so many chaps.

Coffee.

Maybe you'd like to get out

and take a little walk?

Seven hours in a plane

is enough to tire anyone.

Not me.

I would like to keep right on flying.

Right over Berlin. You bet.

I would like to give Mr. Schicklboob...

...some of that... with the bombs

and little bit of that... with the guns.

That's why they don't put

any fighting equipment in these ships.

They wanna get them to England,

not have fellas like you looking for trouble.

Can I help it

if I have fighting blood in my veins?

What's it like, Scrounger?

What's what like?

Your home? Your part of England?

The same as any other part of England.

It's... Well, it's England.

Narrow lanes, high hedges,

thatched cottages and all that?

That's right. That's Devon.

I lived there till I was nearly 20.

If ever I get enough money together,

I'm going to buy that house.

I never tagged you

for a home-loving person.

It isn't that, but when you've been away

for a long time, you...

You remember things.

- Like what?

- Oh, I don't know.

Playing darts in the village pub.

Looking forward to that.

A mug of mild and bitter.

Looking forward to that too.

Weekends on the river.

And larks singing high over the moors.

Beastly little nuisances, but nice.

You know, all the things you remember

when you think about England.

Funny. I had a hunch I was never gonna

see it again until this chance popped along.

Just shows you how much a fellow

can depend on hunches.

You'll be hearing those larks

in an hour or so.

- Hope so. Little more coffee?

- Yeah, just a spot.

We should be sighting land very soon.

Where there's a country lane

- What's the matter? Spot something?

- I'm not sure.

I thought I saw a reflection.

Something shining.

It's a Messerschmitt, a 109.

Hudson 53 to A Flight.

Full throttle, climb for cloud formation.

He's got Blimp.

It's all right. He just got my cigarette.

Scrounger. Scrounger.

Scrounger.

Johnny, he got Scrounger.

Cease communication.

Maintain radio silence.

- Plane 21, hold your position.

- Sorry, I've got an appointment.

I've got a date to meet Fritzie.

We're not gonna hold still for that,

are we?

Brian, rejoin the formation.

No. He'd pick us off one at a time.

Us and all the squadrons following.

Brian, obey orders.

I'm not disobeying orders,

I just can't hear you.

Brian.

I think he's onto us, Scrounger.

Hold still, heinie.

Bearing 020 degrees.

The landfall bearing 020 degrees,

straight ahead of you, gentlemen...

...is England.

We shall go on to the end.

We shall fight on the seas and oceans.

We shall fight with growing confidence...

... and growing strength in the air.

We shall fight in the fields

and in the streets.

We shall never surrender.

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