NARRATOR: March 25, 1944: Seven Navy airmen embark on a top-
secret mission that begins at the top of the world near the
Arctic Circle. RALPH WETTERHAHN (Crash Investigator): First of
all, they show up at the aircraft. They do their pre-flight and
scamper aboard the aircraft and start engines. Their faces are
covered with grease to protect themselves from the frostbite.
NARRATOR: It's one of the most dangerous missions of World War
II. They start the engines to warm up the plane and taxi through
ice and snow to the end of the runway. RALPH WETTERHAHN: There's
a fuel truck waiting there to refill their tanks, to squeeze
every drop of fuel inside those airplanes. At that point,
they're 3,000 pounds over the maximum allowable weight for that
airplane. NARRATOR: Most of the weight is ordnance, bombs
intended for Japanese targets. RALPH WETTERHAHN: They refuel,
and, with this dangerous smell of gasoline still in their
nostrils, they crank engines and immediately release brakes.
NARRATOR: The plane, Bomber 31, rumbl