Today's review will be the final operation of training period two.
Instructions for period three will be issued tomorrow.
Study them. Make your plans. Stand by for flight quarters.
- First Division ready for flight. - Second Division ready for flight.
You boys are getting so efficient you scare me. Come on, they're waiting.
- What course did you get to steer on? - Course 273 for 15 minutes.
- That's about what I got. - From this point, we can circle...
Hey, sit down. I can't see the board.
Bombing pilots, attention.
Rendezvous over the carrier at 2000 feet.
Gold braid's on the field ashore. Fly past in mass formation.
Then make a dive-bombing attack. And don't forget to take your shore legs.
Honolulu, here we come!
All right, all right. Relax and stand by, you bunch of ground lovers.
- Taking care of my gear, Tom? - We'll move it ashore.
- Thanks. - Not at all. I'll be glad to get rid of you.
- Oh, have you got a cigarette? - Yeah.
- Say, what is this? Gold? - Sure. We've got a friend at Fort Knox.
- You guys didn't buy these on Navy pay. - We found them under a rock.
You ought to wear specs to go with them, or carry a cane.
These certainly make an impression.
Only thing I own that'd make me welcome in a pawnshop.
They sent them because Joe rumbled...
...with a governor's wife in Cleveland. - That probably had a lot to do with it.
With the boys running National Air Races, thought we'd do better stunts.
Things will be awful tough on Joe if black cats sprout wings.
National Air Races, five times a day scraping noses on the ground.
It was worth 18 karats.
Oh, yeah, but I got the best deal out of Cleveland.
- 5 feet 2, blue eyes. - There he goes again.
- Wait till he's washed a million didies. - And walked with junior's gas pains.
He'll wish he'd taken a cigarette case.
Swede, how'd you get glamour dust in your eyes? Pilot's a fool to take a wife.
Hazel's broad-minded. She's letting me off once a week after marriage.
Well, that's better than being in a penitentiary.
I wish you transferred to San Diego with us instead of here, after the honeymoon.
Yeah, it's a crime to break up the three top hats.
Did a lot of loops together here and there.
Boy, you're gonna miss those times. So are we.
I'll have a bride to take care of. You guys will be playing tag with cadets.
I'll play tag.
Pilots, man your planes. Pilots, man your planes.
Stand by to start engines.
Stand clear of propellers.
She's sweet as sugar, commander.
Doctor, there's something sort of morbid about our jobs.
Here we sit, day after day, like buzzards on a rail fence.
Yeah, I guess you're right, Lucky.
We sort of symbolize the uncertainty of life for those pilots.
- No wonder they don't love us. - Oh, I don't mind them, sir. It's my wife.
She says I have to stop smelling of iodoform.
Did you ever have complaints on it?
Did I? Only about eight years. Harvard, Hopkins, Cambridge.
The girls all used to call me "The Iodoform Kid. "
- Generally, they called me, "Stinky. " - How did you manage to get rid of it?
I didn't. They just got used to it.
Killed a lot of romances for me, Lucky.
I should have been smart like you, lieutenant, stayed single.
Especially if I'd known I was coming to Honolulu.
Why, that's fine talk when you're a new bridegroom.
Three weeks and I got marriage up to here.
Yeah?
Three more and you'll have it up to here.
Those planes do something to you, don't they?
Almost as good as the Army.
Look at that formation.
Bombing six, stand by to peel off.
- It's Swede. - Blackout again.
- You got a cigarette? - Sure.
I can't move. I can't feel anything.
How did I get...?
Here.
That's good.
What happened, chum? Did you misjudge your altitude?
It was a dive.
I couldn't pull up.
Blacked out.
Why don't you doctors do something about that.
Yeah, why don't we. Here.
Here's the pressure on the spine right here.
That can only be relieved by an immediate operation.
Well, he's pretty weak from shock and loss of blood.
There's a chance if we wait for him to regain strength.
Wait? Of course, it's your responsibility, but did a case ever improve by waiting?
He'll never regain consciousness unless we go in now. I wish I wasn't so certain.
- Who's caring for Larson? - Commander Martin, Lieutenant Lee.
- You saw him. He's still alive? - He was, yes, sir.
I'm Larson's squadron commander. How is he?
A concussion, possibly skull fracture.
Also, the x-rays showed a dislocated vertebra pressing on the spinal cord here.
It's a problem of whether to operate now or wait.
I don't wanna be insistent, but we're wasting valuable time.
- What'll you do for him? - Does he have family in Honolulu?
- No. - We're his friends.
We haven't time to worry about that.
Allison's just published a complete record of over 300 cases of cord injury.
Each single case that recovered was operated at once.
Every minute the pressure was unrelieved lessened the chances of recovery.
- What more can I say? - Perhaps you're right. Come along.
Sponge. Sponge.
Scalpel.
Retractor.
Breathing has stopped. Pulse is getting very weak.
- Sticky, isn't it? - Yeah.
That much injury, there never was a chance.
No. None whatever.
I'm sorry, but your friend just died on the table.
Accident cases are always uncertain.
You can never be quite sure of the extent of shock or internal injuries.
Well, I'm sorry.
You were certain enough a while ago.
Maybe it would have been better to wait, as the commander said.
No, it wouldn't have made any difference.
His spinal cord was almost completely severed.
He said he lost consciousness pulling out of the dive.
We think he lost it in there.
Everything was done that could have been done.
I appreciate your feelings, but not your criticism. It has no sound medical basis.
Are you an example of sound medical basis?
I sent Hazel a cable and a letter.
She'll be going through the ringer for a while.
Do you think we ought to see her?
No, it would just get her all stirred up again.
- Linda! - Doug.
Pal! What are you doing here in Honolulu?
Of all the nice people. How nice to see you.
- It's good to see you too. - Gosh, you look wonderful.
- Thanks. - Listen...
Come over here. I want to talk to you.
How many times have I told you to stop following me?
Who said I was following you around?
I'm with friends and got bored and went for a walk.
Of course, I was hoping I might run...
Okay. I'm following you around.
But in a very refined way.
Darling, why do you waste your time on me? You're much too nice for me.
- Am I? - Sure, you are.
I've told you, as far as I'm concerned, a woman is like an elephant.
I like to look at them, but I don't want to own one. Come on.
- Hey, Peter, a table for two. - Over there.
Now, two of those tall green horrors of yours.
That will kill us or cure us.
You're a double-dyed, no-good, cold-hearted wretch, Douglas.
Somehow, I find you very entertaining.
What? Oh, thanks.
Well, how is good old Jack back there in Washington?
His name is Charlie, and he lives in Baltimore.
Yeah, old Charlie, that's what I said. Well, how is he? Swell guy.
I always used to get so jealous of him.
Shall I phone and tell him I've caught the mumps or something and stay a while?
Yeah, sure. Do that.
Did you hear what I said? I'm offering to stay another week.
What? Oh, another week. Why, darling, that will be wonderful.
I hope you can make it. Look, will you excuse me just a moment?
I must talk to these fellas.
Why do I keep tossing myself at you? Why am I such a chump?
Darling, you're not a chump. I'll be right back.
Say, could I buy you fellas a drink?
No, thanks.
I just... Oh, thanks, I'll have it here.
I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for sounding off that way this morning.
I guess we're all wound up a bit too tight.
Yeah.
You know, this blackout in dive-bombing is a very interesting medical subject.
I just read a report on it.
Seems those German Stuka pilots have been hit hard.
You find a way to make pullouts easier?
Sure. Cut down your diving speed with flaps and just hang up there in the air.
Then you're a pushover for antiaircraft fire.
Yeah, it's tough, all right.
But I still think with proper research, we'll lick those problems.
It's a cinch. The new German bombers are coming in at about 38,000 feet.
All RAF fighters have to do is top that by a few thousand feet to attack.
Trouble is, when you're that high, you're unconscious.
Say, that brings up another interesting problem.
Dr. Collins has new work on high-altitude sickness. What's it doing to your outfit?
Three men in the sickbay, and one funeral.
We don't know whether that last one was high-altitude sickness...
...blackout or just too much smart surgery.
It must be pretty uncomfortable up at 30,000 feet, isn't it?
Not at all, doc, it's great sport.
Freeze, get nutty from no oxygen, crash, break your neck.
You ought to try it some time.
Thanks. Well, just thought we might learn something from each other.
I've learned one thing from you.
If you pill rollers flew more, you might find how to help.
- I agree with you. - How many hops you made this week?
Me? None. I'm not a flight surgeon, just a routine doctor.
Then keep your amateur flying talk to yourself, doc...
...till you get your feet off the ground.
Pilots like Swede die because so-called experts can't keep them alive.
- You don't even fly, and still you got... - Wait a minute. Listen, I'm on your side.
I agree. Medical science is far too much in the dark about these things.
Then give the flight surgeons a hand. Maybe all they need is a genius like you.
Wouldn't it be funny if that's what they did need?
It'd be more than funny. It'd be a first-class, full-grown miracle.
Give me a check.
Remember me? Linda, the girl you met out there.
I'm sorry for staying away so long.
I didn't mean to. We got on some important subjects.
So I surmised. I also surmise I'm not one of them, as far as you're concerned.
- Don't be mad. - Oh, I'm not mad.
I don't mind anything sweet. That's my chief attraction.
- I know. - We'll have a date if you can remember.
- Fine. - And I decided not to stay for a while.
Good night.
Too much sugar in the bloodstream.
Torpedo Squadron 6 from tower. Wind northwest. Take off when ready.
Thirty years ago, the Navy had one airplane and two pilots.
Only 20 years ago, a Naval aviator was the first man to fly the Atlantic.
In those few years, the men who learned to fly here really built Naval aviation.
And now you're here to learn to fly and to fight...
...become a part of that heritage.
Soon you'll be looking back and realizing...
...that each of you has shared in making history as it is made today.
All right. March to ground school.
Attention. Left face.
Forward, march.
I know you're trying. Everybody's trying. In fact, the Navy is famous for trying.
But if small planes make you dizzy, you'd better go back to Philadelphia.
We won't order another transfer to teach you to fly.
- Now, you think it over. - Yes, sir.
- He's in a bad mood this morning. - He's in a very good mood for him.
- That's all. - Yes, sir.
Any of you guys can't find a room, I'll share my doghouse with you.
- You're next, sir. - Thanks.
- You better stand away from that door. - Why, sir?
I don't want you to get hurt when I get thrown through it.
- Morning, sir. - Morning.
Lieutenant Lee, reporting for flight-surgeon instruction.
- Welcome to San Diego, doctor. - Thank you, sir.
- Bachelor, eh? - Oh, yes, sir.
Good. Married officers always want to go home for lunch.
- You did Naval Air Station, Pearl Harbor. - Right, sir. Pretty much a wasted year.
But now I've got some ideas for research on blackout and high-altitude sickness.
Ideas for research are good to have around.
We've even got a couple here ourselves, lieutenant.
Oh. Well, that's very gratifying, sir.
- Analysis of student rejections. - Thanks. I'll read it later.
Oh. Lieutenant Commander Rogers, in charge of research...
...Lieutenant Lee, student flight surgeon.
- How do you do, sir? - Hello.
Lee tells me he's got ideas for research along your line.
- Look after him, will you? - Right, sir.
Come along.
What's your school? The diploma mill of Hoosier State?
No. Harvard, Hopkins, Cambridge.
- I can read and write. - Very impressive.
How'd you offer the Navy so much for so little in return?
- I'm just naturally generous. - Not to mention your devastating wit.
Now I'd appreciate it if you'd answer my question.
I joined the Navy because it offered an active medical life.
Then I got interested in aviation medicine.
I applied for the flight surgeon's course, and here I am.
- I trust that meets your approval, sir? - Temporarily, it does.
Go to bachelor quarters and report at 8 a. m. Tomorrow.
- When do I start flying? - Just leave that to us.
- We'll see you get lots of nice little rides. - Well, thanks.
And don't think I don't appreciate the one I've just been having.
Put her down and keep her down.
Hey, what do you think you're flying, a kangaroo?
That's tough luck. You missed them. Now, put her down.
- What kind of a landing do you call that? - I'm sorry, sir. I got confused.
Every time I take you doctors upstairs, you pat me in the face with a spade.
What have you got against me?
Nothing. The ground's closer than I thought, that's all.
Slim, you'd never make a flier in a thousand years.
Doctors are dodoes by nature, all of them.
- One thing I want to thank you for. - What, sir?
You're the last grasshopper in this plague of surgeons.
It's an even break to live longer.
- That's all. - Yes, sir.
- Hello. - Hi.
Sorry, but here's another grasshopper.
Well, well. What have I done to deserve this honor?
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Tired of Honolulu? Run out of women?
No, no. Things just got a little dull after you left.
Well, when do I start flying?
I can't imagine a nicer job than teaching you myself, but I'm too busy.
That's a tough break for me.
We'll try to find an instructor worthy of your talents.
Hey, Tim.
- How are you, lieutenant? - I was all right until now.
Tim, the doctor here wants a pair of wings so he can visit his ex-patients.
See if you can jam his head into a cockpit.
Well, I'd be delighted.
Get your flight equipment on and report to plane 17.
- Don't forget your parachute. - Thank you, gentlemen.
I know I can expect the very best of instruction at your hands.
This is a profanity strainer. I talk, but you can't talk back.
Very clever. No home should be without one.
All right. Come on. Get aboard.
You're all set?
All right, you take it.
Fly straight ahead.
Keep your nose on the horizon. Wings level.
All right. Don't pay any attention to me.
I'm just talking through this thing for practice.
I said, handle the controls gently, Dr. Lee.
A Harvard man should know how to be gentle.
I've checked a lot of students in my time, but you're about the worst.
If we weren't officers and gentlemen, I'd say you stink.
Now, to make a quick recovery, put that stick forward. Now, try it again.
Anytime.
Hey, what's the idea? Flip her over.
Let go of the stick!
Are you trying to fly or combine suicide with murder?
Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea.
You told me to put the stick forward, so I did.
Sure, right through the instrument board. Don't use your surgical touch on me.
I wanna collect my pension.
Don't worry, you'll be a burden on the taxpayers for many years.
You're no better at flying than you are with a knife.
I'll give you one more chance. Monday morning.
You flunk that one, and you're washed-out.
Hey, what's the rush? You got something lined up in town?
No, it's either get off the station or get a general court-martial.
General court? What for?
For punching that Joe Blake on the nose. So long. See you later.
Why don't you learn how to drive!
Why do you drive in your sleep?
You came around with your eyes shut.
Yeah, well, you saw me coming. Why didn't you stop?
You got insurance on that fire truck?
No, they don't write it against drivers like you.
It'll cost you about 50 bucks to fix my car.
Fifty bucks? You crazy? You can buy two of those crates for that.
Well, then maybe you'd rather I take it out of your hide.
Yeah, why don't you try that.
Go get him, boy.
Sorry. I meant that last one for somebody else. How are you doing?
All right.
- Say, you throw a mean punch there. - You too. Where'd you learn that right?
At Yale. I was captain of the boxing team last year.
Yale? Well, that explains everything. I'm from Harvard. Put her there.
All right. Take her out alone.
Okay.
Sorry if I made good and disappointed you.
It's a blow, all right.
Commander, there's just one more thing I'd like to ask you.
- Yeah? - Why do you dislike me so much?
Because you're a grandstand player, and a phony on top of it.
If Swede Larson's death makes you say that, you're being childish.
His number was up before we got him to the hospital.
I'm not responsible for his death and you know it.
- Maybe so. - Then why don't you quit riding me.
Our jobs are tough enough as it is.
I'll stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine.
Now, get going.
Hit your left rudder. Not your right, your left.
You're losing altitude fast.
You're gonna crash.
All right. Come on out. You died a beautiful death.
This, gentlemen, perfectly sums up today's discussion of blind flying.
This pilot crashed because he trusted his senses.
His semicircular ear canals lead him to believe, in the darkness...
...he was turning left when he was turning right.
Never trust your senses.
Trust your instrument board.
Did my demonstration bore you, Lieutenant Lee?
Oh, not at all, sir. It brought up pleasant memories.
I studied the semicircular canals in second-year medicine.
Did you, now?
You also learned all about blind flying at Harvard, Hopkins and Cambridge.
Oh, yes, I did quite a bit there, sir. In a hopped-up jalopy, of course.
You must've been the pride and joy of your professors.
You have no idea how they adored me.
Keep that if you like it.
Dr. Lee and all of you gentlemen, a flight surgeon has been described...
...as a combination of Dutch uncle and father confessor.
Because he's more than the pilot's physician...
...he's a judge of their fitness to go on with the work they've chosen.
For this task, he must be conscientious...
...and above all, humble, or he has no business being here.
Tomorrow, we'll take up the effect of anoxia on the electrocardiogram.
Class dismissed.
Boy, you sure got guts talking back to him like that.
Surly character, isn't he?
I bet a blood sample would show gall, bile, with a good dash of sulfuric acid.
Here's the one I'm working on now.
- See that strong bulkhead? - Yeah.
What are the forces that pull on a diving pilot when he blacks out?
Between 5 and 10 G.
Between five and 10 times as strong as the pull of gravity.
- Will it be more with faster ships? - Not much.
If we lick blackout in our present planes, the answer will be good a long time.
I've gone over these chamber equipment lists. They seem okay to me.
Good evening, commander.
Who threw that knife?
I did. Came back pretty fast, though, didn't it?
If he spent less energy being bitter and more on flying, we might get action.
Maybe he has a right to be bitter.
He wrecked his heart using himself as a guinea pig on high-altitude flights.
Now he can't fly anymore and he's stuck at a laboratory desk day and night.
- Rogers? Used himself as a guinea pig? - That's right.
He's also the man who doped out vitamin A for night blindness...
...optically correct goggles...
...and shoulder safety belts to stop crash injuries.
As a flight surgeon, he's tops.
Wow. I had no idea.
No, I didn't think you had.
Yes, come in.
Good evening.
I saw your lights, so I thought I'd stop by.
What can I do for you, lieutenant?
Work seems to be piling up on you here. I was wondering if I can help you with it.
- You might make those blood counts. - Sure.
These are mixed.
You know, it's...
...strange how wrong you can be about things and people.
I suppose that's because everything's so confused in the world these days.
You need a jolt to bring you to your senses.
When you stop to contemplate some of...
...the things you've said and done, it makes you feel like an idiot.
But I guess it all comes out in the wash.
It certainly feels good to be back in a lab.
Cigarette, doctor?
Thanks, doctor.
- I was just thinking of another odd thing. - What's odd?
Of all the tests used for flying aptitude, no one thought of trying the Rorschach.
What do you know about it?
Well, just enough to suspect it might be valuable.
- Don't you agree? - I agree that we ought to try it.
- We? - You and I.
You do all the hard work, and I'll take all the glory, if any. That suit you?
Sure. Any way you want it.
Doctor, I'm disappointed in my judgment.
I'm beginning to like you.
Doctor, I'm just suffering a similar disillusionment.
I'm beginning to suspect you're almost human yourself.
Douglas Lee.
William Lester Keel.
Good luck to all of you.
The commandant's aide will give you your orders.
Gregory? Here you are, Slim.
Company commanders, take charge. Dismissed.
What did you draw?
Aircraft carrier Saratoga, Pearl Harbor.
I go to Norfolk for assignment.
Well, soft shoulders and happy landings.
- You too. Norfolk? - Yeah.
Say, I know a cute redhead there if you get lonesome.
Well, I'm lonesome now. Is she big or small?
Well, she's sort of... She's...
Oh, what's the difference? She's cute anyway.
You'll have to give me her address.
What was your luck?
- Honolulu. The Saratoga. - Not bad.
Not bad at all, but it's a long way from my real interest, research.
That's life. Soon as a man gets warmed up for research...
...he's yanked off for duty. Never seen it fail.
Yeah, I guess so. Discouraging, though. Guess it's one of those things.
- How'd you like to stay as my assistant? - I'd like to stand on my head.
I asked for you and Washington okayed it. This just came.
I'm gonna work you half to death.
Research will be in addition to your other duties: Examining cadets and pilots.
You'll wish you'd gone to Waikiki.
- Never mind that. What's step A? - Our old friend blackout.
- Doctor, I don't know how to thank you. - I can't hear a word you're saying.
Well, I'll be right with you.
- Here you are. - Thank you.
- Would you like something to eat? - No, thanks.
Would you like a drink?
Pardon me.
Sorry.
- There you are, Mrs. Fisher. - Thank you. You're so sweet to me.
Don't mention it.
So you're from Baltimore?
- Where's Mr. Fisher? Is he in Baltimore? - I just lost him.
- I'm sorry. - I just lost him in Reno.
- I suffered no pain. - That's different, isn't it?
- It is indeed. Quite different. - You here all alone?
All alone, commander, until I leave for Honolulu.
- You have friends there? - Yes. Some very nice friends.
Tell me, don't you ever get lonesome traveling alone like this?
Often.
What are you doing for dinner? Maybe you'd like to have dinner with me.
- That might be arranged. - Fine. Where would you like to eat?
Why, I don't know. My hotel is as good as any place. It's quite convenient.
- Swell, Mrs. Fisher. - I think you can call me Linda.
- Thanks. I'm Joe. - Hello, Joe.
Hi, Linda.
- How about another drink? - I'd love it.
I'll be back in a minute, Linda.
- Pardon me. - Oh, sorry.
- Hello, Bill. - Hello, Doug.
- Hello, Dr. Lee. - Hello, Mrs. Silvers.
- Nice of you to drop in. - Thank you.
- May I introduce you around? - No, I think I know almost everyone.
- Circulate. Have fun. - Thanks. I'll put my hat over here.
- Hello, Tim. - Why, Doug, how are you?
- Hello, you beast. - Sugar! No kicking, now.
Not yet. You know, it's strange. When I woke up this morning...
...I knew something nice would happen today.
- Well, so did I, and this must be it. - Shake.
- Aren't you going to kiss me? - Oh, yes. Darling, how are you?
- What are you doing here? - I'm stationed here. How about you?
You didn't answer my letters. I was going to Honolulu to see you.
Darling, I'm divorced.
Charlie now belongs to the ages. Isn't that pleasant?
- Oh, that's wonderful. - Come on, let's sit down.
- Oh, Dr. Lee, this is Commander... - Blake.
- We know each other.
Sure, we're old friends.
Then give my precious a drink. The commander and I were going...
...to dine together tonight, and you must come with us.
Doug and I are old friends too. But very old friends.
I helped to cheer him up in Honolulu.
- You certainly did. - You're such a beast, but so sweet.
And here I go throwing myself at you again.
Come on. Let's get out of here.
Come on, Commander...
Blake. No, you two run along. I remembered I have watch tonight.
How unpleasant. Well, I'll go powder my nose...
...tell our hostess a customary lie and be right back. Meet you in the hall, Doug.
Why am I such a chump where you're concerned?
If you had an engagement with the lady, don't let me stand in your way.
Too bad there are no women on the selection board.
You'd be an admiral inside of a year.
All right. Come on with the box.
She's got recording instruments and a movie camera...
...to photograph your faces while you're unconscious. Just turn the switch.
What? No bathtub? No hostess?
No, you'll have to furnish your own hostess.
From what I hear, you're the guy who can do it.
Oh, you have, eh? Well, every knock's a boost, you know.
I understand I'm flying for you gentlemen.
Nice way to spend my time. I haven't had much to do.
Just training the cadets, flying at night and... Is Casanova in on this?
- Dr. Lee will act as medical observer. - You gonna be the pilot?
You can't feel worse about it than I do.
If that's so, why not give the job to someone else?
My group was ordered to send a pilot for a test.
In a good outfit, the skipper does it. What are the orders?
Service dives to terminal velocity. Nine-G pullouts.
On the first one, tense your muscles from head to toe...
...pull your bellies in hard, yell as loud as you can.
We want to see if that slows or stops blackouts.
- All right. You ready? - Yeah.
All right, men, pull her out.
Now we're at 15,000 feet and leveling off.
Here's the dive.
Twelve thousand.
Nine thousand.
Five thousand.
Now we're pulling out. Still yelling.
Here's the blackout.
Well, there you are. The yelling didn't help at all.
- Your blackout was slower. - Well, what does that prove?
I think we're on the right track, but we overlooked something.
Yeah, a way to stop blackouts.
Might as well run a Mickey Mouse as that stuff.
Look, I want to tell you something about that dive.
When we were pulling out of it, I was bending over.
My camera was stuck and I was trying to fix it.
- I didn't black out, just went hazy. - Bending over? What could that do?
I don't know. Maybe it's equalizing the pull, something like that.
- Meeting gravity halfway. - Possible, but not probable.
Bending over puts the heart level with the brain.
It might hold the blood above heart level.
Next time, try bending over low as you can.
First it's yells, then it's bends.
Maybe we should try ski jumping next.
Wait a minute. It may be a guess, but it's worth trying.
Sit down. I'll show you the physiological principle involved.
Well, come out of the test tube, men.
- Fifty cadets are waiting for examination. - Right.
Well, back to earth again.
Now you know how Einstein feels when he has to add up the household bills.
Take your places for inspection.
All right. Come on. Take them over here.
- How many are there? - About 30, sir.
General physical. Heart, lungs, height, weight, index.
- Take the ear examination. - All right. Shirts off!
All right, gentlemen, give way, please.
- More civilians? - Yes, sir.
Remember me, sir?
Lucky, Pearl Harbor. I've just been detailed to be your assistant.
Remember you? You're a window in the house of my life.
Good to see you. Glad you got transferred.
So am I, sir. I'm a new man since I got away from my wife.
I feel 10 years younger. I'm putting on weight.
Lucky, come over here.
It's sure nice to be back with you again.
Thanks, Lucky, right back at you.
There's a babe in the pay office looking for you.
- A babe? - Yeah, a blond with a Brooklyn accent.
She's getting an allotment blank for your pay.
My wife! That can't be! She couldn't have swum from Honolulu.
I wouldn't put it past her. Sir, I gotta hide right away.
This can happen to the best of men.
- Go right ahead. - Thank you, sir.
Head her off. Stop her! Give me a break, will you?
Where are you going to hide?
How about the Isolation Ward?
Lieutenant, you got genius. Come on!
Yeah, but, Lucky, can't you...?
Where is he? Where's my husband?
- Mrs. James? - In person.
He's in there, but you can't go in. He's a very sick man.
He'll be a lot sicker when I get through with him.
I hate to tell you this, but they're afraid he's got:
If that ever gets in the arm, the whole:
The neck starts:
Comes down the... on the racetrack.
And any time you go into... the... and:
It's very serious.
Whatever that is, it's too good for him.
Don't get too close. It's very contagious.
You see, ma'am, how it comes and goes?
- And so will I. - And so will I.
Head up.
All right. Down again. Feel dizzy?
- Yes, sir. - It's all right, Abbott.
- It's a perfectly normal reaction. - Oh, thank you, sir.
- Feel all right? - Yes, sir.
I can see you are. Report to the training office.
- Thank you, sir. - Who's next? You...?
Well, it's a small world, isn't it?
Yes, sir.
- Getting plenty of exercise lately? - Yes, sir. Too much, sir.
That's good.
If one eye sees higher, which would you land with?
The good one, sir.
Better keep your left up, or you won't have a good one.
I won't forget that, sir.
- What's your middle name? - Thomas. John Thomas Anthony III, sir.
Born Hempstead, New York, June the 12th, anno Domini 1919.
This is 1941, San Diego, California, 9:30 a. m., sir.
Very good.
Make a note. Mentally alert...
...fresh as a new-laid egg. Well, an egg anyway.
Favorite sports: Automobile racing and boxing. Ready?
- Yes, sir. - Here you go.
Head down! Hold them, Yale!
He says he's practically got the stick between his teeth now.
All right. Cut the motor.
Why don't you be practical.
You can't use your bending-over routine without changing the cockpit.
How can a pilot aim with his head bent down?
Well, he might try a periscope or a Ouija board.
Can you design a bomber so the pilot can lie down and aim the bomb...
...through the nose of the ship? - Who's it for? Buck Rogers?
- Seriously. Can it be done? - I suppose a pilot could lie down...
...and use auxiliary controls during the dive, but it sounds silly to me.
Things are tough when a pilot has to fly on his stomach.
I'll ask the design section, but I'm sure they'll send...
...an order transferring me to a nut house.
When you two figure out your next move, let me know.
I'll be down in Squadron 2.
Gentlemen, I have a solution to your problem.
Provide each dive-bombing pilot with an old-fashioned stiff collar.
That will choke him and keep the blood from rushing from his brain. So long.
Very funny. Very funny.
"High, tight, old-fashioned stiff collar. "
What that guy needs is a high, tight, old-fashioned whack over the head.
Stiff collar.
- Hey. - What?
What that half-wit just said about a collar...
...except it's not a collar, it's a belt, understand?
- Frankly, no. - Look, Lance...
...you make a belt that fits around here. It's rubber. Pneumatic.
Just before the dive, you inflate it.
That will push the stomach up under the ribs, like this:
Compress the whole upper part of the abdomen.
That will keep the blood above heart level.
Come on, Lucky, hurry up.
What happens if this glorified corset ain't right, sir?
You heard the story about the guy whose parachute didn't open, right?
- Do you know how to get into it? - Sure, it's simple.
At least it was when I designed it.
Here, place me under the bag, will you?
- That's it. - This makes me feel right at home, sir.
How does it work?
This hooks up to the pressure flask in the cockpit. When you start a dive...
...you release the valve, it inflates it. Does that, we hope.
It works the way it has on the ground, it ought to be a cinch.
Did you tell Blake I was waiting?
He said he'd be here when he finishes lining up the National Defense Program.
Oh, he did, eh? That's very clever of him.
Pressure belts, pressure chambers.
Flying's getting to be as tough as my wife. Pressure on you all the time.
Yeah.
Aren't you going to wait for the commander, sir?
You're breaking regulations, doctor. The commander will be awful sore.
Tell him I'll write him a letter and explain everything.
Joe, isn't that your test tube taking off?
Yeah, what's the idea?
Looks like you're being stood up, pal.
That lamebrain. He can't fly that ship. There won't be enough left to identify.
Don't blame me if anything happens.
He shouldn't have done it. I told him that.
I mean, I was gonna tell him that. But he got away so fast, I couldn't.
He ain't had enough experience to fly that ship.
- He's heading for the last roundup. - Pipe down. What's the matter with you?
Nothing, sir. I'm just neurotic.