Mission Ten: Two Missions to Doom -- Part 2

 

Last time, Johnny Cloud returned to base after his Flight failed to destroy a German radar station only to discover that the three tanks had attacked the airfield. Shamrock, Cloud's mechanic, was taken prisoner.

Cloud suits up for another attempt at the radar station, but this time he flies solo. Cloud asks his Big Brother for help finding the tanks, and he is led to them. With the tank column below, he circles to attack. As he dives, Cloud agonizes that Shamrock could be in one of them. Suddenly, the second tank fires on the leader. Then the third tank fires on the second tank. 

Unsure about what is happening, Cloud bombs the third one and circles the field to look for Shamrock. He sees him climbing from the wreckage of the second tank, so he lands and picks up his crew chief.

Shamrock explains that he was held captive in the second tank. He pretended to be in a state of panic until he grabbed a monkey wrench and beat the crew with it. He had fired on the first tank.

With Shamrock jammed in beside him, Cloud continues on his mission, flying low to sneak up on the radar station. The flak batteries hold off, as Cloud’s P-51 appears too low to drop his bombs, but Cloud releases his bombs anyway. 

Direct Hit! The explosion tosses his plane head over hoofs. BLAAAM!

Before he can regain control, several Fw-190s dive to finish him off, but Cloud out-maneuvers them and kills four. Cloud sees his Big Brother looking on, so he asks for cover and gets it.

        Cloud limps his smoking Mustang to base. He hits the tarmac. WHRRRRRREEEEEEEE! As they walk away from the wreck, Cloud says to Shamrock, “Now you know …” Shamrock shrugs; now he is at a loss for words.

Image Credit:

AAMOW#91 (June 1962): Story Art: J. Grandenetti; Writer: R. Kanigher.

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics

Mission Ten: Two Mission to Doom

We meet Johnny Cloud’s freckle-faced crew chief, Shamrock, at the start. He’s earnest and takes pride in keeping Cloud’s Mustang in tip-top shape from tail to prop. But war is brutal, so he attaches a four-leafed clover badge on the cowling for good luck.

Shamrock confides that he worries about Cloud’s safety, and so he asks him: “What’s it really like up there?” Cloud pauses and says nothing. He cannot find the words to describe the horrors of combat, so he looks away. 

But the question lingers.

On the next mission, the Happy Braves intercept a wave of German bombers; the fighting is fierce and two P-51s are lost along with their pilots, Stevens and Phil. The bombers are turned back, but Cloud feels demoralized. 

When Cloud returns to base, Shamrock asks his question again. And, like before, Cloud is unable to answer.

When Cloud takes off the next day, Shamrock notices that the good luck emblem has fallen off. He waves his arms, but Cloud is gone. What little protection he could proffer is moot. 

Shamrock panics!

The Happy Braves Flight pass over a trio of German tanks, but they press on to their target: a radar station. As they approach the target, flak gunners open fire, and with hot metal exploding all around them, the P-51s fail to destroy the station. 

Before they can mount a second run at the radar station, a gaggle of Fw-190s emerge from the sun and force the Braves to retreat. 

When the flight returns to base, they discover that the three tanks had attacked the airfield. Shamrock was taken. Cloud worries. Is Shamrock still alive? 

Image Credit:

AAMOW#91 (June 1962): Splash Page Art: J. Grandenetti; Writer: R. Kanigher.

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics