Savage wants the 918th to try a new technique, bombing on the leader. Instead of each bombardier sighting his own target and then making his own bomb-run, the entire group would synchronize with the lead bombardier and when he drops, the whole Group drops. Both Generals' Crowe & Pritchard are opposed to the idea but Savage presses for it. His lead crew consists of Bishop, Zimmerman & Mellon. Mellon has been recommended for the DFC for a previous mission. When his best friend the Navigator was badly wounded, Mellon stayed at his post and made the bomb run anyway. The run was successful but the friend died. Mellon is shaken and on the next mission, the entire group misses and bombs a school. Unsure whether it was faulty equipment or his error, Mellon does not want to be lead bombardier any longer. Savage pushes Mellon and they go up again and successfully bomb the target.

Tom Lockridge is a copilot, on a mission the pilot is killed, and he takes over allowing the crew to bail out. His best friend Captain Wade Ritchie disobeys orders and flies cover with his B-17. Back on the ground Savage tells Ritchie he is going to charge him with disobeying an order for leaving formation. When Lockridge returns and finds this out he turns his back on the General. Savage tries to explain to Lockridge the concept of formation discipline, but he is only concerned about his friend. Ritchie draws a court martial and is reduced in rank to 1st Lieutenant. Savage speaks to Libby MacAndrews, Lockridge's girl and she and Savage both keep working on him. On the next mission Lieutenant Ritchie flies as copilot with Savage and they get hit, Lockridge now an aircraft commander realizes he can't break formation.

Senator Clay Johnson wants to shut down the long range bombing program because of high aircraft & manpower losses. Savage argues that they just need adequate fire power and long range fighter support. Since the P-51 mustang is not yet deployed, they lack long range fighter cover. Savage wants to bomb Hamburg or Kiel using aircraft armed with 50 mm guns instead of 20 mm guns. Grounded by bad weather, Savage gets a visit from the Vicar of Archbury who asks him why he has denied permission for Eddie Pryor & April Barret to get married. Perplexed Savage says he has no such request, then speaks to Pryor who confesses he is scared of the commitment. The weather clears and on the next mission Pryor gets trapped in the Ball Turret by damage. Savage turns the mission over to Major Roberts and then he & Mewlay land the damaged plane with Pryor still trapped. The mission is a success - no casualties. Pryor marries April Barrett.

Major Jack Temple leads the low Squadron on a raid to bomb the flying Bomb (V2) assembly plant at Laon. His aircraft ""The Lucky Lady"" is hit and he is forced to bail out with his crew. Major Temple and 4 of his crew (Kinner, Nichols, Weinstock & Moody) are captured and taken before Oberst Alfred Hoeptner, the commander of the Laon facility. Hoeptner decides that he is going to keep the men prisoner at the factory to prevent them from being bombed. Major Temple states that it is a violation of the Geneva Convention, and Hoeptner aggress hoping that the Americans will file a protest with the Red Cross. All he needs is a little time to close down the factory and move the machinery elsewhere. Back at Archbury, Frank & Harvey are listening to Lord Haw Haw's broadcast outlining the capture of Temple and the fact that he and his men are being held at Laon. Frank and Harvey head off to the officers club, and when Harvey suggests darts, Savage comes up with the idea of pinpoint bombing the targ

After loosing his best friend Joe Farrell, Savage goes on leave ordered by General Crowe. He goes to Inverness by train then to the Isle of Dunfergus aboard the Glencoe Lass. On the train he meets a Wren officer, Ann Macrae, who is going home on leave. After several unfortunate disagreements, Frank and Ann start to get along and finally fall in love. Savage learns that she has terminal cancer and not long to live. There is nothing he can do and she dies.

The group returns from a bomb run the air frame factory at Metz. The leader, Major Cobb reports complete destruction of the target, but the Intelligence officer Major Herrick says the factory is still operating. General Crowe chews Frank out and he takes a single B-17 to scout the target. He and Lieutenant Canello find out that they have been bombing a decoy area, locate the real factory but get shot down before they can return with the information. Canello is killed. Captured by angry French partisans who hate the Americans' for bombing them, Savage must fight for his life. He eventually persuades the partisans that the bomb raids are necessary.

Kane completed his 25 missions and is going back to the States on a Public Relations Tour. He will be performing in Winged Victory and wants to resume his career as an actor after the War. Savage asks Kane to volunteer for one last mission as his co-pilot and when the Flight Engineer & Bombardier are killed on the mission, Kane goes to check the oxygen tanks and is badly burned in the face. Back at base Doc Kaiser asks the General if Kane was a good actor before the War, Savage says he was, Doc says ""Well he can be retrained of course"". When we next see Kane he is bandaged about the right size of his, face, feeling sorry for himself he refuses to see anyone or eat. After refusing to see his buddies, then being rejected by his fiancé he steals an airplane and goes on a suicide mission. Savage talks him down and later Kane (sans bandages) offers Savage his Lighter, a signal he is no longer afraid.

Savage and the Piccadilly Lily are given a special mission to bomb an oil line in the Säär Valley. Captain Dirksen is a Lead Bombardier from Wing down for the mission. Captain Walters as the alternate Lead Bombardier. Savage's crew has rotated home, so he is using a new crew but needs two new waist gunners. He chooses Waller & Maglie. Waller is actually a bombardier but has excellent gunnery scores. The navigator First Lieutenant Gunther does not want to fly with ""Wash-out"" Waller. Savage chews Waller out for his negative attitude. Waller has a chip on his shoulder because he washed out of flight school then graduated from bombardier school as a Flight Officer and not a Second Lieutenant. On the mission, a bomb gets hung up on the rack and the crew blames Waller as he supervised the bomb loading. Later Waller saves Gunther's life. Captain Dirksen is killed, and the aircraft carrying the alternate lead bombardier is shot down so Waller takes over and makes a perfect bomb run. The plane

Mission to bomb Mannheim. Major Gus Denver has returned to flight duty. On a previous mission he suffered a breakdown after the death of his first crew. Brigadier General Hoagland has just been assigned from the States. He is now the acting Wing Commander in the absence of General. Stoneman, but the job he really wants is 918th Group Commander. He tells Savage that he is out to get him. Major Denver overhears this. Hoagland flies with Savage on a mission to Einhoven and on the way back the plane is hit by flak and two engines go out; Savage orders everyone to bail out. The engines start up again, only Hoagland makes it out and he is strafed by fighters and killed. There is an enquiry, and Major Denver asks to speak with the IG thinking that Savage engineered Hoagland's death. Denver puts himself on the sick list, but Savage gets him back to duty. On the next mission, Denver's entire crew is killed, and he is going to bail out knowing he will be killed by the same fighter, Savage talks