The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

David Crook had been during his first flight in a Spitfire – for the sudden
surge of power and performance the 109 offered. ‘The demands of this
powerful machine are quite unlike anything I have flown before,’ he noted,
then added, ‘the Messerschmitt is no docile carthorse, but a highly-strung
thoroughbred.’ In breeding it shared much with the Spitfire; but, for all its
power, it was also a far less forgiving machine. For those who tamed it, the
rewards were many; those who did not were soon thrown from the saddle.
When Günther joined JG 52 in September 1939, he had still not had any
gunnery training and was yet to fire a shot from a 109. During the Sitzkrieg,
JG 52 had remained at Böblingen, just ten minutes’ flying time from the
Rhine. Although Günther flew on a number of operational missions and
continued training and familiarizing himself with the new 109E1s and E3s,
by the time the offensive in the west began, he had become an experienced
pilot but remained an inexperienced fighter pilot.
Now, at 18,000 feet over Nancy some time after 6 p.m. on 18 May,
Günther was about to have his first combat action. Blessed with extremely
sharp eyesight, he was the envy of his comrades, who believed he would be
able to spot a target while it was still flying around the other side of the
world. Needless to say, he was the first to spot the Heinkel 111
reconnaissance aircraft they were supposed to be liaising with. ‘Twelve
o’clock, five kilometres, same height,’ he told the others over the R/T.
The Heinkel droned towards them like a lazy insect. The sun was low in
the sky, spreading a soft, golden yellow light. Then suddenly Günther
spotted some small black dots in the distance.
‘Indianer!’ he warned the rest of the Staffel. ‘Indianer at twelve o’clock,
Hanni six thousand five hundred! Ten or more!’ They were 500 metres
above the Heinkel.
‘Viktor! Viktor! I have them!’ replied Oberleutnant Lothar Ehrlich, the
Staffel commander, a moment later. He gave them some orders and Günther
and the rest of his Schwarm pushed forward the throttle and began climbing
above the Heinkel, which continued on its same level course. Günther
clicked the weapons safety catch, so that it moved forward to form a
trigger: now, at the press of his finger, two MG17 machine guns above the
engine, plus a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and a further
two cannons in the wings, would pack a lethal punch.
In moments, the enemy aircraft were hurtling down towards the
Heinkel. With their grey-green fuselages and red and blue roundels,