Mission Three: Death Dive

Johnny Cloud and his Happy Braves are ordered to escort B-17 forts across the channel. At the rendezvous, Cloud greets Jolly Roger, the bomber group commander, who tells him that this is his last mission. He cajoles Cloud to ring the bell at his farewell party. They had developed camaraderie over a dozen or so escorts; yet, Cloud had never met Jolly Roger.

Crisscrossing high above the bombers, Cloud sees his Big Brother hiding his face in a dark cloud – a sign that danger is near. Sure enough, a swarm of bandits rage against the forts. Cloud downs a Me-109, as do others, including Tex, his wingman. Despite the onslaught, the forts hold steady in tight formation, as flak peppers the sky with hot shards of iron.

The forts hit their targets and turn away only to be attacked again by the Huns. The Happy Braves climb to meet the threat, clashing head-on in a test of nerves. Cloud cooks several Me-109s, but Jolly Roger is hit. With his engines sputtering, the group commander makes an emergency landing in a field below. Just then, Cloud is hit by flak – BLANG! His Mustang ignites; Cloud parachutes.

Landing near the damaged fort, Cloud races to find Jolly Roger. He’s alive, but gravely wounded. He is startled to discover that Jolly Roger is an Apache – no wonder they bonded.

Moments later, a German search party captures them, and the haughty commandant insults Cloud and Jolly Roger, calling them feeble-minded savages. Cloud seethes, and for a moment he looks to retaliate, but Jolly Roger whispers: “Wait for the right moment.”

The commandant presses his Luger to Cloud’s head and ushers both pilots into the damaged fort, now repaired by a team of mechanics. The fort lifts off with Cloud on the stick and Jolly Roger slumped beside him. The commandant crouches behind them with his finger hard on the trigger. He orders Cloud to fly over the channel.

Below, they spot an Allied battleship blocking a nearby German warship from heading out to sea. Cloud itches to make a defiant move, but Jolly Roger glances towards him with wise eyes that say: Wait for the right moment. His Big Brother redoubles the message.

Image Credit:

AAMOW#84 (April 1961); Art: I. Novick; Writer: R. Kanigher

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics