Summary: After a grueling series of 21 missions in 30 days, the 918th is finally ordered to stand down for a badly needed 10-day rest. Unfortunately, the order is rescinded almost immediately as the Group is to be included in a force-wide campaign in preparation for a highly classified mission. Hamstrung by the secrecy, Gallagher is forced to order his men back into the skies without explanation or promise of respite. To make matters worse, the 918th is given the ungratifying task of dropping leaflets instead of bombs four times a day for three straight days. As the losses and casualties mount, the morale of the Group collapses into near anarchy, and the men start to take their frustration out on each other, as well as the apparent source of the senselessness - Col. Gallagher.

Summary: The Americans resurrect the "shuttle" tactic of bombing a target, flying on to a base on the other side to refuel and re-arm, and then bomb another target on the return flight. This time, however, the turn-around base is in Russia, a determined but wary ally in the war against the Nazis. The situation becomes dangerously complicated when a Russian observer plane, piloted by a highly decorated Soviet hero, is accidentally shot down by one of the American bombers on the first leg of the mission. The suspicious commander of the Russian base refuses to release the supplies Gallagher needs to make the return flight until the man responsible for the act is identified. In the meantime, the Germans have pinpointed the location of the base, and are slaughtering the 918th with waves of air attacks as it sits helplessly on the ground. The situation only becomes more muddled as Gallagher discovers the overzealous shooter was the Soviet liaison who hitched a ride with the Group.

Summary: The 918th is temporarily reassigned to a newly liberated airbase in Italy which is still perilously close to the battle front as well as a town with some residents who are still loyal to the Germans. The commander of the base, Col. Yates, happens to be a former chief of the 918th who was relieved after a series of brutal, ineffective missions. He has grown lax and allowed security to deteriorate to the point that the Germans are able to inflict serious damage with the help of intelligence from the collaborators in the town. When Gallagher dresses him down and takes charge, Yates retreats to his Italian countess lover for emotional support, without realizing she may be part of the spy ring.

Summary: The Germans have developed a new radar technology that makes their anti-aircraft flak deadly accurate against both night and day bombing operations. Col. Gallagher is tasked with ferrying a British commando team to destroy the radar center, but his plane is shot down shortly after the team jumps, and he and Komansky are forced to parachute to safety and join forces with the Britons. Their brutally efficient methods disturb his sensibilities, but he recognizes the need to subordinate his feelings in favor of protecting the mission. However, as things start going wrong, he and Komansky must step in to salvage the operation.

Summary: Capt. Paul Pridie, a tough-as-nails, by-the-book instructor assigned to the 918th to evaluate the pilots' instrument flying, rubs everybody the wrong way, including his childhood friend and highly regarded pilot, Capt. Johnny Eagle. When Pridie gives Eagle an especially dim appraisal, threatening his impending promotion, Eagle takes out his disappointment on his old pal, until he realizes that Pridie's uptight attitude is due to the fact that he has never flown a combat mission and is deathly afraid to. When Eagle assures him that all the pilots feel the same fear, Pridie loosens up, that is until a tragic mission crushes his fledgling courage and leaves him wallowing in self-pity.

Summary: Col. Gallagher is shot down over Germany, and is captured and severely interrogated by the Nazis. Quite unexpectedly, he is rescued by a group of Germans who have devised an elaborate plan to kill Hitler and seize control of the government for the purpose of negotiating a surrender to the Allies. In order to carry out their plot, however, they will need to convince the Allied leaders of their sincerity and garner support. The leader of the conspirators, Admiral von Kreuter, believes that if Gallagher flies him to England, it will bolster his chances of winning the cooperation he needs. Unfortunately, the Nazis are aware of something afoot, and are rapidly closing in on the scheme.

Summary: Lt. Ted Masters, a handsome collegiate sports hero, is assigned to the 918th, along with his mentor, Maj. Praeger, to enhance his image as a symbol of American manhood. However, his brusque introduction, manipulated by Praeger for publicity, rubs the veterans the wrong way, especially Gallagher and seasoned pilot Capt. King. Gallagher assigns Masters to desk duty in an effort to protect him from possible harm in combat, but he chafes at the role and hounds Gallagher into giving him a chance to pilot, much to Praeger's consternation and King's grudging respect. But Gallagher finds him lacking and assigns him to trivial flight duties, forcing the All-American kid to find a way to prove his combat worthiness.

Summary: American bombers keep missing an important target in the heart of Germany, but Allied command produces an ace up their sleeve in the form of a German-American GI, Sgt. Reiniger, who knows the area well and can pinpoint the elusive objective - as long as he goes along for the ride. Although his attendance produces the desired result, Reiniger and Gallagher & Crew are forced down at the Russian front, but just a little too close to the German lines where they are captured and interrogated. Now Reiniger becomes a liability as both the Americans and the Germans close in on his closely guarded secret that could get him and Gallagher's men executed.

Summary: Straight from the Pacific, a trio of hotshot fighter aces roar into Archbury field, instantly making a bad impression with Col. Gallagher. Their leader, Capt. Dejohn, a seasoned veteran with a burning desire for combat and little discipline, bristles at his new commander's reprimand, setting the stage for a battle of wills between the two. Things only get worse after Gallagher flies rings around Dejohn in a simulated dogfight in an effort to acclimate him to the differences in the European air war. Dejohn takes the lesson as a personal affront and launches a vendetta against Gallagher. The situation approaches critical as evidence starts to appear that the new pilots arrived at the 918th under very scandalous circumstances.

Summary: The Germans threaten to turn the tide of war back their way with a new super-weapon, a guided rocket bomb capable of devastating vital parts of England. One of the rockets misfires on a test flight and lands in neutral Sweden intact. When the Allies learn that a Swedish underground group has retrieved the rocket, they enlist Gallagher and Komansky to clandestinely fly over to get it. They also procure a British rocket specialist, Group Captain Carmichael, a former RAF fighter pilot. Unfortunately, Carmichael bears a grudge against Americans because he was accidentally shot down by one, ending his flying career. Besides hostility toward Gallagher and Komansky, he also manifests his annoyance by drinking excessively, making him a potentially fatal liability as the team races a group of Nazis with the same goal.

Summary: Having failed to destroy a German U-boat base after multiple attempts, Colonel Hollenbeck is relieved of his command of the 52nd Bomb Group and reassigned to the 918th as General Doud's liaison with the hope he might redeem himself by helping Gallagher knock out the target. However, he uses Gallagher's absence from Archbury to take command of the mission, only to fail yet again. During the attack, Major Stovall spots a U-boat heading for a different destination than their target and leaves formation to investigate, but with his radio out of commission, he fails to hear Hollenbeck's order to return and is subsequently shot down. Now under extreme pressure due to his repeated failures, Hollenbeck tries to divert attention from himself by bringing charges against Stovall. Based on his adjutant's sighting, Gallagher becomes convinced that they have been bombing the wrong location all along, but now he has to prove it and clear Stovall.

Summary: The Germans have surrounded a secret atomic research facility with a prison camp full of high profile POWs, believing the Allies will never bomb for fear of a major public relations fiasco. The Americans have an ace up their sleeve, however, in the person of Colonel Harry Connelly, a wizard at pinpoint precision bombing with 43 successful missions under his belt. But, unbeknownst to his comrades, Connelly is feeling the fatigue from so many crucial missions, and his first attempt ends in the very tragedy the Germans had foreseen, causing him to crack under the stress. Gallagher steps in to try again, but he lacks the training and experience Connelly had, foreshadowing a disastrous repeat of the previous effort.

Summary: During a lightning strike deep behind German lines, the Americans capture a forward operations base for the Luftwaffe in a small Belgian village that contains a trove of potentially valuable documents. Gallagher and Komansky are sent in to evaluate and retrieve the information, but they have three major problems; their assigned translators have been killed, an enemy survivor has emerged to cause trouble, and the Germans are mounting an all-out counteroffensive to retake the base. One of their problems might be solved by a Belgian boy who speaks German, but he blames the Americans for the destruction of his village and the wounding of his brother.

Summary: The 918th is tasked with bombing a strategic target the Germans may be using as a spotter post for artillery that is blocking the Allied advance across France. Gallagher is highly disturbed, however, when he finds out the target is a monastery housing a convent occupied by nuns and refugees. He wrangles permission to personally attempt to sneak into the monastery and convince the civilians to leave before the attack, and has only 24 hours. However he runs into a resistant Reverend Mother (or Mother Superior, the leader of the convent) who refuses to abandon the historic building. Being German herself, the wily German commander cajoles her to stay, convinced the Americans will never bomb the area while she and her charges remain. Meanwhile, the 918th is on its way, ready to bomb the target.

Summary: Gallagher and Komansky, along with critically wounded passenger General Chandler, bail out over a recently liberated Italian island with a small airfield manned by just two African-American soldiers and a handful of German POWs. Komansky is suspicious of Major Luke, the commander of the base, with good reason. Luke turns out to be an AWOL private who doesn't mind serving as long as he doesn't have to shoot anybody. The situation becomes dangerous when a German pilot parachutes onto the island, takes Gen. Chandler prisoner, frees the POWs and radios for help from the Luftwaffe. PS - The Tuskegee Airmen make an appearance.

Summary: Captain Dula is assigned as a pilot to the 918th, and in only his second mission, his plane is shot down with the loss of his entire crew. This earns him a reputation as a jinx, and Gallagher restricts him to non-pilot duties. On a subsequent mission, Dula takes umbrage at critical remarks from Komansky. When Gallagher and Stovall are wounded, Dula takes over the piloting and gives Komansky an order which he ignores while trying to save Stovall. Dula demands that an entry be made to the log noting Komansky's "mutiny". Later, Komansky comes into possession of a letter from another survivor of Dula's previous mission who is in a POW camp in Germany that implies that the captain abandoned his crew and plane without warning. He shows Dula the letter, after which he tries to play down his log entry. On their next mission, however, Komansky is seriously hurt, and his very survival may be in Dula's hands.

Summary: Army vs. Navy - 1944. The 918th is picked to assist the Navy in an operation to find and destroy a German U-boat wolfpack operating in the Atlantic. Gallagher is concerned to learn that he will be working with and taking orders from Commodore Crompton, an old nemesis of his father. Crompton is even more upset by the arrangement, but grudgingly accepts the pact in order to recharge his failing career. Gallagher becomes incensed when he learns that his planes are not to carry bombs in order to maximize flying time. They are simply to spot the enemy and guide the Navy to the kill. However, the strategy doesn't work quite as planned, and the animosity between Crompton and Gallagher comes to an explosive head.