Before I was able to think of the first test flights, I received the news that Reichsmarschall Goring wished to see the aircraft at Oranienburg near Berlin, and I was to fly it there the next day. The morning arrived with snow and low clouds
reaching down to the tree tops in some areas and I wanted to decide from what I
could see myself whether or not it was possible to fly. I finally got my way and was
cleared for Oranienburg by the air-traffic control, but the weather was really very
bad and I had a hard time with the fast and sensitive aircraft not to lose sight of the
railway line to Neustrelitz which I was following to start with. There was no other
way of getting to Oranienburg in this poor visibility. Before I had reached
Neustrelitz where I had to ‘change’ to the railway line to Berlin, I plunged into the
cloud layer reaching down to the trees in several places. I really would have liked
to get through to Oranienburg, but at last reason prevailed; it would have been
irresponsible to go on under the circumstances. The inspection had to take place
without the Yak, I could not help it. I started looking for a piece of land without
woods and low cloud cover in order to get my machine on opposite course. It did go
off well, as often practiced, but I had the impression that on this flight at least I had
reached the limits of what one could risk; after all, this was only my third flight
with the sensitive Russian bird! I found my way back to Rechlin all right and after
a 25-minute flight landed on the airfield. All flying operations had already been
suspended for ‘lack of weather’ and my colleagues were surprised to see a lonely
fighter still hanging around in the air. However, soon afterwards the meteorologists
held out hopes to me again. Not only did they forecast that the weather would
improve - it could not get worse, anyway - but they said that this would happen
very soon, and I had my Russian bird refueled in order to be prepared just in case.
Two hours later I had another go and got through to Oranienburg.
The inspection had started already, and everyone was pleased that my
attractive aircraft was now available as well. I put on my best service uniform with
holstered pistol on the belt, took on a generally more military air and planted
myself beside the Yak-3.
I thought it quite interesting to witness this to-do for once. Soon the swarm
around the marshal drew nearer. I saluted smartly, as I had learnt during my military
training but rarely needed to as Fliegerhauptingenieur, and made my report. Goring
looked at me in a kindly way with his blue eyes. Everything seemed a bit theatrical.
I noticed his hectically flushed cheeks and his soft Russian leather boots of the same
colour. My reply to his questions regarding the Yak-3 was that performance
measurement tests had not been made yet, but due to the extremely light weight of
the aircraft combined with the high aerodynamic quality and available engine
power, excellent climb and superior low-level dog-fighting performance might be
expected compared to our Bf 109 and FW 190 fighters. All this was based on simple
physical laws, which were obvious to anybody with the slightest technical
background; also, one could not overlook that the aerodynamic design of the Yak
was excellent. I said as much but I could not fail to notice that the inferiority of the
aircraft above medium altitudes as a result of the poor altitude performance of its
engine fitted the bill somewhat better. It was all a bit odd, being there and
accounting to the highly praised and, a little later all the more abused Reichs-
marschall Hermann Goring about the latest Soviet fighter which I had just flown,
Apparently, they did not intend to go into any technical details. It was clear to me
that Goring’s rights were already curtailed at that time and that he was being
bypassed. I certainly did not want to be in his shoes.
And so the swarm of people, whose individual faces now escape my memory,
marched on. Sic transit gloria mundi. As by then it was too late to fly home I sat down in the mess with a few pals from ‘Zirkus Rosarius’ and passed the time in friendly discussions. Apart from their ‘organising’ of captured aircraft for their own purposes before we could test them, we got on quite well with one another. I was able to promise them that they could have the La-5FN as soon as the test flights were completed. When I returned to Rechlin with the Yak the following day, I felt at home in it already. It was then that I really appreciated how pleasant it was to fly this fighter in good weather conditions.
Our work at Rechlin became more and more difficult and hopeless as the military situation deteriorated. Many colleagues had already been taken away and impressed into paratroop or infantry units by a specially appointed general nicknamed the ‘hero pincher’ (in analogy to a black goblin called the ‘coal pincher’ which had been invented for the purpose of reminding people to save fuel during the war). Only the most urgent test- and evaluation programmes could still be carried through because fuel was getting scarcer, too. In addition to the still outstanding flights with captured aircraft I also participated in the work on the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, about which more later. The performance evaluation tests with the Soviet fighters presented some problems in so far as they were mainly high-altitude flights which could only be made in good weather, rare in January. And on the few days when the weather was suitable the sky over Germany was crowded with many strange aircraft which rendered performance measurement flights, particularly with captured aircraft, impossible. It also happened, of course, that on days which would have permitted flying activities, take-offs had to be cancelled as a result of minor defects in the aircraft.
Despite the depressing situation our work schedule remained quite full. Thus, time and again pilots were wanted to carry out important measurement flights with new German aircraft and I participated in making speed-course flights with the Bf 109K, although my main flying activity was concerned with captured aircraft. In addition to the first measuring flights with the Yak-3 there was one more scheduled evaluation flight with the La-5FN still outstanding, after which I ferried it to ‘Zircus R’ at Oranienburg.
Another new aircraft type was already waiting there to be tested, the Hawker Tempest, and I took it back to Rechlin. For this ferry flight I again had the choice between bad weather and air raids, and I had to make the best of it. It was urgent, as usual, and I had little time to familiarize myself with the instruments, control levers and switches in the cockpit. To be on the safe side, I made a trial take-off in this fighter which had the reputation of being a very fast aircraft. So much so in fact that it had got around that with the Tempest it was possible to shoot down, or at least to intercept and cause premature crashing of the V-1 flying bomb, The flight promised to be interesting!
I settled myself in the cockpit, primed the engine, and the 24 cylinders roared into life. I was pleased to note that the big Sabre was running smoothly and to see that all the other devices and instruments appeared to be in good order. During the first few take-offs with aeroplanes unknown to me I was, of course, on the look-out for any tendency to swing or an untimely lift-off. The Tempest was a remarkable aircraft also regarding its flying characteristics. I felt really good in its cockpit, and as I was flying over open country I could not resist the temptation of pushing the throttle lever all the way forward to see what the fighter was capable of.