12 O'Clock High - Season 1

At a time when General Savage can use every man he has, he finds his worst goof-off is West Point Captain Joe Gallagher, son of a Pentagon General. At the risk of his own career, Savage cracks down when Gallagher persists in aborting missions at the first sign of engine trouble. He assigns Gallagher a crew of slackers, misfits, and excuse-makers and orders Gallagher to paint the name "Leper Colony" on his plane. Gallagher must make his crew into a top-notch combat unit and be over target the next time he's told, or he will face court-martial. The angry young man in Gallagher begins to whip his reckless crew into shape. He has already lost two brothers to the war and wants out of flying combat. When General Crowe offers Savage the opportunity to set up Gallagher with a desk job at Wing Command, Savage nevertheless keeps Gallagher in command of "The Leper Colony," whose crew of misfits are now a top crew. Savage thinks it's good news when Gallagher volunteers himself and his crew for a dangerous mission, but the young flier only wants to make a good mark for himself before leaving for that desk job. However, Gallagher actually distinguishes himself on the mission, flying a damaged plane while wounded himself, yet completing a successful bomb run.

Savage wants the 918th to try a new technique, bombing on the leader. Instead of each bombardier sighting his own target and then making his own bomb run, the entire group would synchronize with the lead bombardier, and when he drops, the whole Group drops. Both Generals Crowe & Pritchard oppose the idea, but Savage presses for it. His lead crew consists of Bishop, Zimmerman, & Mellon. Mellon has been recommended for the DFC for a previous mission. When his best friend, the Navigator, was badly wounded, Mellon stayed at his post and made the bomb run anyway. The run was successful, but the friend died. Mellon is shaken, and on the next mission, the entire group misses and bombs a school. Unsure whether it was faulty equipment or his error, Mellon no longer wants to be lead bombardier. Savage pushes Mellon, and they go up again and successfully bomb the target.

Tom Lockridge is a copilot on a mission where the pilot is killed, and he takes over, allowing the crew to bail out. His best friend, Captain Wade Ritchie, disobeys orders and flies cover with his B-17. Back on the ground, Savage tells Ritchie he is going to charge him with disobeying an order for leaving formation. When Lockridge returns and finds this out, he turns his back on the General. Savage tries to explain formation discipline to Lockridge, but he is only concerned about his friend. Ritchie draws a court-martial and is reduced in rank to 1st Lieutenant. Savage speaks to Libby MacAndrews, Lockridge's girl, and they both keep working on him. On the next mission, Lieutenant Ritchie flies as copilot with Savage, and they get hit; Lockridge, now an aircraft commander, realizes he can't break formation.

Andy Lathrop is an unsophisticated Tennessee boy. Flying as Savage's lead bombardier, he saves Savage's life, gets promoted to 1st Lieutenant, and gets recommended for the DFC. On leave, he meets and falls in love with Barmaid Mary Lean and asks her to marry him; she agrees. Later, the pub she and her father have is destroyed during an air raid, and Mary is killed. Crazed with grief, he goes AWOL. He and Savage talk, and he reconsiders and returns to duty a little wiser. Savage works to transform this awkward youth with surprising talents into an able serviceman.

General Crowe orders Savage to fly a dangerous mission over France to show support for the resistance, but Savage thinks it's because Crowe's in love with a beautiful French fighter there. Crowe's command judgment comes under fire when this risky mission results in high casualties.

Savage acts on his own initiative when he is caught between his own convictions and a senator's contrary recommendations. Senator Clay Johnson wants to shut down the long-range bombing program because of high aircraft & manpower losses. Savage argues that they just need adequate firepower and long-range fighter support. Since the P-51 Mustang is not yet deployed, they lack long-range fighter cover. Savage wants to bomb Hamburg or Kiel using aircraft armed with 50 mm guns instead of 20 mm guns. Grounded by bad weather, Savage gets a visit from the Vicar of Archbury, who asks him why he has denied permission for Eddie Pryor & April Barret to get married. Perplexed, Savage says he has no such request, then speaks to Pryor, who confesses he is scared of the commitment. The weather clears, and on the next mission Pryor gets trapped in the ball turret after damage. Savage turns the mission over to Major Roberts, and then he & Mewlay land the damaged plane with Pryor still trapped. The mission is a success - no casualties. Pryor marries April Barrett.

After losing his memory, Savage is found wandering around Berkley Square, South Grosvenor Street by Lieutenant Ryan. After being examined by Kaiser, he reads in the paper that Barbara Talbot was murdered in London. Later, Inspector Thorne and Sergeant Padget from the CID come to see Savage, after finding a lighter with a 918th crest in Barbara's flat. Savage is missing his lighter and has no memory. He starts retracing his steps to Redgraves Club, then Barbara's flat. It turns out that Redgraves is a blackmailer and spy; he uses women like Barbara to lure important people into compromising situations. Frank realizes that Redgraves killed Barbara and that Padgett works for Redgraves. Frank confronts Regraves, and as Regraves is about to kill Frank, he is shot and wounded by Inspector Thorne. Next mission will be to Saarbrücken.

The 918th draws a particularly tough mission, an aircraft plant in Rhone Valley, 120 miles beyond fighter support range, surrounded by 500 anti-aircraft batteries and at the bombers maximum fuel range. At least 3 squadrons of fighters will be waiting for the bombers and they will not have a lot of fuel for evasive action. Fog rolls in and they stand down for 3 days, the tension of waiting is driving the men crazy. Tom Lockridge has flown 24 missions and has been hospitalized with hepatitis. He and Sergeant Rutherford are the only members of the original crew, all the others completed there tours or were killed. Major Kaiser wants to keep Lockridge is hospital a little while longer but Lockridge wants to get his tour over with.

Kane completed his 25 missions and is going back to the States on a Public Relations Tour. He will be performing in Winged Victory and wants to resume his career as an actor after the War. Savage asks Kane to volunteer for one last mission as his co-pilot and when the Flight Engineer & Bombardier are killed on the mission, Kane goes to check the oxygen tanks and is badly burned in the face. Back at base Doc Kaiser asks the General if Kane was a good actor before the War, Savage says he was, Doc says "Well he can be retrained of course". When we next see Kane he is bandaged about the right size of his, face, feeling sorry for himself he refuses to see anyone or eat. After refusing to see his buddies, then being rejected by his fiancée he steals an airplane and goes on a suicide mission. Savage talks him down and later Kane (sans bandages) offers Savage his Lighter, a signal he is no longer afraid.

Gen. Savage is shot down over the North Sea between England and Nazi-occupied Norway. He manages to make it to a life raft only to find he's sharing it with a downed German fighter pilot, Col Dieter. Savage has an emergency radio and Dieter is wounded, but he has the only gun in the raft, the current is pushing them toward Norway, and Allied search-and-rescue operations are seriously hampered by foul weather. For a few long hours, the war is reduced to its most basic equation, man versus man.

The Brauberg Dam needs to be bombed. Savage thinks that a specially equipped P-51 with two 500 lb bombs can take it out. He asks Lieutenant Paul Stiger, a Kentucky farm boy who takes risks and volunteers for all special missions. Stiger volunteers, then wins the football pool for £ 20,000. He begins to realize that there is much more to life than he had thought. Lieutenant Crain becomes his friend and tries to help him. Stiger falls in love with his girlfriend, Myra, and wants to get married. Savage denies his request. He goes on the mission and survives. He then marries Myra with Savage's permission.

While working on a plan to bomb Strassbourg, Savage gets trapped in a cellar/shelter during a London air raid. A delayed-action bomb blocks the sole exit. Trapped with him are Lady Constance, Dr. Lewis Glenway, Miner Bert Higgs, and a pregnant woman, Eleanor Nicholls. We learn more about each of the people as they try to free themselves. Dr. Glenway turns out to be Archie Lewis, a lower-class con man who redeems himself. After they are freed, Lady Constance decides to open her home, Penrose Hall, as a home for young women like Eleanor.

After returning from a rough mission, Gen. Savage reacts harshly (possibly on purpose) to a pilot that has cracked under the pressure. Lt. Kerr, a conniving opportunist looking for a way out of the fighting, sees his chance and concocts a scheme to methodically convince his fellow crew members that Savage is also cracking up. As co-pilot, that would leave Kerr free to take control of the Picadilly Lily and fly her to neutral territory, effectively taking them out of the war.

Savage is shot down, and he and three rambunctious crewmen, "Baby", "Doc", and "Moxey", are imprisoned in Stalag Luft 12 with other Allied airmen. The camp commander is Col. Max Richter, a Prussian who likes nothing better than to thwart escape attempts. The Senior British Officer (SBO) is Group Captain Maurice Brail, a Canadian in the RAF. To build resentment between the prisoners and Savage, Richter keeps him segregated, gives him special food, and he and Richter go for drives. Brail comes to see Savage and keeps in contact using "Adolf the Cat" as a messenger. Moxey becomes an operator and gets several passes, which the group uses in the escape. After an air raid, Richter orders all officers inside. Some disobey and are going to be shot. Savage risks all to save them.

Still a P.O.W., General Savage plots with some of the men to kidnap Oberst Richter, the Nazi camp commander of Stalag 12, and attempt a daring escape. Savage successfully kidnaps Richter and escapes with Forrester, Regis, "Baby", "Doc", and "Moxey". "Baby", Regis, and Forrester are killed. Savage, "Doc", and "Moxey" make it back to England by ship with the resistance help of Dr. Erlich. Along the way, Savage is forced to kill Richter.