Auto Light and its 98,000 dealers bring you Mr. Fred McMurray in a story based on fact.
Tonight's presentation of Suspense.
Tonight, a story of courage.
The routine operational mission of a B-29 bomber over Korea.
Auto Light presents the flight of the Bumblebee.
Our star, Mr. Fred McMurray.
Heya, Wilcox.
Well, call me out if it's not Stan, the chipper and chirpy baseball manager.
Not so chipper, Wilcox. My car battery's out of water, dead as a pop-fly.
Well, Stan, you should have an Auto Light stay full battery.
The peppy pitcher of potent power that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
A real good starter, huh, Wilcox?
Well, Stan, it's the best. And that Auto Light stay full needs no relief, either.
It gives longer life as proved by tests conducted according to accepted life cycle standards.
Why, money just can't buy a better battery than an Auto Light stay full.
Where do I pick up this prize package, Wilcox?
From your neighborhood Auto Light battery dealer.
He services all makes of batteries and has an Auto Light stay full for your car if a replacement is needed.
To quickly learn his location, just call Western Union by number and ask for...
Operator 25, that's me and I'll gladly tell you where you can get an Auto Light stay full.
The battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
And remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light.
And now with the flight of the Bumblebee and the performance of Mr. Fred McMurray,
Auto Light hopes once again to keep you in...
Suspense!
On any given day in any given newspaper, you can find a squib about a B-29 group
carrying out a routine strategic bombing in Korea.
This is the story of one of those routine bombings and how it affected me,
Lieutenant Colonel Hutchinson Stone and the crew of the Bumblebee,
leadership of the 236th Wing.
The mills of the guards began to grind, I would say,
while we were completing our engine run-up at the head of the runway.
Finished with the run-up, Murph?
There's a 75 RPM drop on the front mags and number two, but it shouldn't bother us any.
We'll get them back okay.
Let's go, Frank. Flaps.
25 degrees.
Brim tabs.
Set.
Autopilot.
Off.
Windows and hatches.
We're going escape hatch closed.
Turbos.
Number eight.
Propellers.
High RPM.
Call from Army, 3605. Over.
Over to you, 3605.
Ready to take off. Over.
Clear on runway 26.
Wind 25 miles, 45 degrees. Out.
Prepare for takeoff.
90.
100.
110.
120.
Airborne.
135.
Gear up.
Airborne.
Hard condition, too.
Manifold pressure 43.5. Prop pitch 2400.
Climbing at 500 feet per minute.
Raise flaps easy.
How's the cylinder head temperature, Murph?
Holdin' steady at 235 degrees.
Okay, try to keep it there.
We're going to 18,000 feet this time.
I hope you can read that cruise control chart.
Don't worry.
You fly this heap according to my figures,
and you'll have plenty of fuel left when we get back.
How much is plenty?
About 300 gallons.
Oh, big deal.
Just enough for one trip around the pattern.
Hey, Max.
Yeah, Hutch?
Come on up and see the view.
Might as well.
Not much damage I can do to water.
Hey, what's the matter with you?
I don't know.
Gettin' to me, I guess.
Relax, boy. Take it easy.
How does an instrument of death take it easy?
By thinking how lucky he is.
Lucky? Me?
Yeah, you.
You're clean shaven. You're well fed.
You don't have to grub for your life in some filthy foxhole
hoping some sniper doesn't blast you
while you're opening up a can of rations.
What's the point?
The point's this.
In addition to living well, we never come into contact,
personal contact, that is, with the enemy.
We do our job and never see close at hand the damage we do.
There's one way of looking at it.
There's one other way.
And that is?
The more efficient we are now,
the sooner you can get back to doing what you were doing before all this.
But I don't want to be a soda jerk again.
Go look at the scenery.
Okay, but you still haven't convinced me.
Colonel Stone, sir.
What is it, Sergeant?
Big one tonight?
Yeah, pretty big. Railroad center.
How many groups?
Just us.
Expect any trouble?
Well, what's the matter? Are you worried?
Oh, no, not me. Not exactly.
What do you mean, not exactly?
Well, my kid brother is coming in with a replacement unit tomorrow.
I'd sort of like to be on the welcoming committee.
Oh.
Hey, anybody want to play some cards?
Come on down here.
I don't have anything to do for a while.
Yes, sir.
Hey, how about casino? Penny a point.
Take off a big can of big dudes.
You're on.
Frank.
Yeah?
Fly for a while.
I'm going to grab some sac time.
Okay.
And don't forget to pressurize.
I won't.
And have Murph check the auxiliary electrical unit.
Didn't look too great when we left.
You're not going to need the putt-putt.
Relax. Go to sleep.
Okay.
Wait me in an hour, huh?
Good night.
Before I fell asleep, I thought of my ship and its crew.
The thrill of being master of 135,000 pounds of airplane.
And I thought of the words in the preface of my pilot's handbook.
You are the commander of a combat force all your own, I said.
A small but specialized army.
And you as airplane commander will be responsible for the welfare and morale of that army.
Morale.
I thought briefly about Max and the serge.
This momentary concern of theirs was perfectly normal to a fighting man with a conscience.
I decided that my army was doing all right and dropped off to sleep.
When Frank woke me, I relieved him and he grabs him shut-eye.
And so it went.
The hours vibrated by.
Hey, Hodge.
Talk to me, Willie.
My trusty computer tells me you'd better correct two degrees left
and increase your indicated airspeed five miles an hour
if you expect to lead these guys to the initial point on time.
Will do. Where are we?
Should hit the coastline in about three minutes.
Guaranteed?
Guaranteed.
Hey, what's the name of that town we're using for the initial point for the run?
Sanyaki.
With the prevailing winds, it should give us a run of about 170 seconds.
Think you can get synchronized in 170, Max?
When I was a cadet, I scored a shack.
Bullseye to you.
From 12,000 with a run of 25 seconds.
Answer your question.
No. It means you got lucky once.
Aren't you, Driftmater?
Settle down. We're assembling.
Our group assembled.
67-ton birds of destruction flying almost 600 miles
to lay their lethal eggs on the enemy.
My job was almost over.
Control would soon pass from my hands to the two synchronizing knobs of Max's bombsight.
He would fly us down the path to the target,
the path from which there was no turning.
A man's got to be a little frightened when he approaches something like this.
I wouldn't want a man in my crew who said he wasn't.
Because when a man doesn't scare in a situation like this, he's a fool.
And a B-29 is no place for a fool.
Two minutes to the initial point.
Then you get your 170 seconds, Max.
Roger.
Depressurize.
How about not doing it this time, Hutch?
I hate to put my mask on for just a few seconds.
Yeah, Hutch, they haven't had any flak or interceptors out here for at least three weeks.
Besides, we're only at 18,000.
Can't hurt much even if we got a hole or two.
Well, okay. But if we get clobbered, don't say I didn't warn you.
Approaching point. Autopilot engaged.
All but the elevator controls.
I can give you better altitude control doing it manually.
Okay, but don't give me more than 25 feet plus or minus.
What's the corrected altitude?
18,150.
Bombay's open.
Okay, Max, you got it. Frank, check the gunners.
Right gunner. Left gunner.
Tail gunner. Radar.
Murph?
Yeah, Hutch?
Everything check okay?
Fine.
You know, it's too quiet here.
Yeah.
Hope we got the right place.
I keep thinking.
Max, 3 o'clock high and closing fast.
Well, start shooting. We can't move now.
There's a whole mess up ahead in right force.
Hurry up, Max.
Hutch, there's a couple coming this way. 1 o'clock. Move it, move it.
Drop them, Max. Drop them.
I need 15 more seconds.
Hutch, here they come.
Sarge, get them. Get them.
I can't stop them.
Good hit. Sound of the bombs.
Bombay's closed. Let's get out.
Frank, report from the aft compartment.
Murph, we're reading on the damage.
I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him. I hit him. I hit him.
Take it easy. Settle down.
Emergency power on 1 and 2.
Come on up.
What's the score, Frank? Quick, before they make another pass at us.
Number 3 and 4 engine direct.
Have the right flaps gone. No fire that the scanners can notice.
Willie, we're losing 120 feet a minute with full power.
Indicated airspeed is 180.
I have to keep that right wing up and I can't drop my airspeed too much chance of stalling.
How far can we get before we hit the briny?
I'll have it for you in a minute.
What have you got for me, Murph?
Cylinder head temperature on 1 and 2 running a little high.
Started fuel transfer from number 4 tank to number 1 and 3 to 2.
Got to run engines in auto rich to keep them cool.
Manifold pressure 36 RPM 2100.
Can we feather the bad ones?
Both prop pumps smashed blades bent. No chance.
Anything yet, Willie?
We're just getting it now.
I think this is about right.
Assuming we maintain our present speed and rate of descent
and don't run into any wind trouble,
we should hit the briny about 240 miles this side of home.
Well, I guess that doesn't...
I hate to do this to you guys, but I think we better break out.
Colonel Stone from Curly and the Tail. Over.
Go ahead, Curly.
They're back. Meigs.
Five o'clock. Four of them.
Stand by. They're back.
They know we're crippled.
Now, do you want to fight or take your chances on bailing out?
We bail out. We're good target practice.
Let's fight.
I want another chance at them, Colonel.
What do you say, Murph?
You guys shoot the guns. I'll keep a running.
Me too.
Okay then, let's fight.
Curly?
Yes, sir.
Your gear operating back there?
Yes, sir.
Then use it. We're going to see if the bumblebee still has her sting.
Auto Light is bringing you Mr. Fred McMurray
in The Flight of the Bumblebee.
Tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills
suspense.
Well, Stan, have you won that pennant already?
I feel that way, Wilcox.
It's that new Auto Light stay full battery of mine.
It's quick as a short stop, eager as a rookie,
and powerful as a slugger.
And best of all, the Auto Light stay full needs water
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That Auto Light stay full has made a hit with me, Wilcox.
Why, money just can't buy a better battery than the Auto Light stay full.
So, friends, to quickly locate your nearest Auto Light battery
dealer, who services all makes of batteries,
just call Western Union by number and...
Ask for me, Operator 25.
I'll gladly tell you the location of your nearest Auto Light
battery dealer, where you can get an Auto Light stay full.
The battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
And remember, from bumper to tail light,
you're always right with Auto Light.
And now, Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood soundstage
Mr. Fred McMurray in Elliot Lewis's production of
The Flight of the Bumblebee.
A dramatic report well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense!
It wasn't much of a decision to make.
We all knew that to bail out meant we'd be target practice.
So we prepared for the fight.
With number three and four engines knocked out, we were short three generators,
which meant there wasn't enough electrical power to drive the gun turrets and the computers.
I ordered the putt-putt, the auxiliary electrical unit,
on the line and dropped to 10,000 feet.
Then, without pressurization, the three remaining generators
plus the power generated by the putt-putt might be enough to do the job.
This, of course, assumed the auxiliary unit was working properly.
Also, diving down to 10,000 gave us enough excess speed to eliminate,
for all practical purposes, the possibility of more than one tail pass by the enemy.
The men took up their positions and waited, but not for long.
Here they come. Four of them.
Now, listen, I don't want the gunners to start the turrets moving until it's absolutely necessary.
We haven't got enough power.
Wait till they're right on us before you pour the juice to them.
Okay, Skipper Rooks, roger, sir.
And keep the crosstalk to a minimum.
Right gunner to pilot, over.
Go ahead, Marty.
Can you drop your right wing a little? It makes an awful blind spot for me.
I can't do it. Got to keep these dead engines high. Sorry.
Okay, sir.
But if you really need it, I mean really, yell and I'll drop it for you.
They'll probably come in that way at least once. Maybe we can trap them.
Right, sir.
Look out, Al. Coming at you.
I see them.
You got them now, Sarge.
Little to the right, sir.
Number two coming in.
Three o'clock low, coming in.
Coming around to my range.
Some of them had temperature on one or two over the red line.
Over the car. If the car flaps another two degrees, cool them off.
It'll slow us down.
I can't help it. These engines have got to get us back.
Here's number four.
Hold it right there, Colonel. He's making a pass head on.
Max has hit.
Take care of him, Willie.
I got him, sir. I got him.
No power on my turret, Colonel. Number one's coming back.
We haven't got much juice. The generators are overloaded.
Curly and Marty, lay out. I'm going to give you the shot, Al.
A little more to the left, sir.
I think I can...
Al? Al?
Take care of them, somebody.
They're heading for my blind spot.
Tell me when you want that right wing down, Marty.
Yes, sir.
Now don't miss, Marty. We want to get home.
Now hold the crosstalk.
Here he comes. Not yet. Not yet.
Now, Colonel, drop it. Drop it now.
Here you are, Marty.
I hit him. I hit him. He's a flamer.
There they go. Come on back and fight.
I never did get a good shot. Come on back.
There they go, Hutch. We made it.
Take over, Frank. I want to take a look at Max.
Got it.
How is he, Willie?
I've got a Carlisle bandage on on the bleeding stop.
I think he may be going into shock.
Did you use the salvo ointment?
Yes, but I didn't know what to do about the ribs.
Just a minute.
Max. Max.
Hi, Hutch.
How do you feel, Ken?
Not too bad.
I'm afraid to give you morphine. Your respiration's kind of slow.
It's okay. I can make it. What about it?
Well, let me know if it gets too tough, will you?
I will.
Is it very bad?
No, no. Not too bad.
Get me back. I don't want to die out here.
Please, get me back.
You're not going to die, Max. Just try to lie quiet.
Willie.
Right here.
Put his oxygen mask on. Auto-mix off.
Get a couple of chutes and put them under his legs.
Do you know how to get plasma?
Sure.
I'll do it. Put a couple of blankets over him. Keep him warm.
Roger.
Hutch.
Yeah?
Remember what I said before about being an instrument of death?
Forget it. Don't worry.
No, wait. I...
I...
What I want to say is I don't care anymore.
I wouldn't even care if I could see all the damage I do.
Just lie quiet. I've got to go now.
What... what are you going to do?
I'm going to get you home.
When I said that, I didn't have the slightest idea of how I was going to do it.
I went up and talked to Murph and found that nothing we could possibly do to the engine
was going to keep us from losing about a hundred feet a minute.
We looked at each other like a couple of stupid fools for a while,
and then Murph made a suggestion that gave me an idea.
He said that if we were anywhere near basic weight, we could maintain altitude.
First we tried to figure out how we could dump some fuel, but that would have been defeating ourselves.
Then I got the idea why not drop everything over the side
that wasn't absolutely essential to keep the bumblebee in the air.
That might get us down to near basic weight.
But how do you know it'll work?
What have we lost if it doesn't?
Nothing. What are we waiting for?
Okay, you fly for a while. I've got work to do.
Sarge?
Yes, sir?
I want you to start dismantling Max's gear up forward.
The bomb sight, the intervalometer, track down all the electrical cables and rip them out.
The cables are all color-coded. Frank?
Yes, what is it?
Do you have a set of technical orders aboard?
Got them right here.
Well, check through and give Sarge the letter coating and the color coating of the bomb equipment.
Will do.
I want everything pitched out. Now get started.
It's practically out now.
How's your gear, Willie?
I can get rid of everything except my computer.
My drift meter got clobbered so I can't use it anyway.
The cabinet and my tables can go too.
Fine. Keep one pencil.
Thanks.
Colonel Stoddard Marty. Over.
Yes, sir. This is Marty.
How's Al doing?
Pretty good, sir. He's not going to be running around for a while, but he'll be in shape okay.
Good. I'll be back there pretty soon. Out.
Expect any more shooting?
No. Why?
The armor plate comes off real easy. Just bolts and wing nuts.
So does the bullet-resistant glass behind the instrument panel.
All right. Dump that out too.
How are you doing, Sarge?
Oh, standing, Colonel. Just standing.
Murph, toss the hot food unit out. Save some extra water.
It hurts, but I'll do it.
Willie, as soon as you finish with your stuff, you and Murph tear down the army.
Armor. I'm going aft.
It's a pretty good first aid job, Marty.
Thank you, sir.
What happened to Al's turret?
No power.
How come?
Well, the auxiliary never did get started.
We didn't get one volt of power out of that putt-putt.
Toss it out.
Yes, sir.
Hey, wait a minute. Before you do that, do you know how to remove the lower turret?
Guns and all?
Guns and all.
Yes, sir. We can, but it's quite a job.
I don't care how big a job it is. Can we do it?
Yes, sir. But I'll need some help. You'll get it.
I'm going up front now.
Oh, Colonel.
Yeah, Marty?
Can we toss out the putt-putt first?
Yeah. Kick open the rear door and toss it out.
Drop the lower turret. And then anything else you can think of.
You've got to get down to basic weight.
If there's anything else you're in doubt of, why don't you call me in the intercom and I'll take you.
Oh, there it is. Prettiest runway in the world. Man, am I glad to see it.
Yeah, they're standing by on runway 26, notify crew.
Prepare for landing.
We'll dispense with the rest of the checklist. Gear down.
Gear coming down.
The gear lights didn't go on. Check with Marty.
Frank to Marty. Over.
Is the gear all the way down?
What? Check again.
It is? Okay, out.
Now what?
The right wheel isn't fully down and locked. Might be a bent worm gear.
Yeah. 3605 to tower. Over.
Go ahead, 3605.
Right gear not fully down and locked.
Tell the meat wagons and the fire boys to stand by.
Can you go around once? We'll check your gear from the tower.
I've got two wounded men and two engines.
I know my gear isn't all the way down. I come in now or you'll pick us up in rubber sacks.
Come on, get with it.
Roger, 3605.
All aircraft and pattern leave at once. Repeat.
All aircraft and pattern leave at once.
3605, you are clear for emergency landing.
Within a few seconds I could see the ambulance racing to where they figured the plane had stopped.
Then I saw the Fulmite boys turn down the taxi strip that paralleled the runway.
I knew what the procedure would be. They'd start down the runway and start throwing the stuff at the engines the minute we touched the ground.
They sure took chances, those fire boys.
Take your positions for a crash landing. Somebody take care of Max.
I've got him.
Full flaps.
Flaps coming down. Don't forget about the right flaps half gone.
I'm trimmed for it. If the nose wheel holds together we'll be okay.
Call for the idle cutoff when you're ready.
Right. Give me the count, Frank.
Speed 138, 130, 120, 110, 100, 90.
Cut the switches, Murph.
Right.
On that ground.
We didn't catch fire, we didn't turn over, we were just ground looped.
And that was the end of our routine operational flight.
Max and Al made it okay and the rest of us had ourselves a weekend in Tokyo.
The Bumblebee, they had to junker. There wasn't enough left to make repairs worthwhile.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to go to a briefing. Another routine operational flight.
Suspense. Presented by Auto Light. Tonight's star, Mr. Fred McMurray.
This is Harlow Wilcox speaking for Auto Light, world's largest independent manufacturer of automotive electrical equipment.
Auto Light is proud to serve the greatest names in the industry.
They are members of the Auto Light family, as well as are the 98,000 Auto Light distributors and dealers in the United States
and thousands more in Canada and throughout the world.
Our family also includes the nearly 30,000 men and women in 28 great Auto Light plants from coast to coast
and in still other Auto Light plants in many foreign countries,
as well as the 18,000 people who have invested a portion of their savings in Auto Light.
Every Auto Light product is backed by constant research and precision built to the highest standards of quality and performance.
So remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light.
Next week, a story about fear and a man's difficult decision. Find yourself or die.
The Death of Me, starring Mr. George Murphy. The program will be presented on Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with music composed by Lucian Morawick and conducted by Lud Gluskin.
The Flight of the Bumblebee was written for Suspense by Ross Murray.
Featured in tonight's cast were Joseph Kearns, Byron Cain, Glenn Vernon, Edgar Barrier, Billy Halep, Jack Crouchon, Charles Calvert, and Lee Millar.
Fred McMurray may currently be seen in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production of Callaway Went That Away.
And remember next week on Suspense, Mr. George Murphy in The Death of Me.
For the location of your nearest Auto Light battery or Auto Light spark plug dealer or your nearest authorized Auto Light service station,
phone Western Union by number and ask for operator 25. Switch to Auto Light. Good night.
This is the CBS Radio Network.