Your initial impression is mistaken. This is perfectly normal behavior.
As the 501st establishes itself in Romagna and begins training as a unit, it becomes clear that Perrine, Yoshika and Lynne are in no way ready for combat, having taken 6 months off. Sakamoto sends them away to a remote island on the Adriatic Coast for some intensive training, where they learn to fly on actual brooms. This is rather difficult for them, as they are used to controlling strikers, and there is much misadventure and innuendo to be had by all. As it turns out, Perrine is extremely sensitive. They find out that Sakamoto herself trained there and had a significantly worse time of it. Perrine becomes emotionally attached to her Broom when she finds out it was the one Sakamoto trained on. After several days, a Neuroi flies over their position and they destroy it using the power of teamwork and armor piercing incendiary rounds.
| << 02: "The Legendary Witches" | ^^ Strike Witches 2 ^^ | 04: "Harder, Faster, Greater" >> |
|---|
References[]
| Neuroi -- The Neuroi design in this episode seem to be influenced by the Kalinin K-7 (Russian: Калинин К-7): a heavy experimental aircraft designed and tested in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s. The K-7 was of unusual configuration with twin booms and large underwing pods housing fixed landing gear and machine gun turrets. In the passenger version, seats were arranged inside the 2.3 meter (7 ft 7 in) thick wings. The airframe was welded from KhMA chrome-molybdenum steel. The original design called for six engines in the wing leading edge but when the projected loaded weight was exceeded, two more engines were added to the trailing edges of each wing, one right and one left of the central passenger pod. However V. Nemecek states in his book, The History of Soviet Aircraft from 1918, that there was only one further pusher engine added. Designed by World War I Aviator Konstantin Kalinin with a wingspan greater than a B-52's and a much greater wing area, the K-7 was one of the biggest aircraft built before the jet age. It was only one engine short of the B-52 as well, having the curious arrangement of six pulling on the wing leading edge and one pushing at the rear. ALTERNATIVELY: The Blohm & Voss BV 138 Seedrache (Sea Dragon, but nicknamed Der Fliegende Holzschuh ("flying clog"), from the side-view shape of its fuselage) was a World War II German flying boat that functioned as the Luftwaffe's main long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. A total of 297 BV 138s were built between 1938 and 1943. The aircraft was unusually powered by three engines, with one mounted high above the centerline driving a four-blade propeller, and one on each wing driving three-blade propellers. Unusual were the aircraft's twin boom tail unit, and gun turrets at the bow and the stern of the fuselage, as well as behind the central engine. These features together produced the aircraft's ungainly appearance. OR: Any WWII twin boomed aircraft, such as the P-38 Lightning. Take your pick. |
  Neuroi |
| 504th Base -- The 504th Base is modeled after the training grounds portrayed in the OVA. |   Left, OVA Training Grounds; Right, 504th Base |
| GMC CCKW -- The GMC CCKW is a 2½ ton 6X6 U.S. Army cargo truck that saw service in World War II, often referred to as a "Deuce and a Half". The CCKW came in many variants, the simplest being open or closed cab, and Long Wheel Base (LWB) or Short Wheel Base (SWB). The designation CCKW comes from model nomenclature used by GMC; the first C indicated a vehicle designed in 1941, the second C signified a conventional cab, the K indicated all-wheel drive and the W indicated dual powered rear axles. The term "Deuce and a Half" is apparently a post war term that was generally applied to all 2½ ton cargo trucks. Drivers also affectionately referred to them as "Jimmys". |   GMC CCKW |
| << 02: "The Legendary Witches" | ^^ Strike Witches 2 ^^ | 04: "Harder, Faster, Greater" >> |
|---|
Gallery[]
