It is the 10th of October, 1943 and the 100th bomb group is over Münster. Among the mighty Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" is Robert Rosenthel piloting the "Royal Flush!".

The sky above the city is chaos as the bombers close in on their target. Their escort never arrived to defend them. Messerschmitt Bf 109s, Focke-Wulf Fw 190s and Messerschmitt Bf 110s relentlessly open fire on the formation of bombers. The lead plane, flown by John Egan is already down, as well as many others.

As they fly, a flurry of rockets fly at the Royal Flush, one hitting the wing and taking out two engines. Soon, the fighters peel off as the 3 remaining bombers approach the target, but they are not out of the woods yet. The sky is shaken by explosions and black with flak. Rosenthel hands over control to the bombardier as they creep towards the target.

"Bombs away" the bombs fall and Rosenthel retakes control and gets them out of the city's aerospace. But something is wrong.

As the crew look around they realise that they are the only plane in the sky; the 100th is gone. Just then, fighters appear and open fire on the lone bomber. Rosenthel throws all bomber pilot wisdom out the window and starts pulling evasive maneuvers whilst the gunners open fire. He pulls the bomber into a tight turn, forcing the waist gunners to hold on. The tail gunner, Bill DeBlasio manages to take out the attacking aircraft but then six more appear. Rosenthel doesn't let up and continues throwing the massive plane into evasive maneuvers. Bullets strike the fuselage, wounding both waist gunners. DeBlasio is not even trying to aim anymore as he fires from left to right in an attempt to hit the attacking fighters. Two are hit and lose control, slamming into each other. Finally the fighters peel off, the Royal Flush is safe.

On two engines the plane limps back to base. They are the only ones to return. Later, the ground crew would find an unexploded shell in the planes wing. Rosenthel would be rewarded his first Silver Star for the mission, it was only his third. The crew would be taken to the Flak House to recover from any trauma and would return to action soon.

After the Münster mission, the 100th bomb group became known as The Bloody Hundredth.

Rosenthel would go on to fly the rest of his required 25 missions before being sent back home. However, this was not enough for him, as he would sign up for a second combat tour. Towards the end of his second tour, his plane would be shot down and Rosenthel would break his arm after bailing out. He was assigned a desk job but "raised enough hell to let me fly again." On his 52 mission, Rosenthel would go down once more. He'd limp his B-17 over the Eastern Front and bail out over friendly territory, breaking his arm yet again. He was picked up by the Soviets and flown back to England. This time, however he would not fly again. Rosenthel would take part during the Nuremburg Trials after the war and would pass away at age 89 on 20 April 2007.

It is November 29th, 1943 and a squadron of B-17 Flying Fortresses from 96th Bomb Group are flying over Bremen. In the tail of B-17 "Rikki Tikki Tavi" (piloted by Linwood Langley) sits Eugene Moran. The sky is quite as they approach their target. Then a call comes over the radio: "Bandets twelve o'clock!". Messerschmitt Bf 109s and the dreaded Focke-Wulf Fw 190s fly in, ready to attack. The bombers open fire on the attacking aircraft. The Germans swarm around the formation causing absolute chaos. Then, a few start peeling off, just before the sky explodes with flak. Some of the Germans do not stop attacking, risking friendly fire in order to score a kill. The formation push on to the target.

"Bombs away." The bombers unleash their payload on the target below before flying out of the city's airspace. The flak let's up and the fighters pull back.

Calls come over Rikki Tikki Tavi's radio, all of the crew are alright and the plane is in good shape. They are going to make it home. Then the peace is shattered as the Germans return. The sky lights up with gunfire as the box formation fends off the swarm. B-17's are going down all around.

Moran opens fire on a Fw 190, then a Bf 109 as they zip past. He is not sure if he hit them, he just picks another target and keeps firing. The B-17 shakes and begins loosing speed. Moran notices and soon other crew members do to. But there is no word from Langley or the co-pilot. The engines are all still functioning however. Still, the plane falls behind and is left by the formation. Now a sitting duck, the Germans do not hold back and swarm the plane. Cries come over the radio as men are hit and the plane is shot up.

What happened next, Moran would get too emotional to talk about. In the ball turret of the B-17 sat Wilbert Earl Provost, Moran's best friend. As he was firing he spotted a twin engine Messerschmitt coming from below. Moran heard him over the radio.

"He's coming up at us! It's coming right up our ass! Buddy, I'm done..."

The ball turret's window shattered under the gun fire and the radio died. As the plane came up, Moran did not hesitate and fired, smoke trailing from the Messerschmitt as his bullet hit it. It fell.

Just then, a Bf 109 pulled up beside the tail, out of Moran's firing arch. The 109 pilot gesture something to Moran as the fighters seized fire. The gesture was for Moran to bail out, he had a chance to live. A thought crossed his mind; was he the only one left. But before he could make the choice to bail or fight until death, gunfire erupted from one of the cheek guns, hitting a plane, someone else was still alive and not ready to give up. The Germans mercilessly opened fire again. Moran fought back before being hit, but that did not deter him, however the true nightmare was just beginning. His guns had jammed. Ignoring his wound and the gun fire he managed to unjam one gun and resumed fighting. The tail rocked as bullets struck it. Moran was hit again, in the chest breaking several ribs. His parachute was destroyed. Finally, Moran decided to try and escape after collapsing to the ground.

There was another parachute near the tail wheel. He began crawling towards it. The gun fire seized again and Moran felt himself being pulled towards the tail gun again. He pushed on but the pull got stronger, the plane was falling. He gripped onto anything he could to try reach the parachute.

Then the tail groaned and the sky started appearing. It got bigger through the airframe of the plane the sound worse. Moran realised with horror what was happening. Then, the tail came free.

Moran was thrown back into the tail as it separated from the plane. It fell into a terrible spin.

From the nose of the plane, navigator Jesse Orrison (a good friend of Moran) was thrown out as the plane dived. He pulled his parachute and then saw the tail falling, the flaps and rudder fluttering like crazy.

From within, Moran was sure this was it. His vision went red from the blood going into his eyes. Then the tail lurched with a force that no man was meant to feel, or take. It stopped and Moran hit the ground.

His body broken, he managed to crawl along the ground. He spotted the tail lodged in a tree above him. He had broken both arms, cracked his skull open and suffered many other injuries. Thankfully he was found by a ground of French workers and German soldiers.

Moran was taken to a POW camp hospital where a metal plate was put in his skull to close the opening. He suffered from nightmares and trauma from the experience. Eventually he recovered from his physical wounds and was freed after the war, where he would reunite with Orrison.

Years later, Moran would meet author John Armbruster and tell his story. The two would become good friends. In March 2014, Moran would pass away. Eight years later, Armbruster would release the book "Tailspin" about Moran's unbelievable survival.

It was the night of 6th December 1941 when pilots Kenneth Taylor and George Welch were out celebrating at the officers club at Wheeler Field, Hawaii. After the event, they would join an all night Poker game and only ended up going to bed at 06h00 am (7th December 1941).

Not even two hours later, the two were awakened by an air raid siren. At first they thought it was just some drill, until they say pillars of smoke coming from Pearl Harbour and low flying Japanese aircraft; they were under attack. Taylor immediately call Wheeler Field, but there was no reply. Then he tried Haleiwa Auxiliary Air Field. Someone picked up and Taylor ordered them to prepare two planes. Taylor and Welch rushed to their car, still in their tuxedo bottoms, and set off. Explosion racked the ground and a low flying Mitsubishi A6M Zero fired on them, missing, before pulling off. The two arrived at Haleiwa where two Curtiss P-40 Warhawks were waiting. Without hesitation they prepared to take off. Some called for them to leave the planes but Welch responded with: "To hell with that.", before the two men took off.

As they flew, they spotted 12 Aichi D3A Val Dive Bombers. The two flew up, undetected and opened fire, two bombers falling from the sky. The Japanese split and the men gave chase. Low on ammunition they soon landed at the half destroyed Wheeler Field, hangers and planes burning. Ground crews came to meet them and re-armed and refuelled the Warhawks. Just then, a group of officers arrived, telling the men to stand down. No orders to engage had been given. But before the men could object, another wave of Val Dive Bombers approach, causing the officers and ground crew to scatter. Taylor and Welch took off to meet the enemy head on.

They gave chase into the clouds where Taylor would down one of the Dive Bombers. As he did, another came on his tail and opened fire. A bullet hit the cockpit, just missing his head. Glass was sent into his shoulder and leg but he ignored it. Taylor would state it was no cause for concern and only startled him. He tried to shake the Val but could not. Seeing his friend in danger, Welch flew in at breakneck speed and opened fire. The Val burst into flames and the two continued. Welch chased a Zero whilst Taylor took on another Val, damaging it. Before he could finish it, he spotted a squadron of Zeros heading for Haleiwa. Welch was still chasing his enemy and had not noticed. Fearing they would take him by surprise, Taylor broke off and prepared to engage. However, the squadron would turn back and head for home. Welch would down his enemy before the two men landed. Welch had scored 4 confirmed aerial victories whilst Taylor had 2 confirmed and 2 probable.

The two would then head back to their barracks when they would see their commanding officer running towards Haleiwa. He stopped them and told them to turn around and get ready to defend the base. The two explained that the base was fine and explained all that had happened.

Both men where awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions and Taylor was awarded a Purple Heart for his injuries. Both were recommended for the Medal of Honour, but were denied for taking off without orders. In a 2003 interview, Taylor would say of the event: "I wasn't in the least bit terrified, and let me tell you why: I was too young and too stupid to realize that I was in a lot of danger." After the war, interviews with Japanese pilots who partook in the attack revealed that it was because of the two men they failed to destroy Haleiwa Air Field.

Taylor and Welch survived the war and would go their separate ways. Welch would serve in the Korean War, taking down multiple MiG-15 jets (all whilst disobeying orders). He died on 12 October 1954 when his jet disintegrated during a 7-G pullout at a speed of March 1.55.

Taylor would serve in the military until 1971. He would pass away in 2006.