The group is back on the ground, getting checked by medics, and discussing what went wrong with the mission.

Understandably, spirits are down.

Buck check on Bosser, who was frozen to his seat in the ball turret. He gets to go to the hospital and return for another round.

They cannot piss their pants in flight, or they’re going to freeze right to the seat, the doctor says. Another man, Dickey, grabbed the gun with his bare hands and also suffered frostbite. Buck decides to stay the night with his men.

Bucky is drinking with Curt, toasting those men they lost. Bucky isn’t in good shape. He doesn’t feel a thing and orders Curt to hit him. Good news. He felt that.

Bucky screams and smiles. He’s got to meet the new CO first thing tomorrow. It is tomorrow, and when they meet, the CO wonders if he’s hung over. Nope. He’s still drunk.

They don’t get along that great out of the gate.

Bucky got demoted. He’s the CO of the 418th Squadron. He gives the news to the new Air Exec, John Kidd, and he’s as annoyed as Bucky was at the ‘honor.”

Buck had a hand in Bucky’s demotion, talking with Harding about him being a better squadron commander than Air Exec. Bucky’s last request before demotion was to write the letters to the boys they lost. Bucky thinks if the war ends with only two pilots in the air, it will be the Bucks.

Three Weeks Later; July 16, 1943

Harry’s VoiceOver discusses how much the pilots and other in-air soldiers thanked the ground crews. Without them, they would never make it home. Corporal Ken Lemmons, age 19, is one of the best crew chiefs.

Little kids deliver Lemmons a hot potato before asking if they’d like to help clean the runway with fire tomorrow. Then, either a plane goes down and there is a bombing nearby.

It was a practice mission. One of the 349th, new crew. Barnhill. He turned too soon and stalled out.

Kidd says they’re already down 66 combat air crewman of their starting strength with 350. Until they get the replacement crews, they need to make do. Some of the exiting crew will need to fly with the 349th.

The camera hovers over some incredibly young crew in the bar later that night.

The English think the Americans bombing during the day is suicide. They bomb at night and don’t care what they hit, as long as it’s German.

Crosby arrives with drinks just in time to stop a fight.

Curt tells a story that people say is beautiful about how Cleven flew without any engines. No engine Cleven, they call him.

The conversation continues until the Brits disparage them again for not bombing at night. Bucky, drinking his ginger beer, pushes the others down. Curt will take care of it. They all head outside, and the Brits want to show them what they’re made of with a boxing bout.

Buck loves man-to-man boxing, but he’s got nothing for team sports, and Bucky razzes him for it.

Curt makes short order of Brian, and they walk off thrilled with themselves.

The Americans used daylight precision bombing for specific targets and operations. The British conducted nighttime air raids, which indiscriminate and far deadlier. The only reason the Americans could taken the dangerous task of precious bombing was the “Norden bombsight, which, they contended, enabled them to hit a ‘pickle barrel’ from a vast height in daylight.” Outside the atomic bomb, it was the most closely held secret of the war.

At night, while the crew slept, the rest of the crew worked tirelessly to prepare for every mission. Even though they remained on base, in a way, there were on every mission with them and wouldn’t relax until they came home.

The 100th will be leading the wing on today’s mission with Bucky as the command pilot and the target is submarine pans in Norway.

Bubbles is sick as a dog and can’t fly, although the wants to. Crosby has to take his place, and he kind of panics. It’s probably not because he’s scared but because of his air sickness!

It’s Crosby’s first time in the lead, and his barrel turret guy says he’s seen Bubbles do it a million times, so it can’t be that hard.

Down below, Lemmons and the kids fire up the runway.

Thirty minutes away from the target, just off Norway’s border.

Crosby seems to be struggling. Yep, he pulls a barf bag and vomits while the other guy is working on the bombs. He looks out the window. He spot the 95th off the window.

They need to get into formation and send up a flare. Time to tighten up. The navigator needs to provide a new heading, but Crosby is busy vomiting.

Using the window as his guide, Crosby spots the target, and they turn just in time. They head right into an ocean of flak. That’s so damn scary. It takes out the glass, punctures holes in the body, and knocks out engines.

These scenes are so harrowing, and it absolutely blows my mind how precise their drops are to hit the target.

Curtis’s flight is not doing well, and they’re losing engines; they need to drop out. They can’t keep up the pace. They’re going to throttle down and keep with him.

Crosby needs to adjust for a new air speed and figure out how to get them home. Something is falling out this helmet, and Crosby thinks he’s hit. It’s actually vomit up in his helmet. OMG. He heads up to the front to give instructions in person. They’re heading over Scotland so they if they have to put them down, at least they’re over land. But now they’re under attack.

They can’t keep this up because they’re sitting ducks at half speed. But Curt and his men will be dead if they don’t, and Buck won’t leave them behind.

They’re over Scotland and work to get Red Meat 4 on the ground. Bucky is a little concerned. They’re getting close to stall speed and losing their last engine. They’re going low to try landing. They barely clear the coast and plow right through a farm, but they’re safe.

Crosby relays his vomit helmet story to Bubbles, and they laugh over their similar experiences with puking. Bucky delivers good news to Crosby. He’s going to Blakely’s team full time. They’ll find another place for Bubbles when he’s well. They need a proper nickname for him. Bubbles says they call him Bing at home, and Bucky calls that plain lazy.

Crosby’s wife sent a letter, which she signs Mrs. Crosby, and he still can’t get over it.

Bucky can’t help himself later; he takes to the stage to sing Blue Skies. He’s terrible. But damn, does he have fun. Buck laughs at him from across the room.

The Bucks get a call from Curt later that night. People are looking after them in Scotland because he’s Irish. He called to thank both of them for saving their asses. Bucky misses his little spoon. It’s going to be cold tonight!

When Harding and Kidd ask for recommendation for a group navigator, mostly an office position, Crosby recommends Bubbles. They wonder about him. He brought the group back home and got Biddick to Scotland. He says he just got lucky.

Now, they’re ready for a bike race. They all wipe out at the end. Before they finish the race, there is an air raid siren. They’ve got to head for shelter.

Again, Bucky best on them. Buck calls him a gambler. Buck’s dad drank and gambled and usually lost. But he kept doing it. He was always looking for the shortcut. Bucky finally realizes that’s why he doesn’t like spots.