am offering you now. Give me a chance to prove
that the person who designed this aircraft knew what she was doing."
16 The Committee agreed there, on the spot, and within days Gray Boar
was setting up on an airfield just below Rail. The new planes had something no others had ...radio!
He would be able to communicate with them, even when they were deep in
the enemy's territory.
17 There were eight enemy air bases they knew of deep in the desert
from which their planes attacked them every year. Their first strike
would be against five of these bases.
18 Split into groups of twenty and carrying four bombs apiece, Mountain
Glory's fighters would sweep out of the dawn sky, bomb and strafe the
enemy, hopefully, destroying most of his aircraft on the ground before
they even had to meet them in the air.
19 Mountain Glory was like a woman ready to bring forth an egg as she
walked up and down the line of aircraft in the night's darkness,
hugging each pilot
and wishing him luck. The men climbed into their planes, started their
powerful engines, taxied up to the runway, and disappeared into the
night sky.
20 Now in the radio truck, and, outside of it, everyone sat, waiting,
listening to the Flight Leaders talk to their ships. "First flight has
picked up a tail wind," the man at the plotting board announced.
"They're way ahead of schedule. They'll be over the target early."
21 "They'll have to orbit," ordered Gray Boar, "wait for enough light
to make their runs."
22 A few minutes later First Flight Leader called in. "Ground base!
Ground base! First Flight. We've got a problem, repeat, we have a
problem!"
23 "Go ahead," ordered Gray Boar.
24 "The runway of the enemy field is lit up. We can see it as clear as
day. On both sides of the runway are hundreds of planes like ours.
Repeat, the enemy has