A Citizen Soldier in the Air - a B-24 Liberator pilot's story.

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A Citizen Soldier in the Air.

Night Raid On Rabaul - cont.

They flew home without further incident, landed, and taxied to the fuel pit. One of the fuel crew yelled to Charlie, "Hey Lieutenant, what happened to this wing? There are whole rows of rivets popped out of it!" The G forces from the dive recovery had severely overstressed the airframe - any more and the wings may have been ripped off!

Even so, when the C.O. asked for a volunteer crew to fly it to Brisbane for repair, Charlie and crew volunteered, and got a one-day R and R (Rest and Recreation) for their trouble. "We figured it had made it back from Rabaul, it was probably good for a few more hours," Charlie says. Cookie was eventually repaired and returned to service after Charlie had returned to the U.S.

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