Wing Commander: D-Day: Halcyon is Confirmed! by C.S. McLean

Author:C.S. McLean [McLean, C.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Publishers
Published: 2021-09-29T22:00:00+00:00

Banner had just settled into Cooper’s seat when he felt the blow. He fought the controls as the Belle slewed to the left and then back again.

“Banner to crew. What the hell was that? Report.”

“Left-waist to General Banner. That last fighter rammed us,” Ross replied. “He sheared off the tail turret, and I don’t know what else. There’s a big hole back here.”

“Is everyone all right?”

“Yes, sir. A little shaken up, but we’re all okay. But, General, it’s like a wind tunnel back here, and what’s left of the tail section is kinda swinging and swaying—”

“All right. Hang tight, Ernie.”

“Banner to top-turret. What’s it look like, Joe?”

Sergeant Wells rotated his turret to inspect the damage. After a moment, he reported, “It’s a mess back there, General. The left horizontal stabilizer and elevator are gone. Tail-turret, too. The right horizontal stabilizer and elevator look okay, but I don’t know about the cables.”

“What about the vertical stabilizer?”

“It’s a little bent, and a lot of its skin looks shredded, but it’s still there. I can’t tell the condition of the rudder, but it can’t be good.”

The Belle suddenly nosed down. Banner pulled back on his control column struggling to regain control. “Wells, get down here! She’s going into a dive.”

Jumping down from his platform behind the co-pilot’s seat, Wells grabbed the co-pilot’s yoke and pulled back with everything he had. Between their combined strength, they managed to bring her nose up slightly. Advancing the throttles of the remaining three engines to increase thrust, Banner re-trimmed the elevator on the right horizontal stabilizer to raise the nose a little more, but it was a losing battle. The altimeter read just under 900 feet and descending. They hadn’t a hope of making it back across the Channel, and Banner didn’t want to ditch in the water if it could be avoided. There was no telling how long it would take Air Sea Rescue to answer their mayday, and dry land was always preferable to getting wet. He would have to try to make it back to the coast and make a forced landing. But that would be easier said than done. They were at least ten minutes from the coast, heading in the wrong direction and losing more altitude every minute.

“We’re not going to make it,” he shouted to Wells. “I’m going to head back for the coast and find someplace to put her down.”

Not knowing how weak or unstable the Belle’s aft section was, Banner began a slow, wide easterly turn back toward the French coast. The rudder pedals were sluggish but responding; at least he had directional control.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.