Black Sheep Squadron

TV Rated: Not Rated (most likely TV-PG or TV-14)

Greg and Larry go to Espiritos for a special briefing. Greg learns that the Japanese have a new kind of zero that is more difficult to shoot down. He and other squadron leaders are advised to not engage the enemy until a viable defense can be found. Greg can't believe that they are being told not to fight.

After the meeting he goes to find Larry. He is in the middle of a poker game with several other officers. Greg watches them finish one hand then tells Casey that it is time to go. Before they leave one of the other players stands up and introduces himself to Greg as Doug Rafferty.

When they are alone Larry tells Greg that Doug is Admiral Rafferty's son, and Boyington quickly deducts that Doug would come in handy as a contact if he was to be in the 214th. Pulling a few strings he has Rafferty assigned to the Black Sheep Squadron.


When Doug arrives at Vella La Cava and deplanes, a mechanic tells Jim Gutterman that he won't believe who got off the transport...Doug Rafferty. Jim looks on with interest. Boyington takes Doug to the Sheep Pen to introduce him to the few sheep that are present. Sitting at a table with a drink Doug questions Greg. He wants to know if he ended up with the squadron because of who his father was. Greg feigns ignorance but in the end must admit that it was a factor. He tells Doug that it never has to come up. He just has to do his job as a pilot, BUT that new metal piercing ammo that the Navy has would sure help them fight the new Zeroes.

As they leave the Pen they run into Gutterman. From the look between Doug and Jim it is apparent that there is bad blood between the men. Greg is surprised to hear that they flew together in another squadron. He assigns Jim to give Doug a check ride and walks away.


On the way to the flight line, Doug tries to make small talk. Jim starts to ask him about another pilot. He wants to know if Doug visited him in the hospital while he was at Pearl Harbor. Doug tells Jim that he tried to visit but the other pilot did not want to see him. In this conversation we find out that while they both flew for the 805, there was a streak of bad luck and it had been pinned on Doug. Doug, of course, defends himself saying that there is no way that he was responsible for the fatalities in that squadron. He gets back to the subject of the check ride which Jim does not want to do. He pleads with Jim to give him a chance. In the end, Jim relents and takes him up.

While in the air, Dough suggests that they tuck in tighter (fly in closer formation). Jim blows him off, saying that they are close enough. When the suddenly find themselves in trouble with a couple of zeros, they fight the best they can to get out of the situation. Jim's plane is hit, but he is able to return to base. After the flight he is angry and storms off to tell Greg that they need to talk in private.

On the beach Jim tells Greg that Doug is bad luck. Greg dismisses the idea even after Jim tells about what happened at the 805. Greg tells Jim to keep all that to himself because Doug is going to get a fair chance to fly with the Black Sheep. Suddenly they hear a plane approaching from behind. They hit the deck as the plane strafes the beach. After the plane has passed them they quickly get up and run to camp where the plane is also making a strafing run. The men at camp scramble to take cover or fire on the enemy plane. It leaves as quickly as it came and everyone wonders what caused this unusual attack. Jim looks to Doug, but says nothing.

That evening as Greg looks over his paperwork, he sees the transcript for the radio transmissions of the day. He sees from this that Jim and Doug were not tucked in tight and he realizes that this could have kept Jim from getting shot that afternoon.

The next day Jim and TJ prepare for a reconnaissance flight. But Greg tells Jim he's being pulled and that Rafferty will fly with TJ. Jim is angry. He fears that something will happen to TJ. Greg brings up the error that Jim made the previous day and says that Doug will be fine if he's flying with someone who is not afraid to tuck in tight.

Returning from the surveillance flight, TJ is very excited. They were surprised by some zeros and he had gotten into a little trouble and Doug shot one down and chased the other one 'half way back to Tokyo'. Jim watches in contempt as TJ makes such a big deal about Doug's flying skills and the others join in on the congratulations. At the same time Larry and Jerry have returned from Espiritos and have heard some news about Doug. They tell TJ and the others about Doug's reputation as a jinx.

When the rumor spreads around the camp, Greg immediately accuses Gutterman of spilling the beans. Others take the credit for spreading the story that they heard on Espiritos Marcos. Greg tells them that they are not going to use Doug as a scapegoat and they'd better just go up there and do their job every. He tells them that Doug is flying with them and that is it.

A bartered load of oil comes in on the beach and the squadron and some mechanics go down to the beach with trucks to pick up the barrels. During the loading process a barrel is dropped and the mechanic who also knew Doug from his previous assignments gets a broken leg in the process. Jim immediately looks at Doug with an accusing glance.


To be continued.