60872b8d0cd63bf03b58193513b75f8a by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

October 17, 1945, 10 AM

Achmer-Bramsche Luftwaffe Airbase

Bramsche, Germany

Colonel Gregor Koche was in the pilot’s seat, sitting under the transparent canopy of the Boeing 450 bomber. This aircraft was the second prototype from the Heinkel factory and was a surprisingly solid bird. Normally the prototypes of any aircraft were afflicted with all manner of teething issues. The first prototype was becoming a hangar queen as the Luftwaffe, Boeing, and Heinkel technicians continuously worked on it.

Koche commanded the Second Strategic Bomb Group in the Luftwaffe and served as its primary instructor pilot for the 540s. It usually involved riding in the back seat and keeping novice Boeing 540 pilots alive. The big, six-engine jet bomber was a sweet flying aircraft, but its speed and swept-back wings made it intolerant of casual or rough handling.

The Colonel was the first to discover that at cruising altitude, it was possible to simultaneously get the aircraft into a high-speed stall and a low-speed stall under certain circumstances. That he was able to recover the plane and land safely cemented his reputation as a highly skilled pilot. Koche was convinced that he simply had been very, very lucky.

Today’s mission was relatively easy. They would take off, fly 370 kilometers to Berlin and make several low-level, low-speed passes over the city. It would coincide with a ceremony at the Großer Tiergarten honoring the Retiring Reichsmarshall, Gerd von Rundstedt. And they had to arrive promptly at 11 AM.

Though Koche anticipated no problems today, he was still careful. The weather was clear, and there was not a lot of traffic above the fields of Germany.

“Okay, Wulf,” Koche spoke into the intercom, “let’s wrap up the checklist and get into the air. I would rather loiter over western Brandenburg than push the clock.”

“Understood, Herr Colonel,” Captain Wolfgang Spiegel replied.

They worked their way through the list and then started the engines. The silky-smooth turbines still amazed Koche. They lacked the drama of the piston engines with the shaking and shuddering they performed on startup. The engineers had recently replaced the Jumo 004s with the new BMW Type 15 turbofans. The added power was intoxicating, and the new engines proved reliable. Through his headphones, Koche could only barely hear the keening of the turbines as the six engines spooled up.

Koche contacted the tower for permission to taxi. He released the brakes and allowed the big jet to glide out of its parking spot. The copilot continued working through the checklist as they rolled along the taxiway. While the new turbofan engines were much more frugal in their fuel use, it didn’t pay to sit on the ground burning kerosene. Since the Russian war was over, petroleum became more plentiful, but it was still expensive. And he wasn’t sure how long he would orbit Berlin. He didn’t want to divert to another airfield if he ran short of fuel.

They stopped at the threshold and finished the checklist. Across the runway on the other threshold sat a Flying Fortress with its propellors spinning.

“All set, Wolf?”

“Alles in Ordnung,” Spiegel replied.

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