If you follow the lyrics, specifically, he flies a bomber. WW2 bombers usually had to take off at night regardless of whether it was a day or night raid. The raining down destruction part is about dropping their bombs. The most interesting part for me is how creative Joel was with the tempo and beat for the "battle scene" especially using snare drums to simulate gunfire. The aces he refrences are enemies that were waiting for the bomber well in advance of their arrival. This just a great song and one of my favorites.
If you follow the lyrics, specifically, he flies a bomber. WW2 bombers usually had to take off at night regardless of whether it was a day or night raid. The raining down destruction part is about dropping their bombs. The most interesting part for me is how creative Joel was with the tempo and beat for the "battle scene" especially using snare drums to simulate gunfire. The aces he refrences are enemies that were waiting for the bomber well in advance of their arrival. This just a great song and one of my favorites.