August 16th, 1941
So this was the front. I arrived at JG111's airfield a few hours ago, at 7 PM, to be exact. I received my aircraft aswell, a BF109E-7. It isn't the latest of aircraft, but it should do. My callsign is Black 10. I am now officially part of the 3rd Staffel of JG111 (3./I./JG111). I look forward to my first combat mission.
August 17th, 1941
Today i flew my first mission. My wingman, Hans Mey was also the Staffelführer. We were flying patrol around the airfield. After about 15 minutes of flying, we spotted 4 IL2s. One of the other new pilots, ignoring Mey's orders to stay back, dived down at once onto the IL2s. Me and another new pilot, also followed him down. A foolish decision I must say. As we dived down, Mey ordered us back immediately. Me, being too disciplined to ignore orders, started climbing back up. As i climbed back up to Mey's altitude, I realised that the other 2 pilots ignored his orders and engaged the IL2s. One of the pilots hit a lucky shot on one of the IL2's engine. The damaged IL2 started plunging to the ground and, after awhile, crashed. The 2 pilots made it back safely, but both of the aircraft were damaged by either debris or enemy fire.
When we landed, Mey immediately pulled the 3 of us out of our BF109s. He grounded the 3 of us, me for 3 days, and the other 2 for 5 days. It had been quite the first mission.
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Diary of a Luftwaffe Pilot
Historical FictionJoin Joachim Sturm, a young luftwaffe pilot, in his journey across the Eastern Front and Germany.
