HEDY LAMARR<br/><br/>As the pilots landed on and the launcher/retriever crane winched each one aboard and parked it in a space on the hangar deck I watched from the base of the wire staircase that led up to the main gangway to the front of the ship.<br/><br/>Finally we had five aircraft aboard. Of the sixth pilot there was no sign and a telephone call up to the control gondola gave me the information that none of the lookout posts had a sixth aircraft in sight. There had only been five pilots at the tower back at Haven so I guessed that one of them was a no-show.<br/><br/>Five pilots. It wasn't much, and judging by the beat-up mess some of the planes were in, it wasn't a squadron ready for flying either.<br/><br/>I watched as Bob the hangar boss went around checking each plane was secure and shouting a lot. He was letting the flyboys and girls know who was in charge on this deck.<br/><br/>I went across and stood in front of the new barracks, if you can call it that. It was something that was knocked together by a few hired carpenters and plumbers from Haven Field last night – a timber lean to shed built against the back wall of the hangar underneath the metal staircase. It had a doorway that led to a common room or 'flight office' with a few comfy sofas and chairs, some tables, a roster board and a telephone. Off this room were two doors, one for male pilots, one for female. The two bunk rooms were identical with six cots each with a locker and a curtain that hung down next to the bed to give some privacy. At the end of the bunkrooms each had a door that led to a bathroom with a couple of toilets, a bath and a shower stall. That was it. Pretty basic but it was all the boys had been able to knock together in the time available and at a price of next to nothing.<br/><br/>The last plane engine died and the rumble of the loader crane ceased. The huge launch and retrieval bay doors slid closed and we had relative quiet at last. The pilots gathered round.<br/><br/><strong>"Good afternoon. Welcome to the <em>Blue Ridge</em>. I'm pleased to see you made it in one piece. I'm Hedy Lamarr, the <em>Blue Ridge's</em> captain and I pay your wages, so play nicely. This is your barracks, girls on the left, boys on the right. Please come in, sit down and we'll have the mission debrief."</strong>I smiled and led the way into the 'flight office' standing by the black pot-bellied stove in the middle of the room.