The American Air Forces #4

A Flying Fortress limps home from a German raid with failing engines and is forced to crash-land in the Channel, splitting into three sections—the pilot and co-pilot are lost, but seven crew members survive and cling to a rubber life raft. As a British patrol plane spots them and calls for rescue, their ordeal unfolds with striking parallels to the Book of Revelation, from the moment of their desperate wait to the arrival of the rescue launch that brings them to safety. The rescued crew would later name their new bomber "Seven Angels" in honor of their miraculous survival.

American airmen execute a bold strategy to support the invasion of the Philippine Islands, using tactical surprise and coordinated strikes to cripple Japanese defenses across Formosa, Luzon, and the surrounding seas. As a massive convoy carries over a quarter million troops toward Leyte, naval and air forces spring an ingenious trap on the Japanese fleet, with pilots and crews working in concert to turn the tide of battle. With the Philippines secured as the springboard to China, the Allies move closer to victory in the Pacific.

"Acey" Spades, the Pacific's top air ace, is stuck with photo-reconnaissance duty—until his eager sidekick Deucey manages to photograph the wrong target entirely during a dangerous run. When Spades returns from his own mission to find out what went sideways, the mix-up threatens to land them both in hot water with their commanding officer.

Navy Liberator crews patrol the vast South Atlantic in 1943, hunting for a German blockade runner trying to slip through their cordon. When Lieutenant Taylor's plane spots the enemy vessel, he engages despite heavy fire, but the ship manages to escape and change her appearance—forcing a relay of pilots to track her relentlessly until naval forces can move in for the kill. The mission costs lives, but the patrol's sacrifice keeps the stranglehold on Nazi war production intact.

A Mustang pilot comes to in a European tree with no memory of how he got there after bailing out of his flak-damaged plane, while around the world, other airmen find themselves in equally bewildering scrapes—a bombardier accidentally drops supplies instead of ordnance on an enemy vessel, a B-17 crew watches enemy flak destroy their own bomb release, and a Canadian flying boat faces a desperate race against the sea. These wild true tales of wartime aviation mix close calls with unlikely escapes and pure dumb luck.

When the last American airfield on Bataan falls to the Japanese, Captain William Edward Dyess refuses evacuation and stays behind to fight with the infantry—a decision that leads to his capture and the horrific 85-mile Death March to a prison camp. Surviving starvation, disease, and brutal treatment across multiple camps, Dyess meticulously plans an escape, carefully hoarding supplies and selecting trusted men until the day finally comes to make a break for freedom. This is the true story of a pilot's ordeal in enemy hands and his determination to survive against impossible odds.

"Pappy" Boyington, a Major of the U.S. Marine Corps and legendary ace of the celebrated Black Sheep Squadron, has built a fearless reputation downing Japanese aircraft across the Pacific—until a mission over Rabaul costs him dearly. This wartime account chronicles his rise from a young man hungry to fly, through combat with the Flying Tigers in China and Burma, to commanding the ragtag pilots who would become the squadron's most decorated fliers, as his comrades hold faith in a promise made long ago.

A B-17 bomber operating from an English base encounters serious trouble and must make an emergency decision: the pilot orders the crew to prepare to abandon ship, while the co-pilot engages "George"—the plane's automatic robot control—to steer them toward the relative safety of the North Sea. This true account from 1945 captures a desperate moment in aerial warfare when technology and crew training become matters of survival.

The Grasshopper Squadron—a handful of tiny Stinson Sentinel planes flown by Marine pilots—may take ribbing from big-fighter jocks, but these aerial spotters are doing serious work where it counts. Off Peleliu, the Grasshoppers become the eyes for American artillery, radioing firing data from above while dodging enemy fire from below, and their small wooden ships prove that sometimes the smallest jobs carry the biggest impact.