It’s spring 1944. In the skies above the oil fields of Romania.
It’s a strategic location which supplies some 60% of the Reich’s crude oil and is vital to Axis logistics.
Which is why today the allies have the oil fields in their sights.
American B-17s and P-51s are en route
to strike a blow and take out the oil supply.
Swarms of B-17 bombers are incoming.
But they’re not alone.
The flying fortresses are being escorted by squadrons of P-51 Mustangs
– The Cadillac of the Sky.
It’s an epic force…
But they’re not expecting an easy ride.
Inside the mustangs the cry of "bandits" goes up
and swarms of BF-109s are spotted. The battle is on.
The P-51s desperately try to protect the slower B-17s and a bitter dogfight ensues.
One of the P-51s is about to score a kill on a 109
when from behind a German fighter appears and opens up with cannon fire from just 100 yards.
The Mustang doesn’t stand a chance.
It falls apart in an epic explosion leaving a trail of smoke on its way down
as its final flight ends.
The 109 - victorious, with its red heart on the side
doesn’t stop for self-congratulation
and its pilot immediately targets and trails another P-51
strafing it with machine gun and cannon fire.
A second American plane is sent in flames to the ground.
This particular pilot’s skill is recognized by the Americans
and eight Mustangs team up to scream around him, shooting constantly.
But the German amazingly is evading most of the fire with superb manoeuvres and hard turns.
But being chased in a hard battle drinks fuel at an alarming rate.
Inside the cockpit of the 109 a red warning light has been flashing for some time now:
fuel is running out.
The German pilot knows he won’t make it back to base
and continues until the last moment.
As the engine starts to splutter he makes a decision to bail out.
His parachute opens violently and then he floats gently towards the ground.
One of the Mustangs comes around for what looks like an attack run on the falling pilot.
Instead the American flashes past saluting the German.
The code of conduct amongst the knights of the air isn’t dead.
The man on the receiving end of the salute is Erich Hartmann
the deadliest fighter pilot of all time with 352 confirmed victories.
Hartmann scored most of his victories fighting the Soviet aircraft on the Eastern front.
On one memorable occasion in 1944 he flew two consecutive missions
during which he downed 11 enemy aircraft!
Flying in an almost constant state of numerical inferiority
dodging bursts from Yak fighters and Soviet flak
Hartmann had many brushes with death
but the closest he got was when he was almost killed by a fellow German.
The Soviets are advancing towards the base of Erich’s unit - JG 52.
His commanding officer orders Lieutenant Hartmann and seven other pilots to take to the skies
and clear the air of enemy fighter-bombers.
The squadron takes off and Hartmann soon sights 40 Stormovik bombers
escorted by 40 Yak-9 and Lagg-5 fighters.
Erich leads his squadron, plunging from above like falcons onto their prey.
The BF-109s slice through the enemy fighters, firing burst after burst of machine gun fire.
Hartmann then moves on to attacking the Stormoviks.
His modus operandi is to approach the target from behind and slightly beneath its tail.
Then when the plane fills his windscreen
Erich squeezes the trigger.
One short burst and the Soviet bomber explodes.
The ace then banks away sharply and flies even closer to the second catch of the day.
Another hail of bullets and this Stormovik too, flashes into flames.
But then a series of bangs startles Hartmann.
He has not been hit, but his engine is failing and it’s spewing off smoke.
While he still has control of the fighter
the pilot decides to crash land onto a field of sunflowers.
Erich takes his time to exit the plane
reassured by the sight of a German truck approaching.
The problem is
it’s a captured vehicle
and the two soldiers inside bear a Red Star on their caps.
He knows he will be taken prisoner
but they will have to sweat for it.
As the Soviets approach, he feigns injury
and the two have to load him onto a stretcher and then onto the bed of the truck.
As the vehicle drives behind Soviet lines, the soldiers are distracted by the sound of Stuka dive-bombers.
It’s now or never.
The apparently wounded pilot springs to his feet and knocks the guard to the ground
then jumps off the truck and sprints away.
Walking in the darkness Eric is startled when a voice booms out:
“Halt!”
Before Erich can identify himself
the German sentry fires with his Mauser and a bullet tears through Erich’s trousers!
Luckily, the round misses his leg.
Before the nervous sentry reloads Hartmann shouts:
"I’m a German pilot who has been shot down!
For God’s sake, let me come through.”
The Soviets had removed all identification from his pockets
and the suspicious German sentries march the flying ace to a foxhole at gunpoint.
After a tense night and several interrogations
Erich Hartmann is escorted back to headquarters.
He claimed his 352nd victory on the 8th of May 1945
a Soviet Yak fighter shot down over Brno.
Later that day after long and brutal 6 years
the war in Europe ended
Hartmann and the JG-52 unit were ordered to surrender to the Americans
and they surrendered themselves to the US 90th Infantry Division.
However Erich and the other pilots of JG-52 were handed over to the Soviets
who had not forgotten the pain inflicted by the ace upon the Soviet Union.
Erich was convicted by the Soviets as a war criminal and sentenced to 25 years in a POW and forced labour camps.
It was a brutal sentence, but one the Soviets considered fully justified
given the devastation the German war machine had wreaked upon the Soviet people.
The end of captivity came when the Soviets wanted a trade agreement with the West
especially West Germany. And part of this deal was the release of all POWs.
Hartmann returned to West Germany in 1955.
After returning he continued to serve in the Air Force
retiring in 1970 with the rank of Colonel.
He would continue to fly and would join his old air eagles with fly-ins
and naturally he became a flying instructor.
Erich Hartmann, the deadliest fighter ace of all time
took his last flight on the 20th of September 1993.
In 1997 the Russian Federation posthumously quashed all the charges made on him by the Soviet Union.
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