Eagle Comics #1

The crew of the Doodle Bug—a Flying Fortress bomber—takes off for a dangerous daylight raid over Tokyo, with nine men manning every position from the pilot's seat to the tail guns. As the heavily armed plane races toward its target at over 300 miles per hour, the bombardier lines up his sights while the crew stays sharp, knowing Japanese Zeros are sure to fight back. When enemy fighters attack during the bombing run and the return flight home, the gunners and crew must work together to protect their damaged ship and get back to base alive.

Wilbur Mswhoosh, a polyglot aviation cadet, discovers that mastering the Army Air Forces comes with learning a whole new language—the colorful slang and jargon that airmen use to describe everything from training exercises to combat missions. As he progresses from cadet to bombardier to combat pilot and finally to instructor, Wilbur picks up the lingo piece by piece: "dodos" and "rain-makers," "milk runs" and "flak happy," "flying coffins" and "hanging out the laundry." This lighthearted guide to aviation terminology shows how Wilbur becomes fluent in the sixth language of the skies.

Army Air Forces pilots are a superstitious bunch, and this feature explores the charms, rituals, and taboos that flyers swear keep them safe in the skies—from lucky dolls gifted by sweethearts to silk stockings worn as skull caps, and the jinxes they'll go to great lengths to avoid. A fascinating look at the folk beliefs and good-luck customs that have taken root among the men who fly, revealing just how much these aviators rely on ritual and tradition alongside their skills and courage.

In 1945, the Army Air Forces put aerial gunners through an intensive six-week program to transform them into expert marksmen capable of protecting their aircraft and crews in combat. From mastering progressively more challenging firearms on the ground to firing at sleeve targets towed behind planes in the air, trainee gunners learn everything from gun maintenance to enemy plane recognition—all under conditions designed to mirror the chaos of actual battle. When these sharpshooters finally take to the skies, their rigorous preparation pays off as they help ensure American bombing missions succeed and pilots return home safely.

A damaged B-24 Liberator named Hell's Angel struggles to stay aloft after a brutal flak barrage over Germany, her crew forced to bail out during the return flight. When fellow pilot Lieutenant Bell spots the crippled bomber still flying impossibly onward—seemingly pilotless—he faces an impossible order: shoot her down over the Channel. What unfolds is a testament to the spirit of a plane that refused to fail her mission, even when all odds seemed stacked against her.

Gliders were once toys for the wealthy, but this illustrated history traces their astonishing evolution into a vital military weapon—from the pioneering flights of the 1880s through their revolutionary deployment in World War II. From early experiments by aviation legends to Germany's shocking use of troop-carrying gliders in Europe, the story charts how the U.S. rapidly developed its own cargo glider programs, culminating in the dramatic glider operations during the D-Day invasion and beyond. It's a thrilling testament to how wartime necessity transformed an obscure sport into one of modern warfare's most potent tools.

Carole McNair trains to become an air hostess, mastering everything from meal service in cramped galleys to passenger care and emergency readiness in an intensive five-week course. On her first flights, she puts her skills to work helping a homesick sailor find his way in Chicago and assisting a major refine a war bonds speech, discovering that an air hostess's real job is making every passenger's journey smoother and more human.

Reconnaissance planes equipped with powerful aerial cameras become the "flying spies" that gather crucial intelligence for the Allies during World War II, from detecting hidden Nazi radio stations in Greenland to locating a secret Japanese airfield hidden in the dense Pacific jungle. Through a series of dramatic real-world operations, this story shows how modern photo-reconnaissance technology—faster and more accurate than traditional espionage—turns the tide of war by providing commanders with the exact locations of enemy targets before they can be destroyed. From the European theater to the Pacific campaign, these tireless camera-equipped aircraft prove that in modern warfare, a single perfectly-timed photograph can be worth more than any glamorous spy.