Memphis Belle

The seemingly peaceful English countryside is in reality a battlefront--the home base of B-17 bomber planes known as Flying Fortresses. The planes belong to the 324th Squadron of the 91st Heavy Bombardment Group of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force. For the squadron, the day begins with the ground troops, who are the mechanics. Each mechanic is responsible for the maintenance of a specific plane. A night bombing raid on the submarine pens at Wilhemshaven, Germany is planned, and the job of delivering the bombs belongs to the 8th Bomber Command. At the briefing, the men learn the location of their target and are given other instructions, including what to do if they are captured. The crew of one of the bombers, The Memphis Belle , have completed twenty-four missions. After completing this mission, the crew, Captain Robert K. Morgan, the pilot; Captain James A. Verenis, co-pilot; radio operator and gunner, Sergeant Bob Hanson; navigator, Captain Chuck Layton; engineer and top turret gunner, Sergeant Harold Locke; tail gunner, Sergeant John P. Quinlan; bull turret gunner, Sergeant Cecil Scott; bombardier, Captain Vincent B. Evans; and waist gunners, Sergeant Clarence E. Winchell and another sergeant, will be sent home. That night's targets are the factories and warehouses that supply the German armies. As the planes gain altitude after takeoff, the pilots use all their strength to keep them in the formation, which is designed to cover the sky and minimize the dangers of friendly fire. When the temperature falls to forty degrees and ice forms on the windows, the flyers don their oxygen masks. The mission is carefully planned to evade the enemy defenses. As the Memphis Belle approaches the German coast, it is surrounded by flak fired by the German ground defenses. The plane flies lower on the approach to the target, and the flak becomes thicker. As an evasive maneuver, Captain Morgan changes his course every fifteen seconds. The bombing run completed, the first half of the mission is over. Now the squadron faces the most difficult part of the mission, returning to the base. The flak stops, an indication that German planes are attacking. The men keep in touch by interphone, warning each other of approaching enemy planes. One of the American planes is downed, but the formation cannot be broken to help it. As the men watch helplessly, several of the plane's crew parachute from their falling plane. At the base, the men on the ground "sweat out the mission," that is, they wait nervously for the squadron to return. Finally, the first planes return, some sending up flares to indicate that they have wounded men aboard. Many men are wounded, and some of the planes are badly damaged, but some come through without a scratch. Some do not return at all. Finally, The Memphis Belle lands. All crew members receive the Distinguished Flying Cross from the King and Queen of England; General Eaker, Commander of the 8th Air Force, and General Devers, Commander of the European Theater of War. Their new orders are to return to the United States and train new crews.