at his post transmitting a steady stream of Mayday messages. Harry wondered if anyone was responding. Skaggs seemed to be transmitting into a void.
Cain was fidgeting and would not catch anyone’s eye. No one spoke to him either, although John still checked his life vest’s harness. Clearly the crew was blaming him for their situation.
Over the deep drone of the engines, Harry heard Skaggs’s voice catch. ‘Hallelujah!’ he said. ‘Read you … Macey May , call sign G-20, Heavy Bombardment Group 488, Eighth Air Force, based at Kirkstead. Current location approximately twenty miles east of Norfolk coast, just about level with Cromer and heading towards the Wash. We’re ditching and require immediate assistance …’
The engine note changed dramatically. LaFitte, the engineer, immediately called over to Skaggs. ‘Captain’s cut the two inboard, contact imminent.’
Skaggs did not need to be asked twice. He immediately joined the others crouching against the bulkheads, wrapping the cushion on his seat around his head. The compartment doorway flew open and Harry looked through it at the central spar which held his ball turret in place and wondered what would happen to it when it hit the water. Thank God he wasn’t stuck inside it. Corrales quickly shut the door again.
‘That’ll make a big difference,’ he said with a nervous grin.
Only Bortz was plugged into the interphone system, but he was getting nothing from the pilot’s cabin. ‘I’m going to check they’re all right.’
Cain looked up from his crash position. ‘Let me go. It’s too dangerous. We’re gonna hit the water any second. I got us into this mess …’
Just as he got to his feet the engines screamed as the Macey May lifted a little in the air. Bortz shouted, ‘Brace!’and there was a huge jolt. Cain crouched down again, just in time.
Another jolt followed, perhaps the crest of a wave, then the overwhelming drone of the engines ceased. There was a sudden massive deceleration and they were all thrown against the bulkhead. Another sickening lurch twisted them back and forth as the plane pitched to the right. A nightmarish screeching sound from beyond the closed door filled the radio compartment and Harry thought the belly of the plane might open up beneath them. He sensed they were still travelling at some speed and prayed that the Macey May would hold together.
CHAPTER 6
Harry’s pants were soaked. For one awful moment he wondered if he’d wet himself but the smell of salty sea water filled his nostrils and he quickly realised there were now sloshing pools of water along the floor of the Macey May . He felt a mad panic and an overwhelming urge to escape.
The engines were silent and they sensed the plane had stopped moving forward in the water. Now it just rocked with the waves. The sound of the sea was all around them, even the cawing of a few startled gulls.
Bortz was looking grim but composed. In fact they all were. Harry was struck by how calmly his comrades had behaved. He was desperate to know what lay beyond that compartment door to the rear of the plane, and whether they would be able to get out of the exit there before the Fortress sank. He tried hard to keep his fear under control and not give them any reason to think he was a flaky kid who had lied about his age to get into the USAAF.
Dalinsky was the first on his feet and pulled the life raft handles, releasing them from their two stowage boxesat the side of the outer fuselage. They would inflate automatically as soon as they hit the water.
A wave broke against the side of the Macey May , making the Fortress tilt alarmingly to the right. ‘Let’s go,’ said Bortz. Out they went, through the compartment door, Corrales first, then the two waist gunners, then Harry, then the rest – just like they did in the drill. Harry noticed at once that the ball turret had been torn from its housing, leaving a livid scar of ripped metal along the belly. Water surged through,
Cain was fidgeting and would not catch anyone’s eye. No one spoke to him either, although John still checked his life vest’s harness. Clearly the crew was blaming him for their situation.
Over the deep drone of the engines, Harry heard Skaggs’s voice catch. ‘Hallelujah!’ he said. ‘Read you … Macey May , call sign G-20, Heavy Bombardment Group 488, Eighth Air Force, based at Kirkstead. Current location approximately twenty miles east of Norfolk coast, just about level with Cromer and heading towards the Wash. We’re ditching and require immediate assistance …’
The engine note changed dramatically. LaFitte, the engineer, immediately called over to Skaggs. ‘Captain’s cut the two inboard, contact imminent.’
Skaggs did not need to be asked twice. He immediately joined the others crouching against the bulkheads, wrapping the cushion on his seat around his head. The compartment doorway flew open and Harry looked through it at the central spar which held his ball turret in place and wondered what would happen to it when it hit the water. Thank God he wasn’t stuck inside it. Corrales quickly shut the door again.
‘That’ll make a big difference,’ he said with a nervous grin.
Only Bortz was plugged into the interphone system, but he was getting nothing from the pilot’s cabin. ‘I’m going to check they’re all right.’
Cain looked up from his crash position. ‘Let me go. It’s too dangerous. We’re gonna hit the water any second. I got us into this mess …’
Just as he got to his feet the engines screamed as the Macey May lifted a little in the air. Bortz shouted, ‘Brace!’and there was a huge jolt. Cain crouched down again, just in time.
Another jolt followed, perhaps the crest of a wave, then the overwhelming drone of the engines ceased. There was a sudden massive deceleration and they were all thrown against the bulkhead. Another sickening lurch twisted them back and forth as the plane pitched to the right. A nightmarish screeching sound from beyond the closed door filled the radio compartment and Harry thought the belly of the plane might open up beneath them. He sensed they were still travelling at some speed and prayed that the Macey May would hold together.
CHAPTER 6
Harry’s pants were soaked. For one awful moment he wondered if he’d wet himself but the smell of salty sea water filled his nostrils and he quickly realised there were now sloshing pools of water along the floor of the Macey May . He felt a mad panic and an overwhelming urge to escape.
The engines were silent and they sensed the plane had stopped moving forward in the water. Now it just rocked with the waves. The sound of the sea was all around them, even the cawing of a few startled gulls.
Bortz was looking grim but composed. In fact they all were. Harry was struck by how calmly his comrades had behaved. He was desperate to know what lay beyond that compartment door to the rear of the plane, and whether they would be able to get out of the exit there before the Fortress sank. He tried hard to keep his fear under control and not give them any reason to think he was a flaky kid who had lied about his age to get into the USAAF.
Dalinsky was the first on his feet and pulled the life raft handles, releasing them from their two stowage boxesat the side of the outer fuselage. They would inflate automatically as soon as they hit the water.
A wave broke against the side of the Macey May , making the Fortress tilt alarmingly to the right. ‘Let’s go,’ said Bortz. Out they went, through the compartment door, Corrales first, then the two waist gunners, then Harry, then the rest – just like they did in the drill. Harry noticed at once that the ball turret had been torn from its housing, leaving a livid scar of ripped metal along the belly. Water surged through,
Similar Books
