“People don’t just disappear like that,” Willi protested.
“It seems, they do now.”
SIX
Advanced Flying School. March 1939
The morning was alive with the thaw. Raw winds of the past few weeks that tormented them without mercy mellowed into a slight breeze. It didn’t bite into their exposed faces any longer but kissed them softly instead, kindling the cheeks of the future Knights of the Sky with a faint glow. They smiled as they turned their sharp faces towards it◦– it was a good day for the fliers.
Johann listened intently as the gunnery instructor was finishing the theoretical part before he would admit them to their first aerial gunnery effort.
“You will fire your guns. For that purpose, you will need to know your guns and ammo. You don’t have to understand the purpose of every screw, or to remember all the parts of your weapons.”
Willi nudged Johann with his elbow, his mischievous face bearing an, “I told you, you don’t need to know all that stuff,” look. Johann chose to ignore him.
“However, you must understand its basic assembly, operational cycles, and limitations of use,” the instructor continued.
This time Johann shoved Willi. See? We’re not quite wasting our time with all this theory, you know. Willi responded by rolling his eyes, looking utterly unimpressed.
“You must also know your ammunition and the length of fire for each weapon. Master your weapons. Too many pilots manage to maneuver into excellent firing positions but are unable to shoot because they forgot that the safety switch was still in the ‘on’ position. Know how to load your guns. When they are loaded, the appropriate mechanical or electrical indicators will show that the guns are ready to fire. Make sure that your counters are set correctly; otherwise, in the midst of combat, you will be uncertain how many rounds of ammo are left. Check the correct loading of your ammo and know how to position your ammunition belts properly. When you know how to do it yourself, in case of an emergency landing, where no armorers are available, you will be able to load your ammo yourself.”
“I’d rather not have any emergency landings and particularly behind enemy lines,” Willi remarked under his breath, causing several cadets to snort with laughter.
“Of course, you’d rather not.” The instructor still heard him, it appeared. “But these cases will happen and more often than you hope. So, you’d better listen to me properly as this information can save your life one day, Cadet von Sielaff. Now, before engaging the enemy, make sure that the safety switch on your weapons is set to off and check the ammo indicators and round counters.”
He followed up his words by pointing out the mentioned indicators inside the fighter, in the cockpit of which he was sitting.
“You must fire your weapons at the ranges for which they were designed. Usually, you should not fire at ranges greater than 400M, since on the longer distance the bullets or shells trajectory will turn downwards before reaching the target. This also applies to heavy weapons, for example, MK108. It is a common mistake to believe that the larger the caliber of your weapon, the greater range a bullet or shell will travel and the aiming of heavier weapons is not as precise as the aiming of weapons of smaller caliber. Precisely the opposite is the case! Since your ammo is limited, you must use it sparingly and fire only when you have a reasonable chance to hit your target. The shorter the range, the more hits your target will get. In fact, the chance of hitting your target with a 30mm weapon is the same as with a gun of a smaller caliber! Accordingly, you must take accurate aim and fire your weapons, no matter what their caliber is. Even more so, in the case of heavier guns, you have to shoot more accurately because you have less ammo available. If you have a weapon of a small caliber with 1,000 rounds available, a burst of 50 rounds missing a target doesn’t mean much. However, if you are using, say, the MK108, with only 60 rounds available, you cannot afford to waste 50 rounds, which is almost all of the ammo available to you, without obtaining any results. Come closer! Aim carefully! Fire accurately! By closing on the enemy to the minimum range, you will make the enemy gunner so surprised and nervous that he may even forget to open fire and you will be victorious. Remember; start firing only at a range of 400M. When a target is in your gun sight, fire short bursts only, or your ammo will be expended too soon. Make sure that you know what maintenance procedures your guns require. Help your armorer with gun servicing and ammo loading! In that case, you will be certain that your guns will work properly.”
As he was climbing out, the instructor slapped his hand on the wing of the fighter as one would typically slap a good cavalry horse. The eager-looking cadets nearly choked with anticipation.
“Brandt! You’re up first.”
Johann had almost forgotten that they had been divided into smaller groups for this practice and his name was the first one on the list. He looked around with uncertainty, as though unsure if it was indeed his name that was called; raked his hair in a somewhat nervous gesture and quickly climbed inside the aircraft.
It was a Messerschmitt Bf-109◦– his favorite one◦– equipped with training 7.62mm machine guns, with a bright yellow nose and beautiful silver wings. Johann loved this fighter; it was so easy to maneuver and it followed each command with such commendable compliance that Johann often found himself laughing in delight as he nose-dived and performed his rolls, stalls, and low approaches. But, prior to this day, Johann only used the fighter’s stick to steer the plane; not shoot down his targets. He wetted his lips, which felt suddenly parched and gently placed his finger on top of the gun button.
“Remember my instructions before using it.” Johann’s lips twitched in gratitude for the reassuring gesture, as the instructor patted his shoulder prior to jumping off the wing. He was on his own now.
It was a perfect spring day, with the sky bright blue and clear, with just a hint of wind in the air. Johann slid the canopy top closed, started the plane, double checked all the indicators, and began preparing for his take-off. Painfully aware of all the eyes on the ground boring into his aircraft with greedy fascination, he gazed helplessly into space for a few moments and forced himself to concentrate on one thing only; the instructor’s words. He performed an exemplary take-off, soaring up into the sky without any visible effort. Now, he just needed to focus on the drogue, which was towed by another fighter and aim at it with all he’d got. If he were completely honest with himself, Johann only hoped not to kill the pilot by accident. After all, it was his very first effort and no one, let alone Johann himself, could possibly predict how good of a gunner he would make. Herr Leutnant’s instructions, Herr Leutnant’s instructions, Johann kept repeating to himself with the religious zeal of a fanatic as he locked his aim in sight.
When the enemy is in sight, quickly check; guns◦– switched on?
On.
Guns: loaded?
Loaded.
Indicators visible?
Johann checked. They were.
Is gun-sight on?
Yes.
Sighting image is not too bright?
Perfect.
Stay calm. Normally you still have plenty of time before you open fire.
Johann took a full breath and slowly released it, concentrating on his target. Coming as close as he could at the speed at which he was going, Johann released a rapid burst of machine gun fire at the white drogue. The entire cockpit appeared to reverberate with the power of the shots, clipped, precise, and deadly. His “enemy” was escaping him now, diving low and fast and Johann dipped right after him, quickly adjusting the fighter to the correct position for an interception.