After Black Thursday, a story spread through the ranks of the Eighth Air Force that, although not true in its particulars, expressed the new mood. It was about a solitary, shot-up B-17 limping home to England. Someone on the plane radioed the tower: “Hello Lazy Fox. This is G for George, calling Lazy Fox. Will you give me landing instructions, please? Pilot and co-pilot dead, two engines feathered, fire in the radio room, vertical stabilizer gone, no flaps, no brakes, crew bailed out, bombardier flying the ship. Give me landing instructions.” The reply came a few seconds later: “I hear you G
...more
