U.S. Air Force Comics #6

Cpl. Donald R. Hickey, a B-25 tail-gunner with a reputation for cowardice after washing out of pilot training, finds himself facing doubt from his own crew when his bomber is attacked over North Africa. When a German fighter's burst damages his turret and knocks him unconscious, his crewmates assume the worst—until a British soldier who witnessed the attack from the ground sets the record straight. Now given a second chance to prove himself, Hickey must show his crew what he's really made of as dangerous missions over enemy territory test his nerve and skill.

When a skeptical congressman publicly attacks the Air Force's readiness and capabilities, Lt. Col. Mike Trudik takes him on an eye-opening supersonic tour of America's military defenses—a flight that will challenge everything the legislator thought he knew. Flying the cutting-edge B-58 bomber and intercepting surprise encounters with Navy jets and ground-based missile systems, the congressman gets a firsthand demonstration of the nation's true defensive power. By journey's end, this critic-turned-believer learns that real military strength lies not in chasing the newest designs, but in having proven weapons ready to fight right now.

First Lieutenant Arthur Welles gets far more than he bargained for when his first combat flight over enemy lines in 1918 puts him face-to-face with the legendary German ace Baron von Richthofen—and survives only by a stroke of luck. When the Red Baron issues a formal duel challenge, Welles and his commander devise a daring plan to even the odds, swapping his damaged fighter for a Bristol two-seater with a trick up its sleeve. It's a battle of cunning and nerve between an inexperienced American pilot and one of history's greatest aviators.

In 1959, U.S. Air Force Comics presents a fascinating chronicle of aviation's greatest milestone: the moment mankind broke through the sound barrier and beyond. From the early skeptics who doubted a plane could survive supersonic speeds to the engineers and test pilots who proved them wrong—Captain Charles Yeager's historic 1947 flight in the Bell X-1, followed by John Derry's British triumph and the relentless push toward faster and faster aircraft—this is the true story of how humanity conquered the final frontier of the skies. A stirring tribute to the courage and ingenuity that transformed aviation from dream to daily reality.