t Sim had banked sharply and was coming back
to help him. He also spotted the cloud the Jerries had used to ambush
the flight. As he laid over and made for it, one of the FW's knifed in
and splattered him with lead. He felt the bullets pinging against his
armor plate and ripping through his wings. Ducking, he went down under
the cloud, just what the Jerry wanted.

Sim had cut out one of the FW's but two others had joined the hunt, bent
on finishing the Thunderbolt they had cut off. Stan laid over and
wobbled around just as though he was hit bad. The Jerry banked and went
up a bit to get a better dive. He figured he had plenty of time because
the Yank was crippled. That was what Stan wanted. He kicked the
Thunderbolt wide open and zoomed for the cloud. Too late the Jerry saw
what was up. He roared down through the misty edge of the cloud and
barely missed a head-on crash with Stan.

The instant the cloud closed around him Stan kicked off his extra tanks,
then he dived up and over the cloud. The Jerries were waiting for him.
Sim was chasing one FW, but three waited for the cripple. When Stan came
zooming out of the top of the cloud, they were a bit startled and showed
it by their hesitation. Stan grinned as he snapped his ship over and
dived on the nearest Jerry.

Before the German could get going Stan had him in his sights and his
thumb had squeezed the gun button. His six 50's flamed and the recoil
set the Thunderbolt back on her flaps. The Jerry shuddered an instant,
then broke in two and burst into roaring flames. Stan went over the
wreckage and cut in between the other two Jerries. They were alive now
and in action. Around the three went, up and over, painting the chill
sky with streaks and loops of vapor. Stan did not hold on long. The
instant he had a chance to dive and run for it he did. And the Jerries
did not chase him. They were convinced he was no cripple.

As Stan roared after his formation he saw Sim closing in from far to his
left. He was red-hot and wanted to tell Sim a few things, but he knew
the setup was such that he had to keep his mouth closed. Sim had made an
error of judgment in going after the lone Jerry and letting the other
two cut him out. Stan was sure it was intentional, but he could never
prove it.

Another thing that worried him was that he did not know how much
gasoline he had used out of his reserve before he kicked his tanks
loose. He was flight leader of the group headed for Huls. I