This episode was the series pilot, though it was the second episode to air.
An interesting side note is that every character in this story was mentioned in the book and movie Twelve O'Clock High (1949) though in vastly different context. The writer of this episode is Beirne Lay, Jr., co-author of the book and movie screenplay. One of these characters is named Gately, and he and most of the others are never seen in subsequent episodes. This would explain why in the actual first episode to air, Golden Boy Had Nine Black Sheep (1964), Paul Burke's character, who is clearly based on Ben Gately from the movie, was renamed Joe Gallagher for the series.