* Out Of The Clouds
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Each mission begins with many different preparations: mission briefing, flight plans, weather checks, preflight checklist, take off and then rendezvous of the formations. By this time in the war effort there was safety in numbers so, squadrons of bombers coming from bases all over England and their fighter escorts would all rendezvous at an assembly area somewhere near the coast. We would fly around until all squadrons were present and ready to deliver the goods to Goering, Goebbels and Germany.
On several occasion the weather over the assembly areas would be locked in a milky fog or bright snow white clouds. All you could see at times was the end of your own wing or if lucky through the haze was the wing of the aircraft next to you. All eyes were on the instruments for course and heading. Most of the time there was complete silence overtaking the roar of the engines. Thoughts would occasionally drift to unthinkable scenarios of, what if happened!!!
We would fly through this soup relying on the skills of a bunch great pilots and the luck of the not so great ones. Some were seasoned pilots and some were fresh out of training. THERE WERE ACCIDENTS but not as many as one would have expected. It never ceased to amaze me and cause waves of total exhilaration to suddenly have the sky clear. You literally burst out of the clouds and visibility became unlimited. You went into the soup with 32 aircraft and suddenly, there you are in the middle of an armada! For as far as the eye could see in any direction, from starboard to port, above and below there were over a thousand B-17 heavy bombers and their fighter escorts. Suddenly,as if by magic, appearing and heading out over the channel.
