Perrine stares a potential court-martial strait in the face
It is early morning at the Strike Witches' base in Romagna. Sanya flies back, tired after a long night patrolling the frontier (this scene was likely reused from episode 7 of season 1, with some alteration). She stumbles into her shared room and onto Eila's bed as the other witches are asleep, aside from Mio, and Lucchini. Mio is training with her sword, Lucchini is collecting beetles. She eventually finds one that is brightly colored, red and black, and only has four legs. rather than reflect on the lack of legs, she celebrates her find, and brings it back into the base. She soon has other things to think about. It turns out that the maintenance group has just completed the Witches' bath, and it will be ready at noon. Until then, Lucchini, Eila, Perrine, Yoshika and Lynne have to train, running around the base. After sending them off, Minna, showing visible fatigue, is invited to try out the bath by Mio. It emerges that Minna has 199 victories, one away from a new award.
After the girls finish running they go take a bath. Lynne has apparently gone up a cup size, according to careful analysis on the part of Eila. They finish bathing, and get dressed. This is where things begin to go wrong. The strange bug Lucchini caught had escaped earlier, caused a power outage, and hid itself in Lynne's pants. After she puts them on, it begins to crawl around, to her immense embarrassment and discomfort, requiring her to remove them. It flies off, assaulting both Eila and Perrine in a similar fashion. Then it makes its escape. Meanwhile, Trude is trying fruitlessly to wake up her roommate, gradually losing her temper as more and more of Erica's junk falls over the barricade that Trude lovingly refers to as the Siegfried Line.
Things begin to get a little out of hand. Trude tries to shrug off her own experience of Neuroi reconnaissance, and the withering smack from a suddenly fully awake Erica, who attempted to dispatch the intruder. The bug flies off, only to invade Yoshika's personal space. Then, Shirley arrives with a tracking device that can sense the bug. After a brief chase scene, Yoshika falls into Shirley's bosom, and the bug shorts out the tracking device. Eila retrieves a set of dowsing rods form her room, and in doing so, invokes Sanya's wrath (or mild irritation). One thing leads to another, and Perrine gets shot in the rump with a scoped fire hose while Barkhorn and Hartmann scramble to intercept a large decoy Neuroi, flying without their pants to make sure the bug does not follow them. Then, Minna is finally attacked as she is getting out of the bath. She crushes the Neuroi bug with her buns of steel, earning her 200th victory in the process.
| << 06: "Higher than the Sky" | ^^ Strike Witches 2 ^^ | 08: "Please Grant Me Wings" >> |
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References[]
| Siegfried Line -- The original Siegfried line (German: Siegfriedstellung) was a line of defensive forts and tank defenses built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I. However, in English, Siegfried line more commonly refers to the similar World War II defensive line, built during the 1930s, opposite the French Maginot Line, which served a corresponding purpose. The Germans themselves called this the Westwall, but the Allies renamed it after the First World War line. The Siegfried Line was a defense system stretching more than 630 km (390 mi) with more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps. It went from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western border of the old German Empire as far as the town of Weil am Rhein on the border to Switzerland. More with propaganda in mind than for any strategic reason, Adolf Hitler planned the line from 1936 and had it built between 1938 and 1940. This was after the Nazis had broken the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties by remilitarizing the Rhineland in 1936. |  Don't cross Trude's Siegfried Line. |
| Pocketwatch -- A pocketwatch used by the Japanese Navy during WWII. Can also be seen in episode 5 of the first season. |  Pocketwatch |
| Bug Detector -- Shirley's “Bug Detector” completes the pun that the Neuroi bug is actually an observation/spy device of sorts, also known as a “bug.” A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and in police investigations. |   That bug is a Spy! |
| PU Scope -- First introduced in a slightly different model for the M1938 and then M1940 Tokarev (SVT) rifles, the PU in its final form, as found on the M91/30 Mosin Nagant, measures 6-5/8th inches long and has a 30mm tube. It had an eye relief of approximately 70mm and the field of view is 4 degrees, 30 minutes. The PU telescopic sight, along with the longer 4 power PE, was the principal optical device used throughout WWII by Soviet forces. A simple design, it lasted in front line use right through the 1960s and can still be found in use in several third world nations. The recent influx of Soviet paraphernalia has brought many of these sights into the world market. These scopes are typically in excellent condition and make a nice conversation piece for any collection. |   Moist Nugget scope |
| Bell X-22 -- The Bell X-22 was a United States V/STOL X-plane with four tilting ducted fans. Take-off was to selectively occur either with the propellers tilted vertically upwards, or on a short runway with the nacelles tilted forward at approximately 45°. Additionally, the X-22 was to provide more insight into the tactical application of vertical take-off troop transporters such as the preceding Hiller X-18 and the X-22 successor, the Bell XV-15. Another program requirement was a true airspeed in level flight of at least 525 km/h (326 mph; 283 knots). Three-blade propellers were mounted on four wings and, synchronized through a wave-interconnection system, were connected to four gas turbines which themselves were mounted in pairs on the rear wings. Maneuvering was achieved by tilting the propeller blades in combination with control surfaces (elevators & ailerons), which were located in the thrust stream of the propellers. |   Neuroi Bell X-22 |
| Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross With Oak Leaves and Swords -- Minna was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross With Oak Leaves and Swords for her 200th kill. “Wir Wilhelm, von Gottes Gnaden, ...” translated to “Us Wilhelm, by the grace of God, ...” was the original phrase on the award certificate, but it has been changed to something that roughly means something about “the protection of our ancestors.” The eagle in the upper left is the original Reichsadler of the Kaiserreich (2nd Reich). The signature is of Frederick the Great (Friedrich der Große aka der Alte Fritz/ Old Fritz, 1712–1786). While the signature is that of Old Fritz, it would actually be Friedrich IV who was Kaiser at the time of the episode. The "F" in the center of the KC is a sign that the award was introduced or reinstituted by Friedrich himself, which means that the date that shows the year where the award was introduced could be 1743, although it's a bit hard to read. (the real Iron Cross was introduced by Friedrich Wilhelm III in 1813 during the Wars of Liberation.) Notable real life recipients of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords are Adolf Galland (Adolfine Galland), Gerhard Barkhorn (Gertrud Barkhorn), Erich Hartmann (Erica Hartmann), and Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer (Heidemarie W. Schnaufer, mentioned by Sanya in the Hime Uta). |   Kight's Cross of the Iron Cross With Oak Leaves and Swords |
| << 06: "Higher than the Sky" | ^^ Strike Witches 2 ^^ | 08: "Please Grant Me Wings" >> |
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