Sun, Jan 2, 1966
On the way back from a mission, a mentor of Joe Gallagher's, Colonel Gus "Pappy" Wexler is flying as an observer. Gallagher asks Fowler to let Wexler fly in the co-pilot seat. They are attacked by ME-109's and Joe is wounded, Pappy takes over calling Gallagher "Bernie". At HQ General Pritchard asks Harvey Stovall's opinion of Wexler. General Britt is away in Washington and if he is not back, Pritchard will be looking for a new Wing Commander. He is thinking of Wexler or Gallagher. Gallagher is on the sick list so Wexler becomes acting Group Commander, and Gallagher the acting Wing Commander. Wexler wants things run by the book. On the next mission, he takes 3 planes and turns too early and aborts. He calls his Bob Fowler, his co-pilot "Bernie", and when Sandy questions him, Wexler orders him to stand down and report to the Flight Surgeon when he is back. Later in the Star & Bottle, the pilots celebrate with Wexler and he makes a good show of it. He arm wrestles Captain Banazek and wins.
Sun, Jan 9, 1966
With Allied bombing operations stymied by mysteriously improved German radar capabilities, Col. Gallagher becomes involved with a multi-national, multi-service commando mission aimed at knocking out the enemy facilities and stealing the technology for study. The undertaking is put at grave risk, however, by a combination of poor coordination between the different units involved, Nazi spies, and the reluctant participation of a key expert, Captain Deel, who happens to be a problematic acquaintance of Gallagher's from his past. And now Deel is having a fling with the sister of an important British officer involved in the task who is not at all happy about it.
Sun, Jan 30, 1966
Lt. Wilson, a young, inexperienced fighter pilot, is so eager to get his first kill and fit in with his flying mates that he manages to shoot up Gallagher's plane while chasing an enemy fighter. Gallagher is willing to chalk it up to youthful exuberance and let the matter drop, but Sandy takes it personally and makes Wilson's life miserable. To make up for it, Wilson volunteers for a dangerous mission and ends up saving Gallagher's life at great peril to his own. This makes him an instant hero, especially in Sandy's eyes. It also leaves him craving even more attention, but at what risk.
Sun, Feb 13, 1966
Major Parsons has apparently just completed his 25th mission, making him eligible to be rotated back to the States, out of the fighting, something he celebrates with great relish. However, Gallagher has formulated a plan to knock out an exceptionally difficult target, and it requires a pilot with qualifications that match Parson's to a tee. The Major is definitely not inclined to volunteer with a guaranteed return to safety in hand, especially since the assignment has the earmarks of a suicide mission. No amount of persuasion budges him, that is until General Britt discovers a technicality that leaves him at 24 completed missions, instead of 25.
Sun, Feb 27, 1966
After 49 successful missions, Angel Babe is the Grande Damme of the 918th bomber fleet, and to some like her flight engineer, Sgt. Willets, she even seems to have a soul (and mind) of her own. Her endurance has earned her the label of good-luck charm to the men of the Group. Upon completion of her 50th mission, the Army has decided to retire her from active service and return her to the States for a life of leisure as a recruiting icon. But Angel Babe seems to have other ideas, as she suddenly develops a multitude of mechanical ailments that thwart that final-mission goal. Not only does this strange turn of events recast her as an albatross, it also casts a shadow of suspicion over Willets due to his insistence that she's not ready to withdraw from combat.
Sun, Mar 20, 1966
Everett Stone, a pilot who washed out of flight training and was subsequently dishonorably discharged from the service for insubordination after serving six months hard labor, finds his way to England as a civilian named Thomas Carpenter, and proceeds to infiltrate the 918th and masquerade as a captain, claiming his belongings and credentials were stolen in London. Desperate for replacements, Gallagher puts him to work as co-pilot on several missions to test his mettle while waiting for confirmation of Carpenter's status that will never come. However, he is recognized by Sgt. Stan Holcombe, who confronts the impostor but briefly holds his tongue. Holcombe is then seriously injured on a mission before he can reveal the truth and dies after surgery. Carpenter is eager to command his own bomber before his ruse is discovered, but his evaluator, Capt. Enright, declines to recommend him, alerted to something amiss, even if he cannot quite put his finger on it. As Stone/Carpenter's web of lies begins to become undone, he gets ever more desperate and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his mysterious goal.