War Brothers

by Patrick Slaney

  Lined up on the edge of the airfield, waiting for their pilots, were twenty five Bf109, series E, Messerschmitt fighters looking spectacular in the winter sun. After we located the specific cubicle allocated to us, and dumped our kit bags, we all wandered over to take a look at the dark grey fighting machines.

  ‘Do you see the difference between these planes and the ones that we trained in Markus?’ one of the other pilots who had trained with me in Lubeck asked me.

  I thought for a moment as I closely examined the Me109....... ‘Ah, I have spotted it. These are equipped with guns,’ I said triumphantly.

  ‘It looks as if they are equipped with two machine guns on the engine cowling. They must be synchronised to fire between the blades of the propeller,’ he added.

  ‘I wonder will we notice the difference when we fly the plane as there will be a lot of extra weight,’ I commented.

  ‘We won’t have to wait long as I expect that we will be flying fairly soon,’ he said as we turned around and headed back to the mess for lunch.

  During the rest of the day, more and more young men arrived at the aerodrome, and by evening there was a full complement of pilots gathered in the mess getting acquainted with one another. It was a bit like being at University as we were all roughly the same age except for a few of the officers who had been in the Luftwaffe for a few years, but even they were not much older than twenty five.

  On the Tuesday, we were all called into the briefing room and were told what was going to happen during the period of bringing the squadron to a level where we could be signed off as a fully operational unit. We had been given six weeks to reach full operational capability.

  It didn’t take us long to realise the level of difficulty of the task facing us. During the afternoon of the first day, we had our first fatality. The Me109’s were much more unstable with the extra weight of the machine guns, and it was considerably harder to maintain control of the aircraft on take-off and landing.

  We were taking off in threes, and the right hand aircraft started to yaw and swing from side to side. The young pilot over compensated and the aircraft slewed off to the right and crashed into a watch tower, bursting into flames. Black smoke enveloped the airfield and the smell of burning fuel and oil was everywhere. The Me109 was totally destroyed, and the pilot killed.

  There was an air of gloom in the mess that evening at dinner and a number of the pilots drowned their sorrows at the bar afterwards to try and get rid of the memory. It was only our first day together as a squadron, and we had already had a fatality.

  The thought going through my head was: How many of this group of enthusiastic and eager pilots would be killed before this period of service was over, and we weren’t even at war yet?

  Before our six weeks training was over, we had lost two more pilots through landing and take-off errors. In fact, the Me109 started to get a poor reputation for its instability when the wheels were down, and we heard of similar accidents from other airfields. My greater upper body strength, from my rowing training, gave me the extra strength I needed to control the plane at the critical moments.

  At the start of March 1939, we were signed off as being fully operational, and the squadron was transferred to an airfield about eleven kilometres from Dresden. On the 15th March, we were woken before dawn and at a briefing told that Germany was invading Czechoslovakia and our role would be assist the land forces by strafing the Czechoslovakian army and their supply lines. Other squadrons would be responsible for putting the opposition planes out of action and neutralising their air force.

  We took off to begin our war, but had a very disappointing time as we couldn’t locate any targets before we had return to base. Refuelled we returned to the theatre of operations, but I still wasn’t able to fire a single shot in anger. We did see our own troops, and I waggled my wings as I swooped in over an armoured column. The troops on the ground were moving fast and weren’t encountering any stiff opposition. It was a very disconsolate group who met later that evening to discuss the events of the day. One pilot was missing from the second mission. He had got lost and run out of fuel; however, he had been seen safely landing his plane in a field, so had survived.

  Czechoslovakia capitulated in a day, so there were no further sorties for our squadron. A week later we were transferred back to our base at Lubeck, and I was able to get home for my first spot of leave to see my family. When I got to my room, there was a letter from Chris sitting on my bed. I lounged back against the pillows and read it.

  Dear Brother,

  Many thanks for your long letter which you sent to me after you heard that you were being called up. I don’t know when you will receive this letter as you will obviously not be living at home and I don’t have any other address for you to send this to.

  It must have been terrible for you to find out that you can’t complete your degree this year, especially as you were so close to the finishing line. You also have no idea when you will be able to do your final six months which must be extremely frustrating. From what I read in the newspapers it looks as if I will be luckier than you and will finish my degree this year. I won’t have to join the RAF until later in the year. I have been selected as a member of the Oxford University eight for this year’s Boat Race to be held in a few weeks’ time, and am spending a lot of my time rowing. Great news as I have trained hard to be selected. I am having difficulty spending a sufficient amount of time at my studies, due to the fact that I also have to put in more hours flying.

  Last September the ‘papers were convinced that there wouldn’t be a war and that Hitler’s aspirations could be controlled. I am afraid that it now appears that the Munich Agreement between Hitler and Chamberlain was a load of hot air, and Hitler is just continuing to grab land from surrounding countries. All the ‘papers here are now saying that Britain and her allies are eventually going to have to go to war against Germany and probably Italy to bring Hitler under control.

  Markus why don’t you come here and live with us and get well away from Germany? I know that you have been called up and are now in the Luftwaffe, and it would be deserting if you left and came to us here, but I am very apprehensive as to what will happen to you. I also don’t want to end up fighting against you. It would be just our luck to confront each other when the RAF fights against the Luftwaffe. Please seriously consider joining us here.

  I will write to you again if I get the chance.

  Your brother

  Chris

  I read the letter again and then just lay back thinking of the difficult situation I was in: I had a father and brother who would be on the other side in any conflict, but they would welcome me with open arms if I could get there. On the other hand I was a German, and I was now a member of the Luftwaffe, something that I had trained towards for many years. I was now committed to the other members of my squadron and couldn’t let them down. I had to put such thoughts out of my mind and focus on becoming an outstanding pilot. My survival depended on it.

  Chapter 16

  One month passed to another as winter turned to summer and there were no further attempts to invade any other countries by Germany. We actually became quite bored with life at our base at Lubeck Blankensee airdrome. Great efforts were being made by the powers that be to conserve fuel, so our flying was limited. We just sat around on the ground.

  All this changed near the end of August when the squadron was transferred to Gatow airport, close to Berlin. There had been a lot of talk in the newspapers about Germany invading Poland in a copycat operation to the invasion of Czechoslovakia. We assumed that our relocation to Berlin indicated that we were going to be involved in a similar role to our previous attack that year, in March. Gatow was normally an airfield used for training pilots, but all the trainees had been sent home, and the facilities placed at the disposal of the two squadrons who had been relocated there.

  On the 1st S
eptember we were woken up at 5:00 am to be greeted by the staccato sound of extremely heavy rain battering the tin roofs of our billet. A gale accompanied the rain. Not a day particularly suitable for flying. We were all called to a briefing where the Kommandant addressed us.

  ‘I want to inform you that German armed forces are attacking Poland this morning, and you are supposed to have a supporting role in the invasion.’ You could have heard a pin drop in the room, and there were a lot of worried looking faces among the gathered pilots.

  ‘Unfortunately, as you can see for yourselves, the weather is too bad at the moment for you to get airborne; however, you will be required to remain in a state of readiness until instructed to the contrary. As soon as there is any let up in the weather, you will take off. Is that clear?’

  We were already wearing our flying suits and had all our other gear with us, so we just stayed where we were to wait for any easing of the storm. The leader of our particular squadron, Major von Stanstedt, called us together to talk to us.

  ‘Right guys you have heard what the Kommandant said at the meeting and the fact that we are going into action as soon as the weather eases. I want to emphasise to you that Poland has a well-trained air force, with good planes, and they can be expected to resist,’ he said.

  ‘Are we going to be going after their air force,’ one of the younger pilots asked.

  ‘No, our role is to support the ground troops by strafing the enemies supply lines and also by firing on any enemy troops that we come across. Other squadrons of Stukas and fighters have been allocated to wipe out the enemies planes and to bomb their airports. Please remember that you can expect to be attacked until their planes have been knocked out. Keep your eyes open and stay in your formations.’

  The Major then displayed a map on an easel and showed us where our operational area would be, and he told us what we could expect to see in the countryside below. He also told us how long we would have to carry out our mission once we got there as we obviously had to have enough fuel to get home.

  I then had to endure a day of extreme anxiousness as we sat around in full flying gear for the rest of the day listening to the storm raging outside. Finally, at 5:00 pm, we were stood down and allowed to go to our quarters.

  The following morning we were roused about an hour before dawn to find that the weather had improved considerably, and we would be able to fly. As dawn rose in the eastern sky, the engines roared and we took off heading for Poland. As we crossed the border, the action started. We were attacked by a group of Polish pilots in their PZL P11 fighters who had obviously been waiting for us. They ran rings around us as we struggled to come to grips with our first dog fight. We dispersed in a bid to survive which is exactly what we shouldn’t have done.

  I got involved in my own fight for survival when a Polish pilot latched on to me. My mind went back to the lessons I had learnt from my instructor when I had learnt how to fly in Lubeck. He had been an experienced pilot from the Spanish Civil War, and, although it wasn’t included in his brief, he had taught me the tricks of the trade. One thing that he had emphasised was always to remain calm and in control. I mustn’t panic. My Me109 outperformed his plane in the turns and climbing, and I managed to get underneath him, train my sights on his fuselage, and push the button. I had my first victim. Much to my relief I saw him force his canopy open and parachute out, so at least I hadn’t killed him. I headed for home as I had used up a lot of fuel in the dog fight.

  Having left Berlin Gatow airfield full of confidence that morning, a very sorry and bruised squadron limped back. Three of my colleagues didn’t return, and one of those missing was Major von Stanstedt. Another pilot had been seriously injured when his plane was riddled with machine gun fire, but he had managed to fly his damaged plane back to base and land it safely. Luckily he survived.

  There were no more sorties that day as the senior officers came to terms with the losses. We weren’t the only squadron to have been badly mauled, and, the Polish air force, had turned out to be a worthy foe. Prior to leaving that morning we had been told that most of their planes had been destroyed by Stuka bombing of their airfields. It appeared that the Poles had managed to move their planes and conceal them elsewhere.

  That evening I was called in by the Kommandant and received some good news. I had been promoted to be Oberleutnant as part of the restructuring resulting from the death of the Major.

  The campaign in Poland lasted for a further twenty one days, and we tragically continued to lose men and machines. Gradually we got the upper hand over the Polish air force, largely due to the work of the army on the ground and their capture of the enemy’s airfields. As the army progressed, the Poles gradually ran out of places to refuel and fly from. By the time the mini-war was over, we had lost nine men out of the twenty eight who had originally arrived at Gatow, and it was a very weary, but a much wiser squadron that returned to Lubeck at the end of September. A lot of lessons had been learnt the hard way.

  ‘You look exhausted Markus,’ my mother said to me, when I dropped into the bakery to see her on my return. ‘You look as if you haven’t slept for a week.’

  ‘It’s been an extremely tough time for the squadron, and we didn’t get any rest for the entire month we were away,’ I replied. ‘We also lost nine of our squadron and they were all friends of mine.’

  ‘That’s terrible Markus; you wouldn’t have expected all those deaths after what happened in Czechoslovakia.’

  ‘The Poles fought back and resisted with everything that they had. Their pilots were highly skilled and matched us despite having inferior aircraft.’

  ‘How long are you home for?’ she asked me.

  ‘I have a week off to recover as they are re-supplying us with planes and new pilots.’

  ‘Why don’t you go to Kiel and see Susie? I’m sure she would love to see you.’

  ‘I might just do that. First I am going to go home and catch up on my sleep.’

  I left my mother in the bakery and went home to unwind and enjoy a lot of ‘anxious free’ sleep.

  As a result of the invasion of Poland, France and England had declared war on Germany. What people were calling, The Second World War had commenced. The only good news was that Hitler and Stalin had signed a non-aggression pact in August, and they were now dividing up Poland between them.

  While I had been in Berlin and involved in the operations in Poland I hadn’t had much time to consider the implications of the declaration of war on my life, but my week’s leave gave me plenty of time to think. I obviously couldn’t write to Chris as the borders were now closed and there was no mail service to Yorkshire. Presumably, now that war was declared, he had been called up to fly Hurricanes in the RAF.

  I was able to get hold of Susie and travelled to Kiel by train to see her. She was working in the offices associated with the docks but could see me in the evening

  ‘You’re looking so tired Markus,’ she said when I arrived at her house.

  ‘That’s a lovely way to greet me Susie,’ I replied, not impressed with her opening remark.

  ‘Sorry, come in while I get my coat, I presume that you want to go for a drink in the city.’

  ‘I actually have some money so we can have a meal at a restaurant. I am no longer a penniless student.’ I said with some pride.

  She got her coat, and we walked into the city and found a restaurant that was open. A lot of places seemed to have closed even though Kiel was now packed with service personnel.

  ‘How has it been Markus,’ she asked me after our order had been taken

  ‘It’s been very difficult. Our squadron lost nine men fighting in Poland, and I knew them all exceptionally well. We were told that we would meet no opposition, but we had to deal with the entire Polish air force. They were very competent fliers, and we suffered.’

  ‘I thought that you had the best plane
s, and it would have been easy for you,’ she added.

  ‘Our equipment was a lot better than theirs, and we had superior numbers, but they still did a lot of damage. They were remarkably brave and defended their country with great passion,’ I said with a lot of feeling.

  ‘You sound depressed Markus,’ Susie said, putting an arm around me.

  ‘The biggest problem is that I can’t sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night with my brain racing as if I am the middle of a dog fight. I am actually scared of what I am involved in, and there is no end in sight.’

  ‘Have you any idea what is going to happen now that war has been declared by England and France?’ she asked me.

  ‘We are being supplied with new planes and also have replacement pilots joining us, so we are going to have to work up to full operational capability before we take on anybody else. I don’t think that England or France will attack us as they are not really ready’

  ‘I hope that you get some rest and are able to sleep Markus. This war really is terrible, and there now seems to be no end in sight. I hate to think what will happen next.’

  We finished our meal and had a couple more drinks before I walked her home. Her father had returned by the time we got back and we sat up talking until quite late. The following morning Susie went off to work, and I went to the train station to take the train back to Lubeck.

  The rest of my leave was uneventful, and I was able to relax. By the time I returned to the squadron I was also sleeping a lot better.

  Chapter 17

  That was my last leave during the year 1939. There were all sorts of rumours as to what was going to happen next and obviously we were looking to the West for the next phase of Germany’s break out. The airfield and facilities at Lubeck were expanded, and, by the end of the year, a second squadron was located there. It was a particularly harsh winter which limited the number of days that we were able to operate. In addition, our flying hours were severely curtailed on the days when it was suitable to fly, to conserve fuel. The available fuel was used for training flights for the new pilots and to develop better tactics. After the debacle in Poland, it was decided that improved tactics were required to protect the pilots and aircraft. As an Oberleutnant, I was a member of the group who was responsible for developing the tactics and for training the pilots which meant I got more flying time than most.