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00:00:00Thank you for listening.
00:00:30Thank you for listening.
00:01:00On the flanks of the gigantic bomber stream, 830 P-51 and P-47 fighters stood a vigilant watch against any marauding Luftwaffe fighters.
00:01:11Recently, the American Mustang and Thunderbolt pilots had little to do as they weaved along with the bombers.
00:01:18The Luftwaffe was a shattered force, long since driven from the skies by the combined might of the American and British air forces.
00:01:26In fact, only a few German interceptor units still existed as cohesive fighter forces.
00:01:39All over the Reich, signs of collapse were everywhere.
00:01:48Wrecked aircraft littered the Luftwaffe's few remaining airfields.
00:01:52Many destroyed on the ground before ever seeing air combat.
00:01:55Others sat in their revetments, their fuel tanks empty as the fuel crisis reached its climax.
00:02:02Few veteran pilots remained.
00:02:09Those pilots still with their gishwaters were green kids with hardly any flight time.
00:02:15On the rare occasions they got into the air, they were massacred wholesale by the more experienced Allied pilots.
00:02:22On that spring Saturday in April, thousands of Germans were preparing to give up the fight.
00:02:39Some would stay with their units until the war ground to its inevitable end.
00:02:44Others were slipping away to surrender to the British or Americans, whom they knew would treat them far better than the Russians.
00:02:52Some of the German pilots who fought to the end were pretty bitter as to how some of their comrades ended the war.
00:03:00And a case in point was a squadron commander by the name of Willy Heilman.
00:03:04He was on a mission with his squadron and he went off and landed at an airfield known to have been captured by the British.
00:03:14So a month before the war ended, he basically went in and surrendered by himself.
00:03:18The rest of the squadron and the rest of JG-26 fought on for several more weeks and his name dropped from the official records very precipitously as a result of that.
00:03:30You contrast what happened to Heilman with what happened to Eric Hartman, who was the top ace really of all time, and his fighter group.
00:03:39You kind of understand why the Germans could have been a little bitter as to what Heilman did.
00:03:45Hartman's group tried to stay together.
00:03:49They actually got their families and in the final days of the war tried to get to American lines.
00:03:54Well, through a series of events, they ended up in the hands of a Russian tank regiment.
00:03:59And the Russians surrounded them with their tanks and then through the course of the night, raped all the family members, raped the children, raped the wives and mothers of the pilots, and forced the German aviators to watch this.
00:04:16And during the night, several of the families later committed suicide because of what was going on and they realized that this horror was probably going to continue.
00:04:24So, one can understand why there was some bitterness towards what Heilman had done.
00:04:31Nevertheless, a dedicated corps of pilots remained, taking the fight to the Allies whenever the fuel situation allowed them to climb into their cockpits and get into the air.
00:04:46Their piecemeal, scattered attacks were at best a nuisance to the British and Americans, who by this time could throw over 15,000 aircraft.
00:04:54Against the Reich's last few hundred defenders.
00:05:02But the Luftwaffe was not going to give up yet.
00:05:07Not when they had one last secret weapon to fling at the stately formations of B-24s and B-17s that brought death and ruin to Germany's cities each day.
00:05:17For amid the ashes, the turmoil, and the chaos of the dying Reich, a new elite unit had been formed for one last-ditch effort to halt the bombing campaign.
00:05:35And on April 7, 1945, it would go into action for the first and only time in its short history.
00:05:42It was known as Sonderkommando Elba.
00:05:49Based around Stendhal, the secret unit had one objective, bring down enemy bombers by any means necessary.
00:05:56If gunfire and rockets didn't work, the pilots had been trained to ram the four-engine behemoths.
00:06:02Each man vowed to destroy at least one bomber or die trying.
00:06:06We didn't hear anything particular that the Air Force had instructed their pilots to fly,
00:06:35not considering the danger to their self.
00:06:39But you have to bring those bombers down.
00:06:45Unimportant how you do it, but if it has to be, you have to consider being a kamikaze.
00:06:56It sounded incredible initially when you heard about kamikaze being a method for Japanese.
00:07:10Couldn't convey that or apply that to a European human notion.
00:07:18But if you somehow get familiar with the idea to offer yourself as a whole and fly into something which is your object of shooting down, so be it.
00:07:38The hope was that Sonderkommando Elba would cause so much damage and shock with their suicidal attacks that Americans would suspend their daylight bombing campaign.
00:07:50Shortly before noon, the suicide pilots took flight.
00:07:54From battered airstrips all around Stendhal, 120 specifically modified ME-109s and FW-190s formed up into two groups and turned north.
00:08:04With this mission, their planes had been stripped of armor plating, some of their guns, their radio transmitters, and other equipment deemed non-essential.
00:08:13They would go into battle light and fast to avoid the American fighter escort, then plow their interceptors into the bombs.
00:08:20Most of Sonderkommando Elba's pilots had little actual flying experience.
00:08:28All were volunteers, but few had many hours in the air.
00:08:32Fewer still had received navigation instruction.
00:08:36To fix that shortcoming, the pilots were directed to the bomber's stream from the ground by a controller who repeatedly reminded them of the destruction the Americans had brought on their homes.
00:08:46For the Luftwaffe, this would be a maximum effort.
00:08:53All around Germany, other tattered squadrons rose to give battle in an effort to support the Romjägers of Sonderkommando Elba.
00:09:01These were the last men of the Luftwaffe, flying the last of Hitler's operational fighters.
00:09:12It proved to be a motley collection of old and new.
00:09:15Some squadrons entered the fight with four weary Messerschmitt 109Gs and Pockelwolfs 190As.
00:09:22Other possessed later variants, the long-nosed FW-190D or the ultra-fast 109K.
00:09:31Still others whistled into battle with the new ME-262 jet fighter, Germany's last hope to turn the tide of the air war in its favor.
00:09:40Over northern Germany, the battle was joined.
00:09:49The jets of JG-7 and KG-54 waded into the bombers, making swift runs through their formation, cannons blazing.
00:09:59Somebody would announce that there's a jet coming through, and we'd finally get on them.
00:10:07And I couldn't pick them up until they were down lower from the bottom turret.
00:10:12But they would come screaming down through the formation.
00:10:15And I don't know that I could even track them with the turret because they were going so fast.
00:10:21I never shot at one.
00:10:22There were very few ever came close to us.
00:10:27We saw them going through an adjoining group formation, and they came through faster than anything we'd ever seen.
00:10:37What was that?
00:10:39We've seen ME-262s, but they were fast.
00:10:43They just flew right through the formations, and they were very fast.
00:10:49As the ME-262 disengaged, the older 190s and 109s tried to reach the bombers.
00:10:57They were bounced by hundreds of American fighters.
00:11:03Soon, twisting, curling dogfights erupted all over the sky, punctuated by explosions as fuel tanks were hit
00:11:10and demarcated by long trails of smoke as plane after plane plummeted to the soggy ground below.
00:11:19Then the untried youths of Sonderkommando Elba straggled into the fray.
00:11:29Their inexperienced ranks were savaged by pouncing mustangs and thunderbolts.
00:11:34Most never even reached the bombers.
00:11:37Unable to dogfight, they simply didn't know how.
00:11:40They were shot down wholesale.
00:11:42But a few of the Romm Yeagers reached the bombers.
00:11:49They would do their duty.
00:11:51Down they plunged on the American flying fortresses and liberators, their targets swelling in the windscreens.
00:11:58Defensive fire from the bomber boxes scored many hits, sending several of the German pilots spiraling toward Earth, trapped in their burning cockpits.
00:12:07But the gunners failed to stop the remaining men who smashed their 109s and 190s into the wings and fuselages of their American targets.
00:12:25Eight times these macabre collisions occurred.
00:12:31Eight times the Liberator or Fortress would be torn in half or would explode into a tremendous fireball.
00:12:39Two more times bombers were hit but continued to fly while the Romm Yeager went down with his crippled interceptor.
00:12:46By day's end, as the Luftwaffe's few survivors dribbled back to their bases, it was clear that the Germans had at last tasted final defeat.
00:13:03Over 133 planes were lost, along with 75 pilots.
00:13:09Half of Sonderkommando Elba had been annihilated.
00:13:12Seven of the precious Me 262s were gone.
00:13:15Those who reached home were frequently wounded or burned.
00:13:19Most of the survivors would never fly again.
00:13:23Seventeen American bombers and five fighters were shot down or rammed out of the sky.
00:13:34Far from being the decisive shock that would end the bombing campaign,
00:13:39Sonderkommando Elba's only mission had been but a spasm of the Luftwaffe's death agony.
00:13:44Only two years before this last flight of the Luftwaffe, Germany controlled the skies over almost all of Europe.
00:13:59From the Channel Coast to the steppes of Russia, the German fighter pilot ruled supreme.
00:14:04Twenty-four months later, the Reich's squadrons lay in crumbled heaps across the length and breadth of the continent,
00:14:20its pilots dead or wounded.
00:14:21This is the story of how this once-proud elite corps was so utterly defeated.
00:14:31This is the story of the defenders of the Reich.
00:14:34In 1939, no air force in the world was larger or more modern than Germany's Luftwaffe.
00:14:46Built almost from scratch over the previous six years, Germany's air force had the best planes,
00:14:52the best equipment, and its pilots were considered the elite of Hitler's armed forces.
00:14:56The pilots of the Luftwaffe are some of the best of the German armed forces going into World War II.
00:15:05And that's for a variety of reasons.
00:15:09They have a very stringent testing program.
00:15:12They have stringent training standards.
00:15:14And the Luftwaffe has become the premier arm of the German armed forces.
00:15:20And in this way, they have become lionized as kind of the elite of the German armed forces.
00:15:29Their mission was simple.
00:15:31Bring the war to the enemy through terror, tactical support, and army cooperation.
00:15:36The core of the new air force consisted of the dive bomber groups, the dreaded Stukas,
00:15:44and the level bombers, such as the Hankel 111 and the Dornier 17.
00:15:49When Germany attacked Poland that September, the Stukas were used to assist the panzer forces on the ground.
00:15:54Through their pinpoint accuracy, the Stukas could sow destruction upon troop concentrations, bunkers, pillboxes, forts, and other tactical targets.
00:16:12While the dive bombers worked closely with the Wehrmacht, the Hankels and Dorniers would rain bombs down on the rear areas,
00:16:19blowing up bridges, railheads, road intersections, and airfields.
00:16:23When it was deemed necessary, they could be turned against civilian targets and used as terror bombers to bring a population to its knees.
00:16:36Terror bombing is a concept that is highly touted in the period between World War I and World War II.
00:16:44And a Luftwaffe will take hold of this concept.
00:16:47Basically, the bombing of undefended or lightly defended civilian populations as a way to bring them to their knees
00:16:55and break the will of the opponent to continue to fight.
00:17:00Germany had learned such tactics well from the Spanish Civil War
00:17:04and used terror bombings against Warsaw in the fall of 1939,
00:17:08then again against Rotterdam-Holland in the spring of 1940.
00:17:13Later, London would suffer a similar fate.
00:17:16It was in the Polish campaign and the subsequent invasion of the Low Countries and France in 1940
00:17:26that the Luftwaffe first earned its reputation of invincibility.
00:17:31German bombers and dive bombers caused panic wherever they appeared,
00:17:34while the fighters wiped out whatever aerial resistance they encountered
00:17:38and soon took control of the air over the battlefield.
00:17:42In only a matter of days, in each of these early campaigns,
00:17:47the Luftwaffe's fighter pilots quickly established air supremacy,
00:17:51allowing the Stukas and Heinkels to wreak havoc without fear of interception.
00:17:56By the spring of 1940, the Luftwaffe had conquered all.
00:18:00And yet, there were troubling signs within the German Air Force
00:18:15even at this early stage in the war.
00:18:18Conceived and developed with such haste in the 1930s,
00:18:22the Luftwaffe was bound to have institutional problems.
00:18:25Most serious of these was a lack of adequate staff work or strategic planning.
00:18:40White Marshal Hermann Goering,
00:18:42an unpopular World War I fighter pilot
00:18:45who had become one of Hitler's earliest lackeys,
00:18:48commanded the Luftwaffe with a capriciousness
00:18:50that drove his operational-level officers to utter helpless frustration.
00:18:56Goering was a fighter pilot in World War I
00:18:58who was highly decorated.
00:19:00He received the Port-le-Merit
00:19:02for shooting down over 20 enemy aircraft.
00:19:06He ended up with 22.
00:19:07But the interesting thing about his World War I career
00:19:09was that when he took over the Richthofen-Geschwader
00:19:12a few months after Richthofen had died in action,
00:19:16he really proved that he was not anywhere near the kind of leader that Richthofen was.
00:19:22The guys in JG-1 hated him.
00:19:24And in fact, after the war, they didn't invite him to their reunions
00:19:27because they hated him so much.
00:19:28He was a Martinet.
00:19:29He only flew a couple of combat missions
00:19:31and then basically grounded himself
00:19:34so he could pay attention to his administrative duties.
00:19:39So he very rarely flew combat with them.
00:19:43So he was kind of a bloated Prussian egomaniac, even back then.
00:19:48And it only got worse.
00:19:49After the Beer Hall Putsch in 23,
00:19:51he was wounded and he became a morphine addict
00:19:54and that was an addiction he struggled with
00:19:56through most of his life after that.
00:19:58And he became more and more obnoxious and arrogant
00:20:00and covetous of medals and awards
00:20:02and promotions and titles and recognition.
00:20:05And the pilots in the German Air Force
00:20:08actually referred to him as Fat Hermon.
00:20:10They did not particularly like him,
00:20:12especially after the events of the Battle of Britain
00:20:14where he started accusing his fighter pilots
00:20:17of all kinds of misdeeds.
00:20:18They really became hostile towards him.
00:20:21And even today, they talk about Goring
00:20:24and they're very, very, very hostile.
00:20:26He was a despicable human being.
00:20:27In the war, what happened when you were a squadron commander
00:20:41and every evening you reported how many airplanes you have
00:20:47for the next day, say you had 16 airplanes,
00:20:51but you had only 10 ready for the next day
00:20:54because those were shot up and had to be repaired.
00:20:58You cannot only report 10 airplanes.
00:21:02What they did, they changed that.
00:21:05Until they came up to the top,
00:21:08they had more planes as we had,
00:21:10twice as many airplanes as we had flying.
00:21:14That was one thing.
00:21:18And Goring was not a leader.
00:21:24In the 1930s,
00:21:27Goring's vision of the Luftwaffe
00:21:29had been simplistic and dangerously unrealistic.
00:21:32Basically, he wanted airplanes and lots of them.
00:21:36When proponents of long-range strategic bombing
00:21:39tried to convince the Reichsmarshal
00:21:41to order the production of four-engine bombers
00:21:43that could carry out the task,
00:21:46Goring refused.
00:21:49Four-engine bombers would take up too much material,
00:21:52he argued, so fewer planes would be produced.
00:21:55He wanted numbers, not strategic bombers,
00:21:58and he could have twice as many twin-engine planes
00:22:00as four-engine ones for the same cost.
00:22:03The decision would have serious consequences later
00:22:06when his twin-engine terror bombers
00:22:08were forced into the role of strategic bombers
00:22:11in 1940 and 1941.
00:22:13In the summer of 1940,
00:22:19these shortcomings became obvious for the first time.
00:22:22After the fall of France in June,
00:22:24Hitler flung the Luftwaffe against England
00:22:27in preparation for Operation Sea Lion,
00:22:30the invasion of the Home Isles.
00:22:32That summer and fall,
00:22:33the Luftwaffe was charged with destroying
00:22:35the Royal Air Force in battle.
00:22:38Poor staff planning,
00:22:39a dispersion of effort,
00:22:41and political interference
00:22:42with the selection of targets
00:22:44doomed the Luftwaffe's campaign.
00:22:57Worst of all,
00:22:58the pilots and crews
00:22:59were being asked to fight
00:23:00a strategic air war
00:23:01with an Air Force designed
00:23:03for tactical ground support
00:23:04and terror bombing.
00:23:06The result was the loss
00:23:08of almost 2,000 aircraft
00:23:10for no gain whatsoever.
00:23:13By the early fall of 1940,
00:23:15Hitler had suspended Operation Sea Lion
00:23:17and turned his attention to Russia.
00:23:26When Operation Barbarossa,
00:23:28the invasion of the Soviet Union,
00:23:30began in June of 1941,
00:23:32the Luftwaffe at first glance
00:23:34seemed to be well-suited
00:23:36to this new campaign.
00:23:41It was a war of tactical ground support
00:23:44on a grand scale,
00:23:45and in the early weeks of the war,
00:23:47the Luftwaffe cleaned house.
00:23:50Some 15,000 Soviet planes were destroyed,
00:23:53as were thousands of tanks,
00:23:55trucks, airfields, bridges,
00:23:57railheads, and other targets
00:23:58just behind the front lines.
00:24:01Yet operations were costly,
00:24:03and by the end of 1941,
00:24:05the Luftwaffe was stretched ever thinner
00:24:07as it sought to support the Wehrmacht
00:24:09through the dead of winter.
00:24:13In the period 1941 through early 1943,
00:24:18as the Luftwaffe becomes committed
00:24:19to a global war,
00:24:22they'll find their assets
00:24:23stretched to the limit,
00:24:25and they'll also begin to feel
00:24:27the effects of the attrition
00:24:28that they are beginning to suffer,
00:24:31starting with the Battle of Britain,
00:24:33the meat grinder
00:24:35that the Eastern Front will become,
00:24:37and inactions in the Mediterranean
00:24:38as they're sent down
00:24:39to stop the convoys coming to Malta,
00:24:41fight in the desert,
00:24:43and then try to evacuate
00:24:45the forces from North Africa.
00:24:47They'll suffer some horrendous losses,
00:24:49especially in their bomber
00:24:50and transport crews.
00:24:52And what the effect of these losses is
00:24:54that many of their most experienced pilots,
00:24:57those that would be part of their training base,
00:24:59have been lost.
00:25:01And so the Germans will have a problem
00:25:03with training replacement pilots.
00:25:06By the end of the war,
00:25:07there'll be plenty of planes to fly,
00:25:10but there'll not be any German pilots
00:25:12to fill the cockpit.
00:25:16Though the skilled German pilots
00:25:18took a heavy toll of Allied ships and planes,
00:25:20their own numbers were whittled down
00:25:22through simple attrition.
00:25:24On Palm Sunday in 1943,
00:25:28I'll never forget that,
00:25:30we were escorting 50,
00:25:32Junkers 52,
00:25:34and over there it looked like
00:25:36a swarm of bees
00:25:36waiting for us.
00:25:40We all were shot down.
00:25:42And I made it
00:25:44about five kilometers
00:25:46before the beach in Sisley,
00:25:49then I had to
00:25:50ditch.
00:25:51We lost all the airplanes.
00:25:54By the summer of 1942,
00:25:57the Luftwaffe was hemorrhaging
00:25:58on two fronts,
00:25:59and replacements weren't keeping pace
00:26:01with the losses.
00:26:03We never saw anything
00:26:05in the papers about
00:26:06our planes being shut down.
00:26:09And if there were,
00:26:10the number was always so minimal
00:26:12as...
00:26:16We were just winning.
00:26:17There was nothing else
00:26:18about winning.
00:26:22And then a new
00:26:24and far more deadly threat
00:26:25arrived,
00:26:26one that would ultimately
00:26:27doom the Luftwaffe,
00:26:29the United States Army Air Force.
00:26:33That summer,
00:26:34the Americans undertook
00:26:35their first attempts
00:26:36at daylight strategic bombing.
00:26:38The Halpro mission
00:26:39in North Africa
00:26:40kicked the campaign off
00:26:42with an ineffective raid
00:26:43against Ploesti in June.
00:26:45On July 4th,
00:26:47American flown bombers
00:26:48struck France
00:26:49for the first time.
00:26:51A month later,
00:26:51the legendary
00:26:52Eighth Air Force
00:26:53flew its first mission
00:26:54against Rouen, France.
00:26:57These were hardly
00:26:58even pinpricks
00:26:59against the might
00:27:00of the Third Reich,
00:27:02but they were harbingers
00:27:03of the future.
00:27:12One man saw it coming
00:27:14and urged Hermann Goering
00:27:15to take action.
00:27:17General Adolf Galland,
00:27:18one of the Luftwaffe's
00:27:19greatest fighter pilots
00:27:20and leaders,
00:27:21viewed these first raids
00:27:23with alarm.
00:27:24The Reich's own
00:27:25home air defenses
00:27:26were woefully lacking.
00:27:27Most of the combat units
00:27:29were fighting at the front.
00:27:30And since the British
00:27:31were bombing Germany
00:27:32under the cover
00:27:33of darkness,
00:27:34most of Germany's defenses
00:27:35were geared
00:27:36to stopping nocturnal raids.
00:27:49The Americans
00:27:50were coming over
00:27:51in broad daylight,
00:27:52and that would require
00:27:53new fighters
00:27:54and new tactics
00:27:55to stop.
00:27:59Galland's warnings
00:28:00went unheeded.
00:28:01Goering refused to listen.
00:28:03Fighter production
00:28:04lagged behind demand,
00:28:06and Galland's fellow pilots
00:28:07grew increasingly bitter
00:28:09as they found themselves
00:28:10outnumbered in the air.
00:28:15By the middle of the war,
00:28:17Hermann Goering,
00:28:18who was,
00:28:18for all his despicableness,
00:28:20was actually
00:28:21a pretty intelligent guy,
00:28:22he realized that
00:28:24the writing was on the wall
00:28:25and that Germany
00:28:25was probably going
00:28:26to lose the war.
00:28:27So after being discredited
00:28:29so badly
00:28:30by the Luftwaffe's failures
00:28:32at the Battle of Britain
00:28:33and Stalingrad
00:28:34and the Tunis air bridge,
00:28:36he kind of retired.
00:28:38He was still nominally
00:28:38the head of the Luftwaffe,
00:28:40but he basically went
00:28:41into seclusion
00:28:42at Caron Hall.
00:28:44And that caused
00:28:46all kinds of problems
00:28:47because he still
00:28:47was the decision maker.
00:28:49And Galland
00:28:49realized that the only way
00:28:52the Luftwaffe
00:28:53was going to survive
00:28:54was if they increased
00:28:56fighter production
00:28:56immediately.
00:28:57They needed fighters,
00:28:58they needed pilots,
00:28:59they needed to stop
00:29:00the Allied air campaign.
00:29:02Goering refused to listen.
00:29:04He continued to order
00:29:05the production of bombers,
00:29:07especially complicated,
00:29:08raw material-intensive aircraft.
00:29:11And by the crisis point
00:29:13of the war,
00:29:14early 1944,
00:29:15the Germans
00:29:16and their industrial base
00:29:19really had not kept pace
00:29:21with the way
00:29:22the course of the war
00:29:23had gone.
00:29:24Galland was this lone voice
00:29:26crying in the dark
00:29:27and nobody listened.
00:29:31In the summer of 1943,
00:29:33the American strategic
00:29:35bombing campaign
00:29:36began in earnest.
00:29:37To stop the B-17s
00:29:39and B-24s,
00:29:40the Reich would rely
00:29:41on four main types
00:29:42of fighters,
00:29:43two single-engined
00:29:44and two twin-engined.
00:29:46The single-engined
00:29:52fighter groups
00:29:53flew either
00:29:53the Messerschmitt
00:29:54Bf-109G
00:29:56or the Focke-Wulf
00:29:57190A.
00:30:00Both could be
00:30:01formidable opponents
00:30:02for the Allied
00:30:03fighter pilots
00:30:04as the Americans
00:30:05first discovered
00:30:06in North Africa.
00:30:07We were in Benghazi
00:30:09doing escort
00:30:11for Stukas.
00:30:13We were fighting
00:30:15against Spitfire 5
00:30:17and Hurricanes
00:30:17and P-40s.
00:30:20The Spitfire
00:30:21was more maneuverable,
00:30:24far more than we were.
00:30:26But only we were
00:30:27better at climbing
00:30:28and we could
00:30:33better climb
00:30:34and out-climb
00:30:36at any time.
00:30:39Then the other thing
00:30:40was we had
00:30:40fuel-injected motors
00:30:42and they had
00:30:44still carbureted motors.
00:30:47We could do maneuvers
00:30:49which they couldn't do.
00:30:51And P-40s
00:30:53was also a good effort.
00:30:57Colonel Fox
00:30:58Raynard,
00:30:59P-40 pilot
00:31:00with the 79th
00:31:01Fighter Group
00:31:02recalls,
00:31:03With the P-40
00:31:04against the 109,
00:31:07the 109
00:31:07had a higher speed,
00:31:09higher rate of climb,
00:31:11higher,
00:31:11could climb to altitude.
00:31:13We were
00:31:14quite altitude limited
00:31:15with no superchargers.
00:31:18And
00:31:18the one advantage
00:31:22we had over the 109
00:31:24was that we could
00:31:24out-turn them.
00:31:26They could out-dive us
00:31:27also or come close.
00:31:28They were a fine
00:31:31airplane,
00:31:32a lot of performance.
00:31:34Any time you were
00:31:35attacked by a 109,
00:31:36about the only thing
00:31:36you could do
00:31:37to keep from
00:31:39getting hit
00:31:40was to get into
00:31:40a tight turn,
00:31:41which he couldn't
00:31:42keep with you.
00:31:43As far as the 190,
00:31:44it was a far better
00:31:46airplane than the 109.
00:31:48As a matter of fact,
00:31:48we had one of each
00:31:49in the fighter group,
00:31:51in the 79th fighter group,
00:31:52and I got to fly both of them.
00:31:53The 190 was a Cadillac
00:31:56compared to the 109.
00:31:59It had a nice cockpit,
00:32:01good visibility,
00:32:02had almost a semi-bubble canopy,
00:32:05and all of the instruments
00:32:08and controls
00:32:09were right where they should be.
00:32:11Everything was just,
00:32:12it was a natural airplane.
00:32:14Good performance,
00:32:15probably the airplane of the war
00:32:17until the Mustang came along,
00:32:19the Mustang B.
00:32:23The BF-109 and FW-190
00:32:26were designed to be
00:32:27air superiority weapons.
00:32:29Their main purpose,
00:32:30as envisioned in 1939,
00:32:32was to clear the skies
00:32:33of enemy fighters
00:32:34so the Luftwaffe's bombers
00:32:36could do their work.
00:32:41Neither had been built
00:32:42to intercept enemy bombers,
00:32:44and the American B-17s
00:32:46and B-24s began appearing
00:32:48in Europe's skies.
00:32:49Both German fighters
00:32:50showed weaknesses
00:32:51in their new role
00:32:52as interceptors.
00:32:56The 109 was sleek
00:32:57and fast,
00:32:58but dainty
00:32:59and not well-armed.
00:33:00The G model
00:33:01usually carried
00:33:02only a single
00:33:0320-millimeter cannon
00:33:04and two 7.9-millimeter
00:33:06machine guns.
00:33:07With such limited firepower,
00:33:09Axis 109 pilots
00:33:11found it very difficult
00:33:12to shoot down
00:33:13American heavy bombers,
00:33:14which were extremely rugged.
00:33:16Worse,
00:33:21the 109G
00:33:22was a relatively
00:33:23fragile aircraft,
00:33:25not capable
00:33:26of taking a lot
00:33:26of battle damage.
00:33:29In attacking bomber formations,
00:33:31the 109 pilots
00:33:32had to run this gauntlet
00:33:34of defensive fire
00:33:36from the .50-caliber
00:33:37machine guns.
00:33:39And especially
00:33:39in the rear attacks,
00:33:41this fire was devastating,
00:33:43and many German pilots
00:33:44lost their lives.
00:33:45The ME-109G
00:33:46proved to be
00:33:47especially frail
00:33:48in these attacks
00:33:49and much inferior
00:33:51to the ME-109F
00:33:53that preceded it.
00:33:54It was less maneuverable.
00:33:56Its armament
00:33:56seemed not up
00:33:58to the task
00:33:58of attacking
00:34:00these heavy bombers.
00:34:01There was
00:34:02a heavy-framed cockpit,
00:34:04which caused it
00:34:04to have poor visibility.
00:34:06Generally speaking,
00:34:07the German fighter pilots
00:34:08considered it
00:34:09to be an inferior fighter.
00:34:10So the Germans
00:34:13will attempt
00:34:14to modify
00:34:15the ME-109G,
00:34:16which is the most
00:34:18produced variant
00:34:19of the ME-109,
00:34:21by slinging
00:34:2320-millimeter cannons
00:34:24under the wings
00:34:25and pods.
00:34:26And this increase
00:34:27of armament
00:34:28will, in fact,
00:34:29make it much more effective
00:34:31against the bombers.
00:34:32But it will also lower
00:34:34its performance
00:34:34as a fighter.
00:34:35So when American
00:34:36escorting fighters
00:34:37appear over Germany,
00:34:39the ME-109G
00:34:41will essentially
00:34:42become a sitting deck.
00:34:44Still the 109
00:34:45had speed.
00:34:47At 28,540 feet,
00:34:49the BF-109G2,
00:34:51with its liquid-cooled
00:34:531,475-horsepower
00:34:55Daimler-Benz engine,
00:34:57could just touch
00:34:58406 miles per hour.
00:35:00It could also race
00:35:01to altitude quickly,
00:35:02an essential asset
00:35:03for any aircraft
00:35:04used as an interceptor.
00:35:07From sea level,
00:35:09it could climb
00:35:09to 20,000 feet
00:35:10in just over five minutes.
00:35:13While it could get
00:35:14to the bombers quickly,
00:35:16the 109
00:35:16could not loiter.
00:35:18It carried enough fuel
00:35:19to stay aloft
00:35:20for only about
00:35:21an hour and a half.
00:35:25That's severely limited
00:35:26German attempts
00:35:27to use mass formations
00:35:29against the American bombers,
00:35:31as they frequently
00:35:31took too much time
00:35:33and fuel to assemble.
00:35:34Even with a 66-gallon drop tank,
00:35:37the 109s had only
00:35:38a 250-mile radius of action.
00:35:44Size was another
00:35:45of the 109's assets.
00:35:47With a length of 29 feet
00:35:49and a wingspan of 32 feet,
00:35:51the Messerschmitt
00:35:51had a narrow fuselage
00:35:53and stubby, narrow wings.
00:35:55That made it
00:35:55a difficult target in the air.
00:35:57And the 109 was a tough adversary.
00:36:04I had one on my tail one time
00:36:07and I couldn't shake him.
00:36:09I finally did,
00:36:11but they were a good airplane
00:36:16and almost as good as 51.
00:36:18not quite, fortunately.
00:36:21We could out-turn them.
00:36:22But contrary to
00:36:24what intelligence told us,
00:36:25we could not out-dive them.
00:36:27They informed us we could.
00:36:30But at least the one
00:36:31that was after me,
00:36:32I couldn't out-dive.
00:36:34I was going full throttle
00:36:35straight down.
00:36:36But they're very comparable.
00:36:40Very good airplane.
00:36:45Where the 109 was fragile
00:36:47and fussy,
00:36:47the Focke-Wulf
00:36:48was lean and tough.
00:36:52Operational by 1941,
00:36:54the FW 190
00:36:55quickly proved
00:36:56to be far superior
00:36:57to any Allied fighter
00:36:59of the day.
00:37:00At low altitude,
00:37:01it could outrun
00:37:02anything in the air,
00:37:03including the British
00:37:03Spitfire Mark V.
00:37:06With its phenomenal
00:37:09rate of roll,
00:37:10it could flip over
00:37:11into a Split-S
00:37:12far quicker than its enemies.
00:37:14Focke-Wulf pilots
00:37:15frequently used
00:37:16the Split-S
00:37:17to escape from
00:37:18stern attacks
00:37:19as a result.
00:37:26Not until the arrival
00:37:28of the P-51B
00:37:29did the Allies
00:37:30have a fighter
00:37:31equal to the FW 190.
00:37:34Rugged and well-armed,
00:37:35the FW 190A
00:37:36became the premier fighter
00:37:38in Western Europe
00:37:39throughout the next
00:37:39two years.
00:37:40It was far superior
00:37:44to the FW 109.
00:37:46Faster,
00:37:47higher,
00:37:48was better climbing,
00:37:50and could go
00:37:52in higher altitude
00:37:53and had more
00:37:54flying time.
00:37:57See,
00:37:57we had only one hour
00:37:58of flying time.
00:37:59In high altitude,
00:38:01one hour and ten minutes
00:38:02or not,
00:38:02but it was all.
00:38:04They could fly it
00:38:04same as the P-51.
00:38:06With its four
00:38:1120-millimeter cannons
00:38:12and two machine guns,
00:38:13it proved to be
00:38:14the only single-engine
00:38:15Luftwaffe fighter
00:38:16that could effectively
00:38:17tackle four-engine bombers.
00:38:19Its four cannon
00:38:20could inflict mortal damage
00:38:22to both the B-17
00:38:23and the B-24.
00:38:29Later versions
00:38:30of the 190A,
00:38:31which had a wingspan
00:38:32of 34 feet
00:38:34and a length
00:38:34of 29 feet,
00:38:35could carry up
00:38:36to eight
00:38:3720-millimeter cannon,
00:38:38four in the wings,
00:38:40four in external gondolas.
00:38:42Such firepower
00:38:43had fearsome effects
00:38:44on Allied bombers.
00:38:47At low altitude,
00:38:49the FW's air-cooled
00:38:501,700-horsepower
00:38:52BMW engine
00:38:53could drive the fighter
00:38:54along at about
00:38:55315 miles per hour.
00:38:57That was fast enough
00:38:59to outrun
00:38:59any Allied fighter
00:39:00of the day
00:39:01on the deck.
00:39:02It reached its
00:39:06optimum max speed
00:39:07at 21,000 feet,
00:39:09where it could sustain
00:39:10418 miles per hour
00:39:12for short periods.
00:39:13If it had a weakness,
00:39:15it was its
00:39:15high-altitude performance.
00:39:17Above 25,000 feet,
00:39:19the 190 became
00:39:20sluggish at the controls.
00:39:22At any altitude,
00:39:23it couldn't outturn
00:39:24the Spitfire
00:39:25or the P-51,
00:39:26while above 25,000 feet,
00:39:29the P-47 Thunderbolt
00:39:31could turn inside it,
00:39:32as could the P-38L.
00:39:34Turning fights
00:39:35at high altitude
00:39:36usually ended
00:39:37in disaster
00:39:38for the German pilot
00:39:39foolish enough
00:39:40to get into
00:39:40that situation.
00:39:45The P-47,
00:39:46without dive anything,
00:39:47you didn't have to worry
00:39:48about shooting,
00:39:49I think,
00:39:49because you had
00:39:50more firepower
00:39:50than most of you did.
00:39:51and good offense
00:39:54is a good defense.
00:39:55They had a long-nosed 190
00:39:56that turned out
00:39:57to be pretty good,
00:39:58but there wasn't
00:39:59any of them
00:39:59that really gave us
00:40:00any trouble
00:40:00that I remember.
00:40:03We got a lot of them
00:40:05in the air.
00:40:05We'd go out
00:40:06and get 36 in the air
00:40:07and some 51 group
00:40:09would go out
00:40:10and get 15 or 20
00:40:11on the ground.
00:40:12At one time,
00:40:12we went into
00:40:13a bunch of 190s,
00:40:15and I got one
00:40:16and we got 15
00:40:17out of 20.
00:40:19Later on,
00:40:20the 190D
00:40:20became the
00:40:21definitive variant.
00:40:23Dubbed the Long Nose
00:40:24or the Dora,
00:40:25the D model
00:40:26used a liquid
00:40:27cooled engine
00:40:28and could fly
00:40:29almost as fast
00:40:30as any Allied fighter.
00:40:35The remaining
00:40:36defenders of the Reich
00:40:37in 1943
00:40:38were the twin-engine
00:40:39heavy fighters,
00:40:40the Messerschmitt 110
00:40:42and Messerschmitt 410.
00:40:45These aircraft
00:40:47carried awesome
00:40:48arrays of firepower,
00:40:5020-millimeter,
00:40:5130-millimeter,
00:40:52even 75-millimeter
00:40:54cannon,
00:40:55heavy machine guns,
00:40:56and even
00:40:56GR-21 rockets.
00:41:00By mid-1943,
00:41:02the Germans
00:41:03were becoming
00:41:04desperate
00:41:04to figure out
00:41:06ways
00:41:06to break up
00:41:08Allied bomber
00:41:09formations.
00:41:10And so what they did
00:41:11was they took
00:41:11a rocket mortar,
00:41:13actually it was
00:41:14basically a mortar shell,
00:41:15with a rocket engine
00:41:16attached to it.
00:41:16They called it
00:41:17the GR-21,
00:41:18and they put
00:41:19one in a tube
00:41:21under each wing
00:41:22of their single-engine
00:41:24fighters.
00:41:25And they would go up
00:41:26and they'd take
00:41:26these rockets
00:41:28and the actual
00:41:29tubes themselves
00:41:30would be angled
00:41:31upwards
00:41:31underneath the wing.
00:41:33Twin-engine fighters,
00:41:34by the way,
00:41:34could carry more than two,
00:41:36but not many more.
00:41:38They would get up,
00:41:39they would fly behind
00:41:40the American B-17
00:41:42and B-24 boxes,
00:41:43and they'd sit back,
00:41:45they'd have to fire
00:41:45from almost exactly
00:41:471,000 meters
00:41:48or 2,000 meters,
00:41:49something like that.
00:41:49There was a precise
00:41:50distance they had to be
00:41:52from behind the bombs.
00:41:54They would fire
00:41:55the rockets,
00:41:56the rockets would go up
00:41:57in this big arc,
00:41:59and if they had
00:42:01fired effectively,
00:42:02they would have dropped
00:42:03right into the combat box
00:42:05and then exploded.
00:42:06And they exploded
00:42:07based on a time fuse.
00:42:10So it was a very,
00:42:12very difficult attack
00:42:12to actually achieve,
00:42:14and trying to lob
00:42:15these mortar shells,
00:42:16basically,
00:42:17with these little rockets
00:42:18attached to them
00:42:19into American bomber
00:42:20formations proved
00:42:21to be very,
00:42:22very difficult.
00:42:23It was an almost
00:42:24impossible task.
00:42:26But on the occasions
00:42:27where they did actually
00:42:28get the mortar bombs
00:42:30into the formations,
00:42:32they were devastating.
00:42:33One explosion
00:42:36could take down
00:42:36two or three bombers.
00:42:38One of the things
00:42:39that the GR-21
00:42:40did do, though,
00:42:41was it loosened up
00:42:42the bomber formations
00:42:43as the guys tried
00:42:45to get away
00:42:45from these falling
00:42:46rocket bombs.
00:42:48With the bomber
00:42:49formations spread out,
00:42:51the 110s and 410s
00:42:52would then pounce
00:42:53on the strays,
00:42:54knowing that the
00:42:55defensive firepower
00:42:57the Americans possessed
00:42:58would be more diffused.
00:42:59The heavy fighters
00:43:04made excellent targets
00:43:05as they were big aircraft
00:43:07and not nearly as maneuverable
00:43:08or quick as the
00:43:09109s and 190s.
00:43:19As a result,
00:43:21they took severe losses
00:43:22whenever they tried
00:43:23to get in close
00:43:23on tight bomber formations.
00:43:25When American fighters
00:43:28began appearing
00:43:29over Germany,
00:43:30the day of the 110
00:43:31and 410
00:43:32came to an end.
00:43:35Neither could stay
00:43:35in the air
00:43:36against the P-47,
00:43:37P-38,
00:43:38or P-51,
00:43:40and they were
00:43:40slaughtered wholesale.
00:43:44Eventually,
00:43:45they were withdrawn
00:43:46and used only
00:43:48as night fighters.
00:43:49When the air war
00:43:56over Germany
00:43:56began in earnest
00:43:57during the summer
00:43:59of 1943,
00:44:00the Americans
00:44:01ran into heavy opposition.
00:44:05As limited
00:44:06as the 109G
00:44:08was as an interceptor,
00:44:09when the B-17s
00:44:11weren't protected
00:44:11by their own
00:44:12escorting fighters,
00:44:14it could inflict
00:44:14heavy losses.
00:44:19Some 109 groups
00:44:23modified their fighters
00:44:24to carry an extra pair
00:44:26of 20mm cannon
00:44:27under the wings,
00:44:29giving them
00:44:29almost as much
00:44:30firepower
00:44:31as the FW-190.
00:44:40The Luftwaffe
00:44:41won the air war
00:44:42in 1943.
00:44:45The interceptor pilots
00:44:46savaged the eight
00:44:47air force's B-17s,
00:44:49and B-24s.
00:44:50Those first 12 months
00:44:52of the strategic
00:44:52bombing campaign
00:44:53cost the eighth air force
00:44:55an average of 33%
00:44:57of its crews
00:44:57and planes
00:44:59per mission.
00:45:09By October,
00:45:11the Luftwaffe
00:45:11had brought
00:45:12the mighty eighth
00:45:13to a crisis point.
00:45:14Either daylight bombing
00:45:16would have to be suspended
00:45:17or long-range escort
00:45:19fighters had to be developed
00:45:20to destroy
00:45:21the German fighter force.
00:45:25Long-range fighters
00:45:26were brought in
00:45:27and that turned
00:45:28the tide
00:45:28against the Luftwaffe.
00:45:30First,
00:45:30the P-38 arrived.
00:45:32Fast,
00:45:33maneuverable,
00:45:34and able to stay
00:45:34with the bombers
00:45:35all the way
00:45:36to Berlin and back,
00:45:37the Lightning
00:45:38became the first
00:45:39strategic escort
00:45:40fighter in Europe.
00:45:42The Germans dubbed it
00:45:43the fork-tailed devil.
00:45:49We knew that we were
00:45:51going to be top support
00:45:52for bombers,
00:45:53and at first,
00:45:54we were at Nut Hampstead.
00:45:57We called it Mud Hampstead
00:45:58because that's the way it was.
00:46:00We were all new.
00:46:02In fact,
00:46:03we were so new
00:46:04that when we went
00:46:06on a mission
00:46:06and we finally did
00:46:08turn our guns loose,
00:46:11they only fired
00:46:13one round or so.
00:46:16And we didn't know
00:46:19what the answer
00:46:20to this was,
00:46:21but they had frozen.
00:46:24The oil,
00:46:26just plain machine gun oil,
00:46:28was too thick
00:46:29for the machine guns
00:46:31to reload themselves.
00:46:34So, naturally,
00:46:35when we got home,
00:46:36we had to ask the bombers,
00:46:37what do you do?
00:46:38And they said,
00:46:39wash them dry
00:46:40and fire them
00:46:42as long as they will.
00:46:45Next came the P-51s
00:46:47of the 354th Fighter Group.
00:46:50The 354th arrived in England
00:46:52at the end of November 1943
00:46:54and began flying combat
00:46:56in December.
00:46:58When I first went over,
00:47:04not too long after that,
00:47:05we were searching
00:47:06for a name
00:47:07for the group
00:47:09and we decided,
00:47:11we got together
00:47:12as a group
00:47:13and decided
00:47:13on the Pioneer Mustang
00:47:15group
00:47:16because we were
00:47:17the first ones
00:47:18over there.
00:47:20Able to outmaneuver,
00:47:23outclimb,
00:47:24and outdive
00:47:25every Luftwaffe fighter
00:47:26then deployed,
00:47:28the P-51
00:47:29proved to be
00:47:30the sword
00:47:30that would slay
00:47:31the Luftwaffe.
00:47:33Soon,
00:47:33other units
00:47:34either converted
00:47:34to the P-51
00:47:36or arrived from the States
00:47:37with the new aircraft.
00:47:39As more and more
00:47:40Mustangs appeared
00:47:41over Germany,
00:47:41the Luftwaffe
00:47:42suffered higher
00:47:43and higher losses.
00:47:44By war's end,
00:47:46nine of the 8th Air Force's
00:47:48ten fighter groups
00:47:49were flying Mustangs.
00:47:50The first six months
00:47:54of 1944
00:47:55saw the tide
00:47:56turn permanently
00:47:57against the defenders
00:47:58of the Reich.
00:48:04With the American bombers
00:48:06now supported
00:48:07by swarms of fighters,
00:48:09the Luftwaffe interceptors
00:48:10took to picking off
00:48:11stragglers,
00:48:12bombers who had been hit
00:48:13and had fallen out
00:48:15of formation.
00:48:16Killing the cripples
00:48:17was generally
00:48:18the easiest way
00:48:19to shoot down
00:48:19an American bomber.
00:48:21When not preying
00:48:22on the cripples,
00:48:23the defenders
00:48:23of the Reich
00:48:24had to fall back
00:48:25on fast hit-and-run raids
00:48:27through the weak spots
00:48:28in the American escort screen.
00:48:30They would have time
00:48:31for one pass
00:48:32through the bomber boxes.
00:48:34Then they'd dive
00:48:35out of the fight,
00:48:36hoping to live
00:48:37to fly another day.
00:48:40Problem was,
00:48:41there weren't many
00:48:42living to fight
00:48:43another day.
00:48:46The P-51s,
00:48:49they were escorted.
00:48:50the P-17s.
00:48:52And that's my P-17s,
00:48:55the tail gun.
00:48:56Well, I didn't even
00:48:57feel it.
00:48:59I just saw the blood
00:49:00running down.
00:49:02Then I felt it,
00:49:04there was a bullet
00:49:05sticking here.
00:49:07I still got it.
00:49:10During the first
00:49:11five months of 1944,
00:49:13the Luftwaffe's
00:49:14fighter force
00:49:14defending Germany
00:49:15lost almost
00:49:17100%
00:49:18of its planes
00:49:19and pilots.
00:49:20An average
00:49:21German 190
00:49:22or 109
00:49:23pilot
00:49:23by this point
00:49:24in the war
00:49:25lived less than
00:49:2630 days in combat.
00:49:27for them,
00:49:29it was almost
00:49:30like committing
00:49:31suicide
00:49:32when they were
00:49:33ordered
00:49:34to get up
00:49:35and
00:49:37fly a few
00:49:39missions.
00:49:42Nobody
00:49:43had any
00:49:44enthusiasm
00:49:44anymore to,
00:49:46I think they were all
00:49:47envious of us
00:49:49that we didn't
00:49:49have to do it.
00:49:50that as long
00:49:55as you are
00:49:56in the military,
00:49:57you take orders
00:49:58and you do
00:49:58what you're told.
00:50:00But we noticed
00:50:02if 12 planes
00:50:04went up,
00:50:08there were always
00:50:08three, four
00:50:09that came down
00:50:13again.
00:50:14They found
00:50:14mechanical trouble
00:50:15so they didn't
00:50:16have to fly.
00:50:20Men who survived
00:50:23four or five
00:50:24combat missions
00:50:25were considered
00:50:26the grizzled
00:50:26old veterans.
00:50:28In fact,
00:50:28by the summer
00:50:29of 1944,
00:50:31the Luftwaffe's
00:50:32remaining fighter units
00:50:33were almost
00:50:33universally composed
00:50:35of green-as-grass
00:50:36pilots
00:50:37fresh out of
00:50:38flight school
00:50:38led by a small
00:50:40core group
00:50:41of expertmen,
00:50:42long-time aces
00:50:43who did their best
00:50:44to teach the newcomers
00:50:46how to survive.
00:50:50But as the war
00:50:52dragged on
00:50:53through the fall
00:50:53of 1944,
00:50:55more and more
00:50:56of Germany's
00:50:56expertmen
00:50:57were being killed
00:50:58while attacking
00:50:59the American
00:51:00bomber streams.
00:51:10With its fighter units
00:51:12on their last legs,
00:51:13the Luftwaffe
00:51:14penned its hopes
00:51:15on a new
00:51:15wonder weapon,
00:51:16the Messerschmitt
00:51:17262.
00:51:18As the world's
00:51:22first jet fighter,
00:51:23the ME-262
00:51:25was supposed
00:51:25to revolutionize
00:51:27the air war
00:51:27over Europe
00:51:28and wrest control
00:51:29of the skies
00:51:30away from the Allies
00:51:31one final time.
00:51:34Powered by two
00:51:35Junkers-Jumo
00:51:36turbojet engines,
00:51:38the ME-262
00:51:39could reach
00:51:40540 miles per hour
00:51:42over 100 miles per hour
00:51:43faster than any
00:51:44Allied fighter
00:51:45then deployed.
00:51:46With its
00:51:49four 30-millimeter
00:51:50cannon,
00:51:51it could tear
00:51:52apart a bomber
00:51:52with a single
00:51:53short burst.
00:51:55And with a
00:51:55wingspan of 40 feet
00:51:57and a length
00:51:57of 34 feet,
00:51:59it was as small
00:51:59a target
00:52:00as most
00:52:00single-engine
00:52:01fighters.
00:52:03It was a fighting
00:52:03airplane.
00:52:04It was a good airplane.
00:52:05It was
00:52:05a comparably
00:52:06small
00:52:07descend.
00:52:08the span
00:52:11was small.
00:52:12The airplane
00:52:14itself
00:52:14was narrow.
00:52:16So it was
00:52:17a size
00:52:21to cope
00:52:23with most
00:52:23of the
00:52:24defense requirements.
00:52:28A small picture
00:52:29of the airplane
00:52:30is harder
00:52:32to shoot at,
00:52:35especially if that
00:52:36can move fast
00:52:37enough.
00:52:38Though the Luftwaffe
00:52:39hoped the 262
00:52:41would be its savior,
00:52:42the new jet fighter
00:52:43had too many problems
00:52:44to be an effective
00:52:45answer to the
00:52:46Allied bombing
00:52:47campaign.
00:52:49Plague with
00:52:49material shortages,
00:52:51production of the
00:52:52262 was delayed
00:52:53several months
00:52:54so that it did not
00:52:55see much action
00:52:56until the fall
00:52:58of 1944.
00:52:59The first one
00:53:02I flew
00:53:03in September
00:53:05of 1944.
00:53:07You had a guy
00:53:07sitting on the
00:53:09wing and then
00:53:10the cockpit
00:53:11opened and he
00:53:11explained to you
00:53:12what this all is
00:53:13and then
00:53:14explained
00:53:16what the speed
00:53:17is to take off
00:53:18and what
00:53:18the approach
00:53:19speed is
00:53:20and said,
00:53:21now go.
00:53:22Between there
00:53:23and the two
00:53:24seaters.
00:53:29The Messerschmitt 262
00:53:30was truly a
00:53:31revolutionary aircraft
00:53:32but like all
00:53:33revolutionary aircraft
00:53:34it had some
00:53:35major problems
00:53:35with it
00:53:36and these
00:53:36were problems
00:53:37that really
00:53:38could not be
00:53:40ironed out
00:53:41given the conditions
00:53:42that Germany
00:53:42found itself in
00:53:44in the final stages
00:53:45of World War II.
00:53:47Most importantly
00:53:48they were running
00:53:48out of raw materials
00:53:50that would go
00:53:51into making
00:53:52the engines
00:53:53so they were
00:53:54forced to
00:53:55substitute
00:53:56different metals
00:53:57into the engines
00:53:59which led to
00:54:00turbofan blades
00:54:01breaking and other
00:54:02things like that.
00:54:03The engines were
00:54:04really the weak
00:54:05point in the
00:54:06262.
00:54:07If you jammed
00:54:08the throttles
00:54:09forward too
00:54:09quickly
00:54:10they would
00:54:11catch fire.
00:54:12If you abused
00:54:13the engines
00:54:14in any way
00:54:14they would
00:54:15catch fire
00:54:17and in the
00:54:18fighter groups
00:54:19they lasted
00:54:20only a few
00:54:20missions before
00:54:21they had to be
00:54:21replaced.
00:54:22There were lots
00:54:23and lots
00:54:23of little bugs
00:54:24technical problems
00:54:25that afflicted
00:54:27the Mr. Smith's
00:54:28262 program
00:54:29from the beginning
00:54:29and were never
00:54:30ironed out
00:54:31which is one
00:54:31of the reasons
00:54:32why you never
00:54:32see Mr. Smith
00:54:33262s flying
00:54:34around now
00:54:34because they're
00:54:35so dangerous
00:54:35to fly.
00:54:36You know
00:54:37you see
00:54:3751s flying
00:54:38around
00:54:38you see
00:54:38Mr. Smith
00:54:39109s flying
00:54:40nobody flies
00:54:41262s
00:54:42they're dangerous
00:54:42aircraft.
00:54:44Another major
00:54:45issue was the
00:54:45fact that there
00:54:46weren't any
00:54:47trained pilots
00:54:48to fly the
00:54:49Mr. Smith
00:54:50262
00:54:50in training
00:54:51commands.
00:54:52So the pilots
00:54:53that were going
00:54:53into units
00:54:54like Commando
00:54:55Novotny
00:54:55or JG7
00:54:58they didn't know
00:54:59how to fly
00:55:00these aircraft
00:55:01they were
00:55:01revolutionary.
00:55:02They had never
00:55:03experienced anything
00:55:04like it.
00:55:04So it took time
00:55:05to train them
00:55:06and there wasn't
00:55:07time.
00:55:08There wasn't
00:55:08time and they
00:55:09didn't receive
00:55:09the training
00:55:10and so
00:55:11overall
00:55:12the Mr. Smith
00:55:12262
00:55:13was a failure
00:55:15operationally.
00:55:16They lost
00:55:16probably at least
00:55:18as many
00:55:19Mr. Smith
00:55:19262s
00:55:21in the
00:55:21operational units
00:55:22as they
00:55:23shot down
00:55:24enemy aircraft.
00:55:26There were
00:55:27tremendous
00:55:28losses
00:55:29involved
00:55:30in the
00:55:32pilot
00:55:33training
00:55:34and
00:55:36the
00:55:36pilots
00:55:37themselves
00:55:39the pilots
00:55:39were
00:55:40poorly
00:55:41brought up
00:55:42to facing
00:55:44a war
00:55:46environment.
00:55:48They were
00:55:48not
00:55:50using
00:55:51the airplane
00:55:52to the
00:55:53advantage
00:55:54it had
00:55:54offered
00:55:55initially.
00:55:58The engines
00:55:59were so
00:56:00fragile that
00:56:00pilots thought
00:56:01they had to
00:56:01advance the
00:56:02throttles very
00:56:03slowly or run
00:56:04the risk of
00:56:05fire or
00:56:05mechanical
00:56:06failure.
00:56:07Consequently
00:56:08if American
00:56:08fighters caught
00:56:09an ME 262
00:56:11and it wasn't
00:56:11traveling at
00:56:12top speed
00:56:13they had
00:56:13the advantage.
00:56:15In those
00:56:15situations
00:56:16the new
00:56:16jet proved
00:56:17to be
00:56:17easy prey
00:56:18for allied
00:56:19fighters.
00:56:28Other
00:56:29ME 262s
00:56:30were shot
00:56:30out of the
00:56:31sky by
00:56:32canny
00:56:32P-47
00:56:33and P-51
00:56:34pilots
00:56:35whose
00:56:35snapshot
00:56:36accuracy
00:56:37paid dividends.
00:56:40He started
00:56:41climbing
00:56:41and so
00:56:41died it
00:56:42and I
00:56:42just
00:56:42started
00:56:43firing
00:56:43all the
00:56:44way
00:56:44through
00:56:44and I
00:56:44kind
00:56:44of
00:56:45was
00:56:45firing
00:56:45all the
00:56:46way
00:56:46through
00:56:46when I
00:56:47was
00:56:47going
00:56:47up
00:56:48and he
00:56:48went by
00:56:49me
00:56:49and then I
00:56:50kind of
00:56:51fell out
00:56:51into an
00:56:52emelman
00:56:52because I'd
00:56:52lost a lot
00:56:53of speed
00:56:53but I made
00:56:54an emelman
00:56:55up there
00:56:55and then I
00:56:56rolled over
00:56:56like that
00:56:57to see the
00:56:58plane and I
00:56:59laid down
00:57:00on it
00:57:00went down
00:57:01again and
00:57:01took some
00:57:02pictures of
00:57:02it and
00:57:04so the
00:57:05guy said
00:57:05well the
00:57:06guy that
00:57:06got him
00:57:06spun out
00:57:07I said
00:57:08no he
00:57:08didn't
00:57:09I was a
00:57:09pretty
00:57:10sloppy
00:57:10emelman
00:57:11I said
00:57:12I didn't
00:57:13spin out
00:57:14and then
00:57:16Comstock said
00:57:17is that you
00:57:18hot shot
00:57:18I said
00:57:18yeah
00:57:19good for
00:57:19you
00:57:20so we
00:57:21came over
00:57:22pretty happy
00:57:22that was the
00:57:23first group
00:57:23and then they
00:57:24gave a half
00:57:25to another
00:57:26pilot
00:57:26and I never
00:57:27saw his
00:57:28film
00:57:28and I don't
00:57:30know what
00:57:30he how he
00:57:31hit the
00:57:31plane or
00:57:32whether he
00:57:32hit it or
00:57:32not
00:57:33but I
00:57:34knocked the
00:57:34plane down
00:57:35by December
00:57:38though the
00:57:38Germans were
00:57:39desperately
00:57:39deploying the
00:57:40ME 262
00:57:41the Luftwaffe
00:57:42had been
00:57:43all but
00:57:43defeated
00:57:44desperate for
00:57:47pilots
00:57:47General the
00:57:48Fighters
00:57:48Adolf Galan
00:57:49began culling
00:57:50men from
00:57:51bomber and
00:57:51transport units
00:57:52to fill the
00:57:53cockpits of
00:57:54an ever declining
00:57:55number of
00:57:55operational
00:57:56109s and
00:57:57190s
00:57:58Fred Boost
00:57:59an ME 323
00:58:01Gigant pilot
00:58:02was one such
00:58:03aviator caught
00:58:04up in the
00:58:04dragnet
00:58:05the transport
00:58:07wings most
00:58:08of the bomber
00:58:09wings were
00:58:09disbanded the
00:58:10pilots were
00:58:11sent to
00:58:11Berlin and
00:58:13were asked
00:58:15whether we
00:58:15would become
00:58:16fighter pilots
00:58:17you couldn't
00:58:19say no if
00:58:20you said no
00:58:21you were
00:58:21transferred to
00:58:22the SS
00:58:22armor tank
00:58:24battalion
00:58:25that was the
00:58:26last I ever
00:58:26wanted to be
00:58:27here came
00:58:28Galan said
00:58:29all right
00:58:29these are
00:58:30the first
00:58:31or the
00:58:32former
00:58:32transport flyers
00:58:34hmm
00:58:34now who
00:58:36of you
00:58:36hotshots
00:58:37does not
00:58:38want to
00:58:38become a
00:58:38fighter pilot
00:58:39who does
00:58:40not want
00:58:41to become
00:58:41a fighter
00:58:41pilot
00:58:42nobody raised
00:58:44his hand
00:58:44said all
00:58:45right
00:58:45you'll be
00:58:46fighter wing
00:58:47number 104
00:58:48in Vienna
00:58:50he said
00:58:51sure
00:58:52such men
00:58:57did not
00:58:58last long
00:58:58with American
00:59:00planes scouring
00:59:01the daylight
00:59:01skies from
00:59:02Aachen to
00:59:03Warsaw and
00:59:04Prague the
00:59:05Luftwaffe had
00:59:06no safe airspace
00:59:07in which to
00:59:08operate and
00:59:08train its new
00:59:09pilots
00:59:10Fred Boost's
00:59:11experience was
00:59:12not atypical
00:59:13in the few
00:59:14months he
00:59:14survived as
00:59:15an FW
00:59:16190 pilot
00:59:17American
00:59:18fighters shot
00:59:19him down
00:59:19twice the
00:59:20last time
00:59:21occurred over
00:59:21his own
00:59:22airfield while
00:59:23he was
00:59:23landing
00:59:24we were
00:59:27supposed to
00:59:28protect
00:59:31Berlin
00:59:32which was
00:59:33very easy
00:59:34to find
00:59:34you had to
00:59:34look where
00:59:35there was
00:59:35a big smoke
00:59:36that was
00:59:37Berlin
00:59:37we were
00:59:38coming in
00:59:38the P-51s
00:59:41were just
00:59:42circling
00:59:43around
00:59:43Wiesendorf
00:59:44and just
00:59:44waited for
00:59:45us to
00:59:45land
00:59:46and just
00:59:47as my
00:59:48turn came
00:59:48okay
00:59:48you are
00:59:49next
00:59:49one of
00:59:50them
00:59:50picked
00:59:50me
00:59:51out
00:59:51and
00:59:51again
00:59:55was already
00:59:55not higher
00:59:56than maybe
00:59:5730 feet
00:59:58and just
00:59:59upon
00:59:59landing
01:00:00he got
01:00:01me from
01:00:02behind
01:00:02and
01:00:03didn't
01:00:05wound me
01:00:06but shot
01:00:07the plane
01:00:07not to
01:00:08pieces
01:00:08but the
01:00:09undercarriage
01:00:11didn't get
01:00:12out and
01:00:12couldn't
01:00:13control it
01:00:14anymore
01:00:14something
01:00:14he must
01:00:15have hit
01:00:16not the
01:00:17cockpit
01:00:17but the
01:00:18area around
01:00:19me
01:00:20and I
01:00:20pancaked
01:00:21and yet
01:00:24the
01:00:25Luftwaffe
01:00:25would not
01:00:26give up
01:00:26on
01:00:27January
01:00:271st
01:00:281945
01:00:29Goering
01:00:29ordered
01:00:30a maximum
01:00:30effort
01:00:31strike
01:00:31against
01:00:32allied
01:00:32airfields
01:00:33in
01:00:33France
01:00:33and
01:00:34Belgium
01:00:34dubbed
01:00:36Operation
01:00:37Bodenplot
01:00:38this
01:00:38last
01:00:39ground
01:00:39attack
01:00:40effort
01:00:40was
01:00:40designed
01:00:41to
01:00:41support
01:00:41the
01:00:41failing
01:00:42German
01:00:42offensive
01:00:43in
01:00:43the
01:00:43Ardennes
01:00:44over
01:00:44a thousand
01:00:45single
01:00:45engine
01:00:46fighters
01:00:46were
01:00:46flung
01:00:47at
01:00:47the
01:00:47British
01:00:47and
01:00:47American
01:00:48bases
01:00:48on
01:00:48the
01:00:49continent
01:00:49that
01:00:49day
01:00:50that
01:00:52morning
01:00:52all
01:00:53surprises
01:00:54so much
01:00:55buzzing
01:00:55going on
01:00:56so many
01:00:56engines
01:00:57running
01:00:57and so
01:00:57much
01:00:58noise
01:00:58at the
01:00:58airfield
01:00:59and every
01:01:00plane that
01:01:01could fly
01:01:01had to
01:01:01get up
01:01:02I think
01:01:04something like
01:01:06two-thirds
01:01:06came back
01:01:07and the
01:01:07others
01:01:07never made
01:01:08it back
01:01:08and from
01:01:11what the
01:01:11pilots
01:01:12told us
01:01:12they
01:01:13usually
01:01:15I think
01:01:16mostly
01:01:16in
01:01:17France
01:01:18they
01:01:18attacked
01:01:18planes
01:01:20on the
01:01:20ground
01:01:20by
01:01:21surprise
01:01:21and I
01:01:22think
01:01:22were
01:01:23somehow
01:01:23successful
01:01:24and
01:01:25destroyed
01:01:26allied
01:01:27planes
01:01:27on the
01:01:27ground
01:01:28in
01:01:31some
01:01:32places
01:01:32they
01:01:32achieved
01:01:33complete
01:01:33surprise
01:01:34hundreds
01:01:35of allied
01:01:35aircraft
01:01:36were destroyed
01:01:36on the
01:01:37ground
01:01:37but few
01:01:38pilots
01:01:38or air
01:01:39crew
01:01:39were killed
01:01:39in return
01:01:45the
01:01:45Luftwaffe
01:01:46lost
01:01:46almost
01:01:47300
01:01:47planes
01:01:48and
01:01:48214
01:01:49pilots
01:01:50including
01:01:5119
01:01:51squadron
01:01:52and group
01:01:53commanders
01:01:53it was a
01:01:54disaster
01:01:55that finally
01:01:56broke the
01:01:56back of
01:01:57the German
01:01:57fighter
01:01:58force
01:01:58after that
01:02:02you hardly
01:02:02saw one
01:02:03going up
01:02:04they had
01:02:05the plane
01:02:06still at
01:02:06this little
01:02:07airport
01:02:08but
01:02:10they probably
01:02:12knew that
01:02:12it was useless
01:02:14to even
01:02:14try to get
01:02:15up because
01:02:16if 2-3
01:02:17went up
01:02:18they were
01:02:19being intercepted
01:02:20by about
01:02:2125 or
01:02:2230 or
01:02:22whatever
01:02:22you know
01:02:23and
01:02:24at that
01:02:25point
01:02:26the Messerschmitt
01:02:26was just
01:02:28no match
01:02:29anymore
01:02:29against
01:02:30something
01:02:30like the
01:02:30P-51
01:02:31aside from
01:02:35sporadic
01:02:36penny packet
01:02:36interceptions
01:02:37the Luftwaffe
01:02:38would never
01:02:39again
01:02:39seriously
01:02:40interfere
01:02:41with
01:02:41allied
01:02:41air
01:02:42operations
01:02:42from
01:02:43the
01:02:43once
01:02:43proud
01:02:44force
01:02:44that
01:02:44had
01:02:45dominated
01:02:45europe
01:02:45only
01:02:46five
01:02:46years
01:02:46before
01:02:47the
01:02:47Luftwaffe
01:02:48had
01:02:48become
01:02:49a
01:02:49shattered
01:02:49broken
01:02:50force
01:02:51only
01:02:54the courage
01:02:55and
01:02:55individual
01:02:55devotion
01:02:56to
01:02:56duty
01:02:56of
01:02:57its
01:02:57fighter
01:02:57pilots
01:02:58kept
01:02:58the
01:02:58interceptor
01:02:59force
01:02:59from
01:03:00complete
01:03:00collapse
01:03:01by
01:03:02the
01:03:03end
01:03:03of
01:03:03the
01:03:03war
01:03:03faced
01:03:04with
01:03:04what
01:03:05has
01:03:05essentially
01:03:06become
01:03:06a
01:03:07lost
01:03:07cause
01:03:08it's
01:03:09only
01:03:09the
01:03:09individual
01:03:10devotion
01:03:10of
01:03:11these
01:03:11pilots
01:03:12of
01:03:12the
01:03:12Luftwaffe
01:03:13devotion
01:03:14to
01:03:14their
01:03:14homeland
01:03:15their
01:03:16devotion
01:03:16to
01:03:16their
01:03:17duty
01:03:17as
01:03:17a
01:03:17soldier
01:03:18that
01:03:19keeps
01:03:19them
01:03:19flying
01:03:20for
01:03:21this
01:03:21lost
01:03:21cause
01:03:22and
01:03:25yet
01:03:25the
01:03:25end
01:03:26would
01:03:26soon
01:03:26come
01:03:27that
01:03:29spring
01:03:29all
01:03:29across
01:03:30Germany
01:03:30American
01:03:31British
01:03:32and
01:03:32Russian
01:03:32tank
01:03:33columns
01:03:33rumbled
01:03:34through
01:03:34the
01:03:34countryside
01:03:35capturing
01:03:36cities
01:03:36factories
01:03:37and
01:03:37air
01:03:37bases
01:03:38as
01:03:38they
01:03:38went
01:03:39for
01:03:46those
01:03:46few
01:03:46remaining
01:03:46defenders
01:03:47of the
01:03:47Reich
01:03:48gas
01:03:48deliveries
01:03:49dried
01:03:49up
01:03:50ammunition
01:03:51became
01:03:52scarce
01:03:52and
01:03:52replacement
01:03:53aircraft
01:03:54became
01:03:54only
01:03:54distant
01:03:55memories
01:03:55the
01:03:57men
01:03:57waited
01:03:57for
01:03:57the
01:03:58end
01:03:58at
01:03:58their
01:03:58air
01:03:58bases
01:03:59or
01:03:59in
01:04:00some
01:04:00cases
01:04:00took
01:04:01to
01:04:01the
01:04:01roads
01:04:01together
01:04:02in
01:04:02hopes
01:04:03of
01:04:03surrendering
01:04:03to
01:04:04American
01:04:04or
01:04:04British
01:04:05troops
01:04:05some
01:04:06of
01:04:06the
01:04:07most
01:04:07famous
01:04:07fighter
01:04:08groups
01:04:08were
01:04:08captured
01:04:09wholesale
01:04:09by
01:04:09the
01:04:10Russians
01:04:10who
01:04:11showed
01:04:11no
01:04:11mercy
01:04:11we
01:04:13heard
01:04:14rumors
01:04:15among
01:04:16boys
01:04:16about
01:04:16the
01:04:17treatment
01:04:17of
01:04:17the
01:04:18Russians
01:04:18how
01:04:20their
01:04:20prisoners
01:04:21of war
01:04:22were
01:04:22treated
01:04:22by
01:04:22Germans
01:04:23and
01:04:23how
01:04:23German
01:04:24prisoners
01:04:24of war
01:04:24were
01:04:25treated
01:04:25in
01:04:25Russia
01:04:26and
01:04:26that
01:04:27was
01:04:27always
01:04:27a
01:04:28nightmare
01:04:28that
01:04:28you
01:04:28were
01:04:28shot
01:04:29down
01:04:29over
01:04:29Russian
01:04:29territory
01:04:30some
01:04:33some
01:04:33of
01:04:33Germany's
01:04:34greatest
01:04:34aces
01:04:35disappeared
01:04:35into
01:04:36Soviet
01:04:36labor
01:04:37camps
01:04:37and
01:04:37were
01:04:37not
01:04:38seen
01:04:38again
01:04:38until
01:04:39the
01:04:39mid
01:04:391950s
01:04:40for
01:04:41Fred
01:04:41Bust
01:04:42the
01:04:42end
01:04:43came
01:04:43near
01:04:43the
01:04:43Danish
01:04:44border
01:04:44in
01:04:45the
01:04:45waning
01:04:45days
01:04:46of
01:04:46the
01:04:46war
01:04:46I'm
01:04:49sitting
01:04:49strapped
01:04:50in
01:04:50my
01:04:50plane
01:04:51everything
01:04:51ready
01:04:51and
01:04:52I
01:04:52am
01:04:52tired
01:04:53it's
01:04:53about
01:04:538 o'clock
01:04:54at night
01:04:55and
01:04:56it's
01:04:58May
01:04:59it's
01:04:59still
01:05:00daylight
01:05:00and I
01:05:01begin
01:05:01to
01:05:02doze
01:05:02off
01:05:02and
01:05:04as I
01:05:04sit
01:05:04there
01:05:05somebody
01:05:05very
01:05:06hard
01:05:07rattled
01:05:07the
01:05:08rudder
01:05:09to my
01:05:10legs
01:05:10I
01:05:11cranked
01:05:11down
01:05:12the
01:05:12canopy
01:05:12and said
01:05:13leave
01:05:13an old
01:05:13man
01:05:14alone
01:05:14and
01:05:16I
01:05:16looked
01:05:17up
01:05:17and
01:05:17looked
01:05:17into
01:05:18a
01:05:18guy
01:05:18with
01:05:19a
01:05:19helmet
01:05:19a
01:05:20scant
01:05:20and
01:05:20a
01:05:21stand
01:05:21gun
01:05:21in
01:05:21hands
01:05:22come on
01:05:22out
01:05:22Jerry
01:05:23come on
01:05:23out
01:05:23Jerry
01:05:24I
01:05:26said
01:05:27sure
01:05:27yeah
01:05:28I
01:05:29am
01:05:29coming
01:05:29out
01:05:30so
01:05:31I
01:05:31cranked
01:05:31it
01:05:31all
01:05:32the
01:05:32way
01:05:32down
01:05:32got
01:05:33out
01:05:33and
01:05:34I
01:05:34reached
01:05:34back
01:05:35and
01:05:35he
01:05:35said
01:05:35because
01:05:37we
01:05:37had
01:05:37our
01:05:37side
01:05:38arms
01:05:38on
01:05:39the
01:05:39right
01:05:39hip
01:05:40hands
01:05:41up
01:05:41and I
01:05:42had
01:05:43intention
01:05:43to
01:05:43shoot
01:05:44I
01:05:45got
01:05:46out
01:05:46slid
01:05:46down
01:05:47the
01:05:47wings
01:05:47stood
01:05:47there
01:05:48and
01:05:48the
01:05:48other
01:05:49guys
01:05:49in
01:05:50the
01:05:50planes
01:05:51they
01:05:53run
01:05:53would
01:05:53you
01:05:53please
01:05:54assemble
01:05:54very
01:05:55politely
01:05:55would
01:05:56you
01:05:56please
01:05:56assemble
01:05:56in
01:05:57the
01:05:57flight
01:05:57control
01:05:58room
01:05:58so
01:05:59we
01:05:59walked
01:06:00up
01:06:00there
01:06:00I
01:06:00took
01:06:01off
01:06:01my
01:06:01parachute
01:06:01and
01:06:02threw
01:06:02it
01:06:02back
01:06:02into
01:06:03the
01:06:03plane
01:06:03and
01:06:05as
01:06:05we
01:06:06were
01:06:06standing
01:06:06around
01:06:07there
01:06:07this
01:06:08British
01:06:09lieutenant
01:06:09he
01:06:10said
01:06:10gentlemen
01:06:11we
01:06:12are
01:06:13a
01:06:13British
01:06:13special
01:06:14commando
01:06:15we
01:06:16are
01:06:16racing
01:06:17to
01:06:17go
01:06:18to
01:06:18Copenhagen
01:06:18that's
01:06:19where
01:06:19you
01:06:19come
01:06:19in
01:06:20we
01:06:20want
01:06:21to
01:06:21be
01:06:21in
01:06:22Copenhagen
01:06:23before
01:06:23the
01:06:23Russians
01:06:24because
01:06:25we
01:06:25have
01:06:26intelligence
01:06:26that
01:06:26the
01:06:27Russians
01:06:27want
01:06:27to
01:06:27occupy
01:06:28Denmark
01:06:28and
01:06:29you
01:06:29Germans
01:06:30definitely
01:06:30have
01:06:31an
01:06:31interest
01:06:31that
01:06:32they
01:06:32shall
01:06:32not
01:06:33occupy
01:06:33Denmark
01:06:34so
01:06:34don't
01:06:35do
01:06:36anything
01:06:36foolish
01:06:37don't
01:06:37hinder
01:06:37us
01:06:38we
01:06:38will
01:06:39fight
01:06:40you
01:06:40with
01:06:40all
01:06:41we
01:06:41have
01:06:41if
01:06:42need
01:06:42be
01:06:43but
01:06:43don't
01:06:44do
01:06:44it
01:06:44in
01:06:45your
01:06:45best
01:06:45interest
01:06:46leave
01:06:46us
01:06:47alone
01:06:47we
01:06:47leave
01:06:48you
01:06:48alone
01:06:48any
01:06:49questions
01:06:49thank
01:06:52you
01:06:52don't
01:06:53do
01:06:53anything
01:06:53foolish
01:06:53and
01:06:54they
01:06:54got
01:06:55out
01:06:55and
01:06:55they
01:06:55had
01:06:56those
01:06:56eight
01:06:57wheel
01:06:58I think
01:06:59they are
01:07:00American
01:07:00made
01:07:00armored
01:07:01personnel
01:07:02carriers
01:07:02and
01:07:03they
01:07:04zoomed
01:07:04off
01:07:04and
01:07:05all
01:07:05night
01:07:06we
01:07:06heard
01:07:06the
01:07:07armor
01:07:09not
01:07:10just
01:07:10trucks
01:07:11but
01:07:11armor
01:07:12go
01:07:12by
01:07:12and
01:07:12they
01:07:13raced
01:07:13and
01:07:13occupied
01:07:14Denmark
01:07:14and
01:07:16we
01:07:16said
01:07:16all
01:07:16right
01:07:16we
01:07:17are
01:07:18now
01:07:18behind
01:07:19the
01:07:19front
01:07:19what
01:07:19do
01:07:20we
01:07:20do
01:07:20and
01:07:22I
01:07:22never
01:07:22forget
01:07:23what
01:07:24do
01:07:24we
01:07:24do
01:07:24we
01:07:24drink
01:07:25and
01:07:26somebody
01:07:27got
01:07:28some
01:07:28beer
01:07:29and
01:07:29we
01:07:29had
01:07:29a
01:07:29long
01:07:30long
01:07:31session
01:07:32together
01:07:32BSing
01:07:33and
01:07:33drinking
01:07:33beer
01:07:34with
01:07:38the
01:07:38war's
01:07:38end
01:07:38the
01:07:39Luftwaffe
01:07:39ceased
01:07:40to
01:07:40exist
01:07:41though
01:07:41they
01:07:42fought
01:07:42bravely
01:07:42even
01:07:43suicidally
01:07:44the
01:07:44defenders
01:07:45of the
01:07:45Reich
01:07:45had
01:07:46failed
01:07:46to
01:07:46save
01:07:46their
01:07:47nation
01:07:47from
01:07:47total
01:07:48destruction
01:07:48though
01:07:49once
01:07:50thousands
01:07:50strong
01:07:51only a
01:07:51few
01:07:52of
01:07:52Germany's
01:07:52great
01:07:53aircraft
01:07:53survived
01:07:54in the
01:07:54post-war
01:07:55world
01:07:55thousands
01:07:56lay
01:07:56alongside
01:07:57runways
01:07:58nothing
01:07:58but
01:07:58twisted
01:07:59wreckage
01:07:59gathering
01:08:00weeds
01:08:00as they
01:08:01slowly
01:08:01rusted
01:08:02away
01:08:02by
01:08:031950
01:08:04the
01:08:05Luftwaffe's
01:08:05fighter
01:08:06force
01:08:06existed
01:08:06only
01:08:07in
01:08:07old
01:08:07photos
01:08:08and
01:08:09in
01:08:09the
01:08:09memories
01:08:09of
01:08:09those
01:08:10men
01:08:10who
01:08:10despite
01:08:11telling
01:08:11odds
01:08:12rose
01:08:12to
01:08:13do
01:08:13battle
01:08:13time
01:08:14and
01:08:14again
01:08:14in
01:08:15a
01:08:15cause
01:08:15as
01:08:15hopeless
01:08:16as
01:08:16it
01:08:16was
01:08:17perverted
01:08:17they
01:08:19were
01:08:20the
01:08:20defenders
01:08:20of
01:08:21the
01:08:21Reich
01:08:21freedom
01:08:25and
01:08:26they
01:08:26were
01:08:27so
01:08:28they
01:08:30didn't
01:08:31wanna
01:08:33say
01:08:33out
01:08:34and
01:08:35there
01:08:35can
01:08:37say
01:08:38if
01:08:40they
01:08:40did
01:08:41it
01:08:42was
01:08:45to
01:08:45다면
01:08:46ah
01:08:46theirs
01:08:46also
01:08:47there
01:08:48was
01:08:49an
01:08:49be