the sub and ripped through the conning tower.
"One dead kraut," yelled his co-pilot who was actually flying the plane.
Terry was the gunner. Trial and error had shown that he was the best shooter in the crew and he reveled in the opportunity to shoot while his co-pilot flew the plane.
Seconds later, the bombardier dropped the depth charges and they bracketed the crippled German sub. More cheers. It was a hell of a good run.
Unfortunately, it was all practice. The submarine was a wooden mock-up situated in the middle of a field in Maryland and the depth charges were barrels of water. The 37mm ammo, however, had been real. Still, it was better than nothing. The radar had spotted the "sub" and the searchlight had illuminated it just seconds before the Vampire had swept down on it. Had it been a real sub and a real attack, Tony was confident that he'd have killed it. Nobody talked about the fact that German subs had anti-aircraft guns and might just fight back.
That the training was getting more extensive and deadly serious underscored the fact that the United States and Germany were more and more likely to get into war. At least this time we'll be ready, Tony thought. Not like Pearl Harbor. No, nothing would ever again be like Pearl Harbor. Still, there was the nagging feeling that the Germans would attack first and that American blood would be spilled. Wouldn't it be nice, he thought, if we could be the ones who fired first? Nah, that would be un-American. It would also be smart and save a lot of guys’ lives, but no, we had to be the ones who get hit first. Then we get up from the canvas and kick the other guy's ass.
General Marshall noticed that FDR's hand quivered and he had a hard time picking up the stamp with his tweezers. No surprise. The president's physical condition was getting worse as the strain of fighting a war against the Japanese and preparing his unwilling nation for a war with Germany took its toll. Working with his beloved stamp collection was supposed to relax him, but now it looked like it was frustrating him.
Finally, he gave up and put down the tweezers. He would play with his stamp collection some other time. He looked at Marshall and smiled. "So, our good neighbors in Berlin are getting nervous. Wonderful, couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of monsters. I'm also glad to see that the army and the navy are cooperating so nicely."
"The presence of Nazi soldiers on our border does help to clear the mind, sir. We don't need any more sudden shocks like that."
Only a few weeks after the collapse of England, a flotilla of German transports had appeared at Halifax where they'd unloaded several thousand German soldiers. A second group appeared the next day and steamed up to Toronto where they disembarked more Nazis. It was all done without warning and without the knowledge of the United States since the intelligence provided by the English at Bletchley Park had been shut down. There had been minimal resistance from what remained of the Canadian military, but that soon ceased as a result of orders from London and Ottawa. Fighting would only endanger the Allied soldiers being held either as prisoners or as hostages by the Nazis. Their men would be used as leverage. The Germans entered Canada and stayed.
Roosevelt had seethed in anger. His only alternative, however, was to use force to expel them and that would have meant declaring war with Hitler. FDR wanted that war, but an attack on the German forces while the U.S. was still fighting the Japanese would have labeled the Americans the aggressor and earned the anger of many in Congress who felt that Japan was the primary enemy. The president had discussed this with congressional leaders and was certain that congress would not approve any aggressive action against
"One dead kraut," yelled his co-pilot who was actually flying the plane.
Terry was the gunner. Trial and error had shown that he was the best shooter in the crew and he reveled in the opportunity to shoot while his co-pilot flew the plane.
Seconds later, the bombardier dropped the depth charges and they bracketed the crippled German sub. More cheers. It was a hell of a good run.
Unfortunately, it was all practice. The submarine was a wooden mock-up situated in the middle of a field in Maryland and the depth charges were barrels of water. The 37mm ammo, however, had been real. Still, it was better than nothing. The radar had spotted the "sub" and the searchlight had illuminated it just seconds before the Vampire had swept down on it. Had it been a real sub and a real attack, Tony was confident that he'd have killed it. Nobody talked about the fact that German subs had anti-aircraft guns and might just fight back.
That the training was getting more extensive and deadly serious underscored the fact that the United States and Germany were more and more likely to get into war. At least this time we'll be ready, Tony thought. Not like Pearl Harbor. No, nothing would ever again be like Pearl Harbor. Still, there was the nagging feeling that the Germans would attack first and that American blood would be spilled. Wouldn't it be nice, he thought, if we could be the ones who fired first? Nah, that would be un-American. It would also be smart and save a lot of guys’ lives, but no, we had to be the ones who get hit first. Then we get up from the canvas and kick the other guy's ass.
General Marshall noticed that FDR's hand quivered and he had a hard time picking up the stamp with his tweezers. No surprise. The president's physical condition was getting worse as the strain of fighting a war against the Japanese and preparing his unwilling nation for a war with Germany took its toll. Working with his beloved stamp collection was supposed to relax him, but now it looked like it was frustrating him.
Finally, he gave up and put down the tweezers. He would play with his stamp collection some other time. He looked at Marshall and smiled. "So, our good neighbors in Berlin are getting nervous. Wonderful, couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of monsters. I'm also glad to see that the army and the navy are cooperating so nicely."
"The presence of Nazi soldiers on our border does help to clear the mind, sir. We don't need any more sudden shocks like that."
Only a few weeks after the collapse of England, a flotilla of German transports had appeared at Halifax where they'd unloaded several thousand German soldiers. A second group appeared the next day and steamed up to Toronto where they disembarked more Nazis. It was all done without warning and without the knowledge of the United States since the intelligence provided by the English at Bletchley Park had been shut down. There had been minimal resistance from what remained of the Canadian military, but that soon ceased as a result of orders from London and Ottawa. Fighting would only endanger the Allied soldiers being held either as prisoners or as hostages by the Nazis. Their men would be used as leverage. The Germans entered Canada and stayed.
Roosevelt had seethed in anger. His only alternative, however, was to use force to expel them and that would have meant declaring war with Hitler. FDR wanted that war, but an attack on the German forces while the U.S. was still fighting the Japanese would have labeled the Americans the aggressor and earned the anger of many in Congress who felt that Japan was the primary enemy. The president had discussed this with congressional leaders and was certain that congress would not approve any aggressive action against
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