Just give me a number
Instead of a name
Forget all about me and let me decay
A week later, things were going well. Hogan had arrived at the facility and met with the base commander. No one questioned who he was. He'd settled into his quarters, had a tour of the hangers and buildings, and met with the test pilots and ground crews. On the ground, he was Oberst von Richter, Luftwaffe Flying Ace, Hero of the Fatherland. In the sky, he was Blue Leader 1. It was amazing how quickly he adjusted back into the role of squadron commander. It wasn't all that different from commanding the 504th in England on the surface, although on a much smaller scale; however he didn't allow himself to become friendly with any of the men under his command. None of them would become one of 'his boys'. That was ok as the Germans seemed to prefer a more detached command style. He could overlook the uniforms and speaking German all the time was becoming natural but he still couldn't stomach the 'Heil Hitler' and had to remember to throw it in occasionally with the salute. He had a briefing with the airplane designers and went through the blue prints and design specifications. He didn't have copies for London yet, but he now knew where they were stored for when the time was right. He'd even managed a pre-test flight to get a feel for the craft before the official tests.
That had been a joy. Soaring high above the ground, the lush green country side rolling past below, it was easy to forget the war going on and the dangerous mission he was on. Being in a Luftwaffe plane, he could fly over Germany in broad daylight without worrying that someone would try to shoot him down. He flew over the red-tile roofed housesin the villages and the lush green forests surrounding Coburg and gradually went farther afield. Before he realized it, he was over Hammelburg and Stalag 13, circling, doing a little reconnaissance and trying to catch a glimpse of his team. He had dipped his wings when he flew over the camp in a salute, even knowing the gesture would be snubbed by the POWs and cheered by the guards as the plane with the large swastikas on the sides went by. He hoped the guys had managed to keep the operation continuing despite his current assignment. Had London sent a replacement for him? He'd been away from camp for almost a month now.
Hogan had reviewed the testing schedule with the base commander and project leader at the end of last week. There were 5 prototypes. Each plane had a 2 man crew with a pilot and co-pilot/gunner. The planes were to serve as escort and protector of bomber wings, having been designed to be agile in the air, fast, and be able to out-maneuver the Allied fighter planes. Over the past couple of days, the planes had been running through a series of tests designed to find the limits of the new aircraft. Hogan had been impressed. The new planes were even better in the air then they had seemed on paper, which had him extremely worried for the Allied Air Forces. He had already sent a preliminary report to Berlin, one full of lies about fuel inefficiency, lack-luster performance in the air, and minor defects exaggerated into major design flaws. Having full access to the base, he'd also managed to throw in a little sabotage without arousing suspicion, to emphasize the faults in his report.
Knowing that test flights and war-game simulations were scheduled for every day the next week, Hogan decided to make his move on getting the schematics. That night, Hogan managed to bypass security once again and fill several rolls of film with pictures of plane and engine diagrams. These he secured inside his flak jacket so that he would have them with him if the opportunity to bail out during a simulation presented itself. Once on the ground, he could contact the Underground and get the film to London. It also bought him extra security in case his belongings on base were ever searched while he was in the air.
The next day found Hogan participating in war-games, his super squadron vs. a regular Luftwaffe Messerschmitt squad. 'Von Richter' was an Ace in the air, swooping, diving, and engaging the Luftwaffe like they were the true enemy. Scoring several 'kills', the adrenalin rush filled Hogan with satisfaction and a brief feeling of revenge against those who had shot him down 18 months ago. It was healing in a way, being able to finally fight back without having the taking of more lives to add to his conscience.