Tanks, Planes and Automobiles

 

cover art by Russ Heath

So how does a pilot get a medal for a ground action and a tank commander get a medal for an air action? It's a question that has plagued the greatest military minds through the ages. But in G.I. Combat #115 (Dec '65/Jan '66), writer Bob Kanigher and artist Russ Heath give us the answer.

Jeb Stuart and his crew stop at a forward airbase, where Jeb gets into the cockpit of Johnny Cloud's P-51--pretty much sitting on Johnny's lap--to examine the plane's controls. When the Luftwaffe attacks and begin strafing the base, Johnny is forced to take off with Jeb STILL on his lap!

Despite having to fly the plane while reaching around Jeb, Johnny still manages to shoot down a German fighter. But return fire jams his gun.

Fortunately, Jeb was carrying his Tommy gun and, working on concert with Johnny's skilled manuvering, he manages to shoot down two more enemy planes. Thus he earns a medal for air combat.

It's fun to look through this sequence and realize that we are never given an angle that allows us to see how Johnny is managing to fly with Jeb in the way--which would have involved foot pedals for the rudder as well as controls on the instrument panel. DC war comics were never noted for realism, so it really doesn't matter, but its fun to realize that poor Russ Heath might not have been able to draw a believable way of Johnny doing this, so drew the action so that we never see what he's doing.

Out of curiousity, I looked up the take-off procedure for a P-51. It involves adjusting the fuel mixture (controls near his left elbow, setting flaps (controls also near his left elbow) and rudder (floor pedals), releasing the brakes (toe portion of the rudder pedals) and using the throttle for speed (once again, on the left side of the pilot). I suppose Johnny could have still reached a lot of his controls, stuck his legs past Jeb's legs to reach the pedals and reached around Jeb to work the stick and fire the machine guns. So maybe it's possible?

Once again, I realize the sequence isn't meant to be realistic--just look cool. And it does indeed look cool. But I am who I am and I had to look it up. 

Anyway, not long after, Johnny is flying a mission and has to crash-land on top of a haystack. It turns out the Haunted Tank is hiding in that haystack, having run out of ammunition. But now the tank is basically hauling around a plane equipped with multiple heavy machine guns.

Working in concert with Jeb's skillful manuevering, Johnny manages to take out two enemy tanks. At one point, he refers to his guns as "wing cannons." If we take that at face value and conclude that Johnny's plane was equipped with 20mm cannon rather than the usual machine guns, then perhaps this feat becomes possible. Though, once again, the sequence is meant to look cool, not be realistic. And it does indeed look cool.

So that's how a pilot gets a medal for ground combat and a tank commander gets a medal for air combat. But then, after the medal ceremony, Johnny and Jeb's jeep is ambushed by German troops. The ensuing brawl with the Germans earns them both medals for infantry combat.

It's a fun story--a typical example of how Kanigher could come up with a gimmicky plot and depend on the magnificent artists he worked with to bring it all to life.

Next week, we will meet a comic book character I've only just learned about--Mr. Young of the Boothill Gazette.