- A S.A.C. (Strategic Air Command) bomber on a routine patrol mission from March Air Force Base in the U.S. to Spain-and-back suffers an on-board fire.The co-pilot,who has dodged the responsibility of becoming a lead pilot,is suddenly thrust into command when the pilot is severely injured due to the fire.Can the co-pilot conquer his fears and master his inadequacies?—dubchi
- Strategic Air Command copilot Lieutenant John Corby (Martin Milner) feels he is just not yet ready... not ready to have children with his wife Pat (Nancy Malone(I)), and certainly not ready to handle the controls of an Air Force Boeing B-47E Stratojet.bomber during in-flight refueling maneuvers.
Much to the chagrin of his flight commander, Major Ben Dawson (Richard Long), Lt. Corby refuses to be cajoled into qualifying as a pilot, which includes proving himself in both refueling and landing their multi-million dollar aircraft. Prior to a routine mission, Maj. Dawson arranges a pep talk for Corby, in which the General (Leif Erickson) warns Corby that he must qualify or consider leaving the Air Force.
Shortly after takeoff, Flight Engineer Captain Mike Andre (Jack Ging) asks Dawson and Corby if they smell smoke, possibly from an electrical fire, but they do not, so the mission continues. At the halfway point Corby takes over the controls so that Dawson can rest. Suddenly sparks can be seen inside a junction box and Andre attempts to put out the fire while it is still small. As Andre's efforts fail, Dawson decends to the egineering deck and reaches into the growing flames to disconnect the power cable. As the cable breaks free, Dawson falls backwards, hitting his head. The fire goes out but pilot Dawson is obviously too injured to return to the flight deck. Corby calls for Andre to put the aircraft on autopilot, so that Corby can perform first aid, but Andre finds that the autopilot controller is inoperative, having been affected by the fire. Andre gets the med kit and administers first aid as Corby is forced to remain at the controls. Medicated, Dawson now passes out.
Due to turbulence and poor visability, Corby drifts off course while searching for their refueling rendezvous point. Their communications are also damaged, severly limiting the range of their radio and radar. Flying high above the North Atlantic, radio calls from "Streetcar", the call sign of their B-47E aircraft, can be heard back at home base, but not on board "Donut", the refueling tanker trying to find them.
With fuel dangerously close to running out, Corby locates Donut and forces himself to complete the refueling operation, and goes on to smoothly land Streetcar at a US/Canadian base at Goose Bay, Labrador. Prior to his being carried off by medics, the now conscious Dawson is informed that his wife has just given birth to a baby boy. As they walk to the hangar, Andre congratulates Corby for finally overcoming his fears.
Credit is given to SAC, and mention is made of the 307th Bomb Wing as Dawson's wing.
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