A new, powerful Striker Unit arrives. Designed in Karlsland and built in Neue Karlsland, the jet striker is faster and more powerful than anything in the 501st's arsenal. After a brief but heated debate, Trude decides that she will be the one to fly it. However, this Striker uses her magic energy in an uncontrolled manner, and Trude finds herself sapped of all energy. Things take a turn for the worse after a race with Shirley when she crashes into the Adriatic Sea. Minna decides the striker is too dangerous, and grounds Trude, confining her to her room, which she shares with Erica. There is a Neuroi attack. The Neuroi is too fast for the 501st, and Trude violates orders and scrambles, knocking out the Neuroi but losing consciousness and flying out of control. Shirley saves Trude, Trude is subsequently punished, but not before getting the sweetest reward the 501st has to offer.
Ursula Hartmann graces the 501st with her cuteness as she stops by the base to pick up what is left of the prototype.
| << 03: "What We Can Do Together" | ^^ Strike Witches 2 ^^ | 05: "My Romagna" >> |
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References[]
| Me 262 V1 -- The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe ("Swallow") was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II opened, but engine problems meant the aircraft did not reach operational status until the summer of 1944. Compared with Allied fighters of its day, including the Gloster Meteor which entered service a little earlier, it was much faster and packed a much heavier punch. In combat, when properly flown, it proved to be essentially untouchable, able to outrun its Allied counterparts by as much as 100 mph. The Me 262 claimed a total of 509 Allied kills (although higher claims are sometimes made) against the loss of about 100 Me 262s. As the only aircraft in Luftwaffe service able to operate safely at that point in the war, the design was pressed into a variety of roles, including light bomber, reconnaissance and even experimental night fighter versions. Since Trude is carrying the BK 5, the specific model being referenced is the Me-262-1aU4. As the striker unit runs on magic power, the shock diamonds appear as disks similar with the rune shields used by the witches. |  Me 262  Magic makes pretty things prettier |
| Trude as a jet fighter pilot -- In early 1945 Barkhorn was invited by Adolf Galland to join the elite Jagdverband 44 (JV 44) flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet-fighter. He found flying the Me 262 over the western front difficult, and he did not score any victories in it. |  Trude as a jet fighter pilot |
| Mk 108 30mm Machine Gun -- The MK 108 (German: Maschinenkanone—"machine cannon") was a 30 mm caliber autocannon manufactured in Germany during World War II by Rheinmetall-Borsig for use in aircraft. The weapon was developed as a private venture by the company in 1940 and was submitted to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM—Reich Aviation Ministry) in response to a 1942 requirement for a heavy aircraft weapon for use against the Allied bombers appearing en masse in German skies by then. Testing verified that the autocannon was well-suited to this role, requiring on average just four hits with high-explosive ammunition to bring down a heavy bomber such as a B-17 Flying Fortress or B-24 Liberator and a single hit to down a fighter. In comparison, the otherwise excellent 20 mm MG 151/20 required an average of 25 hits to down a B-17. The MK 108 was quickly ordered into production and was installed in a variety of Luftwaffe fighter aircraft. It saw first operational service in late autumn 1943 with the Bf 110G-2 bomber destroyers and in the Bf 109G-6/U4. Rheinmetall BK-5, 50 mm cannon -- The Bordkanone 5, or BK 5 for short, was a 50 mm autocannon intended primarily for use against Allied heavy bombers, especially the USAAF's combat box heavy bomber flight formations, so that defending Luftwaffe fighter aircraft could fire from a great enough distance to make the USAAF bomber's heavy defensive firepower ineffective against defending German fighter aircraft. Rheinmetall was given a contract in 1943 to adapt the 50 mm KwK 39 tank gun, from the Panzer III tank, for aerial use in the twin-engined Me 410 Hornisse bomber destroyer. They were installed as Umrüst-Bausätze (Factory Modification) 4 in the Me 410A-1/U4, and experimentally, in two Me 262A-1a/U4 jet fighter prototypes (though these were not used operationally), as the MK 214 cannon of similar caliber was not yet available. The semi-circular magazine held 22 rounds. |
  Trude with the full array of weapons her new striker has to offer |
| Barrage Balloon -- A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level attack by aircraft by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up against the aircraft to ensure its destruction. Barrage balloons were regularly employed only against low-flying aircraft, the weight of a longer cable making them impractical for higher altitudes. |   Target practice |
| Field Kitchen -- The field kitchen is a part of the military supply infrastructure. It is usually a temporary, often under the open sky place where the food is cooked for troops who are in combat or maneuvers. |   Field Kitchen |
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"Pushed by angels" -- On 23 May 1943, Galland flew an early prototype of the Messerschmitt Me 262, the world's first operational jet fighter. After the flight, he described his experience: |
  Pushed by angels |
| Shirley destroys the Me-262 While flying a P-51D, Chuck Yeager became one of the first American Pilots to shoot down an Me-262. This action earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross. |   Shirley and Trude, shortly after the loss of the Me-262 |
| Vostok Rocket -- Vostok (Russian Восток, translated as "East") was a family of rockets derived from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for other satellite launches. It was a subset of the R-7 family of rockets. On March 18, 1980, a Vostok-2M rocket exploded on its launch pad at Plesetsk during a fueling operation, killing 48. An investigation into a similar – but avoided – accident revealed that the substitution of lead-based for tin-based solder in hydrogen peroxide filters had resulted in the breakdown of the H2O2 and the resulting explosion. |   Neuroi Vostok rocket |
French Fries Despite Shirley saying that French Fries were Liberian(American) food, it is actually invented in Belgica(Belgium).
| << 03: "What We Can Do Together" | ^^ Strike Witches 2 ^^ | 05: "My Romagna" >> |
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