YOU ARE THE PILOT OF BLACK DAKOTA DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERINCE IN TNE FORM OF DIARY ENTRY WHEN YOU ENTER IN THE STORM AND WHEN YOU COME OUT OF IT

Entry log Day 100 Day 100 22:00 hours. Stationed on SS Victoria. Presently 300 miles from the shores of Normandy. Today was eventful to say the least. Started the day with the standard breakfast rations at 0600 hours. After a quick briefing, headed to my trusty Dakota for a routine surveillance trip. It’s been 50 trips so far but the buzz of the engine is still new to me. It’ll take some more getting used to. Took off the from the landing deck and headed out to sea. I was reminiscing about D- day and all the chaos on that day. Thinking how contrasting the clear sky and sea are to that fateful day. In the middle of my reverie, I was alerted by an transmission. A storm was brewing close by and my orders were to stay clear of it. As I looked up, I saw to my horror that I waa headed right into it. I had mistaken the calm before the storm for normality. I sent out an SOS and my coordinates. It would be radio silence in the storm. The sky was laden with dark clouds. The winds were blowing faster by the minute. The turbulence was jarring and it was getting difficult to hold the plane steady. Adding to my troubles, rain started pouring then. The cockpit cover was building up puddles at the edges and water was trickling inside. Lightning bolts were missing me barely. One hit from the lightning would have fried the controls. I was swerving in the winds. The winds were at 70 knots now. I had to get out of the storm and quickly. I was well away from the Carrier and visibility was almost zero so looking for land wasn’t a possibility. At that point thr best case scenario was to make a water landing and be adrift in the sea till I was found. The worst case scenario was however definitely worse by standards. I had lost my bearings when I entered the storm and it was difficult to see if I was close to land or further away. The shores on either side of Normandy are very rocky and a water landing meant crashing into jagged rocks. The only way was to reach the other side of the storm or endure it. I was praying for a miracle when I suddenly heard a crackling sound from the radio. Transmissions were starting to get through which meant that the skies were getting clear. After another gruelling 20 minutes, the winds slowed down and the skies cleared. It was heavenly. The sea was calm and still. I’d have sworn that I’ve seen dolphins. Thankfully, the storm was short. If the winds had been faster, I would’ve definitely crashed. My Black Dakota can endure only so much even if it’s best in the skies today. I got back at 1600 hours. I was in the skies for almost 6 hours. It was a miracle that the storm was short. I’d have run out of fuel in 2 more hours. After a few rounds around the carrier on foot, I’m back in my quarters. The storm made me think about this war. The war right now is the storm, dark, dreary, turbulent and without an end in sight. All we can do is fight on till the skies clear. Maybe life is like the storm. Roughly at times, but if we get past through the eye of the storm, victory will be in sight. With the hope of victory and a new tomorrow, I end this day. End of log. PS The black Dakota was a fighter plane used first during World war 2. D-day refers to the invasion of Normandy by the Allies. The Black Dakota and other variants were used by the Allies. read less