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Stories

Plane Freezing

I sat in my seat and gazed out at the sky. Blue, clear sky. My P-51 Mustang flew over the bomber formation with ease. The ground was far below. “Bandits in sight,” said the skipper. “Copy, 3 o’clock low,” I replied.

Our fighter formation turned ready to dive in on the enemy. I flicked the knob on my gunsight from SAFE to FIRE. Soon I could see the enemy clearly. Twelve Messershmitt 410s covered by six Messershmitt bf 109 fighters. I thought briefly about my tactics. Then I dove in to attack.

Two 109s came up at me. I banked hard to the left. One Messershmitt missed, the other pulled up hard and fell past me, guns blazing. I dove down after him. I got closer and closer. I aimed my gunsight and pulled the trigger. Six .50cal machine guns hit home and blew off the 109’s wing, sending him down to the ground.

In this fight I hadn’t noticed a 410 sneak up on me. As I started to climb it fired its four 20mm cannon. Shells smashed into cockpit. I looked down to see my trouser leg drenched in blood. Large holes dotted the canopy.

The 410 wouldn’t let me go. I kept dancing around, trying to shake him off. At last he broke off and disappeared. Relief filled me.

Suddenly I noticed there was nothing. No planes, or even buildings on the ground. Panic struck. I turned on my radio. “Hello, this is plane CS1015, I am lost, over.” No reply. “Hello, skip, anyone?” Silence. “Oh HELP! I’m lost HELP!” No one heard my cry. I looked at my compass to find it smashed. My leg felt worse. I am in so much trouble.

I looked at the ground. Just trees. Nowhere to land. Had to keep flying. To live. To land. Like birds need to land to eat. Had to fly. Hours. Endless hours. After a while the ground changed. It became different. Not landable, but different. Rocky. Snowy.

Snow! Flat snow! I’d prefer a runway but this would do. No idea where I was but it didn’t matter. Soon flat snowfields appeared. Perfect! CLANK! The engine was out of fuel. Had to land. I put the P-51 in a shallow dive and glided down to the snow. Close to the ground. I put my wheels down and levelled out. Prepared to land.

I did it! I was on the snow, rolling along on my wheels. Had to slow down though. I couldn’t use the brakes. Didn’t know what they could do in the snow. But it would take ages to stop. Had slow down. Time stops for no man. Hurry. I was so anxious I slammed the brakes. Not smart. I slid straight across the snow. Hey, I was doing alright. I be fine as long as I don’t hit that rock…

The plane wheel hit the rock, bounced up and ploughed the nose into the ground. I banged my leg, making it feel worse. I yanked open my perspex canopy and scrambled out. I dropped down onto the snow. Then ran. Ran for my life. In desperation. I sat down only after I was 200 metres clear. Then waited.

Not sure what to wait for, but I did. Then it happened. The plane went up. In a big fireball. The ice melted. Into water. Water! I would need water! I would need something to carry it in. A container. A bottle. That’s it! The oxygen bottles! I searched the wreck to find one intact. I unscrewed the lid and scooped water into the bottle. I screwed the cap back on and walked off.

What would I need? A shelter. My flying jacket would keep me warm but it couldn’t keep me alive forever. After a kilometre I slowed. I was tired. Already. I needed a drink. I unscrewed the lid of my bottle. No water came out. I nearly jumped up and down on my bottle. I swore and cursed. It froze you fool!

Then I stopped. I looked out into the distance and saw something. Was it? No Not here. It was! A hut! I forgot about my misfortune and headed down merrily.

I was disappointed when I got there. A few dead trees and some rusty old skis out the front. I looked inside. Small. That was the word for it. Small. The door slammed behind me causing me to jump and hit my head on the ceiling. I rubbed the bump and looked around. Not much. A bunk bed, a stove and some cupboards above it. I opened a cupboard. 2 cans of something. The writing was foreign.

I checked the bed to find it firm. Suddenly I realised how hungry I was. It was 4 o’clock and I hadn’t eaten since 10. I took my survival knife out of my survival pack and carefully opened the can. It was corned beef inside. Good enough. I found a pan and popped the meat in. Luckily the stove had wood in it.

I suddenly realised I had no means of lighting a fire. Wait! That was it! My pistol! I took my Colt .45 pistol out and fired into the stove. It burst into flame. A little later the meat was cooked.

The beef sat in my hands. Already warm but delicious by the looks. Then I took that first bite. That wonderful bite. The juices ran down my chin. I quickly licked them up. Nothing shall go to waste. With my belly full I snuggled into my bed. Then slept a dreamless sleep.

****************

I awoke to find myself cold, tired and hungry. The wind blew furiously outside. And the cold. The deep cold. The cold that got to my bones. I needed heat. The stove! It was still on!

I quickly went over to it and sucked in the warmth. It felt good. As if I could not leave it. I decided to check outside as the wind had died down. I rubbed the frost off the window and peered outside. Then I saw them.

Deer! A whole herd of them! I suddenly felt normal. Like I’d had an energy burst. They were coming up close to the hut. Maybe in range of my pistol. I jumped up and went outside.

It was freezing outside! But I didn’t care. My new energy flowed through me. I lay down on my belly and crawled towards the deer. They didn’t seem worried. I aimed my pistol. FIRED! Missed!

I swore and jumped on my gun! But my energy burst had gone. I slowed and became tired. The deer moved away. Not surprising. But not because of the shot. Men were coming. Men!

Soon the men were close to me. From their caps I could tell they were Russian. “Do you speak English?” I asked. “I do,” said a man in a fluent Russian accent. “How did you find me?” I asked. “Villagers saw your plane go down. Bright colours aren’t common out here.” What do you know. We Americans painted our planes because there was no need for camouflage. Who knew they would make great rescue signals?

(2004)

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