The First Mission I Flewv

• Ronan Nicholls, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2017

Jack was speeding through the air in his spitfire. It was pitch black outside and he was absolutely petrified, flying his first mission. He was escorting bombers over occupied France. No German fighters had attacked yet, but the bombers inferior maneuvering speed and armament left them sitting ducks. That's why Jack’s squadron had been sent to protect them. “Check in, red division.” “Red 1, Roger. Red 2, roger.” It was Jack’s turn. “Red 3, roger.” Lastly, Collins. “Red 4, Roger.” “Maintain heading for 60 miles. Decrease throttle by 30%. check-in every 30 minutes.” Silence again. All around him, jack could see bombers. Each one carried a massive load of explosives, and they were targeting a factory that was producing tanks for the German army. Jack despised Hitler and the nazis, and he had signed up soon after the war began. Now, here he was, 25,000 feet above the ground and in danger from attack. “Bandit! Bandit! 11 o’clock!” Jack’s squadron moved into formation and prepared for the worst. Bang! Bang! Bang! the noise was deafening. Any second, another round of bullets could penetrate through jack’s spitfire and his plane would fall to the ground. Or was it the sea? he didn’t even know any more, nor did he care. “He”s on my tail!” yelled Collins. “Hang in there Collins, I’ve got him” yelled Jack. He throttled down his spitfire and got into position behind the Messerschmitt. He had to hit it or Collins would be shot down. He fired the first round. The noise was ear-shattering inside the cockpit, but a few shots had hit. The Messerschmitt was still flying, so he fired another round. Again, the ear-shattering noise of the guns, but this time Jack’s shots had hit an engine. “He’s going down. Red 4, are you okay?” “Fit as a fiddle” replied Collins, slightly nervously. “Good firing, Red 3.” Jack had just shot down a plane. He looked down to see if there were any parachutes, but it was to dark to tell. His heart was racing as the spitfires regrouped. Green 4 was missing. The enemy was gone, but so was one of theirs. “Bombers coming up on target. Pull out until they’ve dropped their loads. Stay alert red division.” “Roger.” A massive flash lit up the sky. The first of the bombs had dropped. “Bandits! 3 o’clock!” Jack jerked his spitfire to the right. In front of him, the sky was littered with planes. “Stay in Formation!” The first stream of bullets came. A plane to Jack’s right dropped out of the sky. He saw an enemy fighter coming right for him. Bang! he fired a burst at the plane, but this time he didn’t hit anything. The enemy also missed, and then the two planes had passed. “White 1, going down!” Jack turned his spitfire around and pursued another plane. he fired three bursts before hitting the fighter. The remaining Messerschmitts fled. They were safe again. “Red division, we’re heading home.”