It was during my initial flight training in early 1942, after performing loops, rolls and Immelmann turns, that I knew I wanted to fly fighters for the Luftwaffe. I was granted my wish in December of 1942 when I was sent to No. 1 Fighter School at Werneuchen near Berlin. My instructors were all high-time fighter pilots, many of them gaining their experience on the Russian front. One instructor, Maj. Hannes Trautloft, stood out from the rest. He had seen action on the Russian front with Jagdgeschwader (JG) 54, also known as the Green Hearts. What struck me the most, though, was his concern for his fellow men and the camaraderie they developed as they relied on one another day in and day out. From that day forward I was determined and focused to someday fly with JG54 on the Russian front. But first, I had to master the squirrely Me 109.
The 109 was a very tricky aircraft and you had to fly it with smoothness and great finesse, mostly because of its narrow landing gear. We were told time and time again to advance the throttle slowly, and to always keep the nose pointed straight down the runway using mostly right rudder. I must confess there were times in training when I thought I was going to push the right rudder pedal through the cabin floor as I tried to keep the front of the 109 from swapping ends with the tail section! Flying the 109 was very emotional and demanded complete concentration—especially when we learned how to fly formation.
FOUR OF THEM DIVED TOWARDS ME, AND I HAD BUT ONE OPTION—TURN INTO THEM AND FIGHT
We flew in a At first, we would be bouncing around chasing our leader, but as soon as we settled down and got the hang of it, our four planes seemed to fly as one. After successfully completing this phase of training, we had one more step to go before either washing out of fighter school or earning our keep on the front lines. I was sent to a base in Southern France where we were introduced to our instructors. These pilots were all highly experienced frontline fighter pilots who were on temporary duty for the sole purpose of teaching us the latest tactics learned at the front. For the next three weeks, seven days a week and up to four flights a day, all I did was eat, breathe and sleep how to fight the “Ivans” (Russians) with the 109. In late March of 1943, all my training was complete. Although there was action on the Western Front, I volunteered for duty on the Russian front. When I received my posting I was all smiles—JG 54, the Green Hearts, currently based south of Leningrad. I would soon be up to my eyeballs in “Ivans.”
