The Cockpit - Episode 01 slipstream - English subtitles

Who would have believed a hundred years ago that humans could fly... into the stratosphere? Flying and fighting there seemed only a vain dream, as it was considered the sacred space of God. SLIPSTREAM Lieutenant Hartmann, you have some vapor trailing. Throttle down. Roger. Hartmann, get out of there! The canopy is stuck. It won't open! This is Leinders. I'm above lake Mannha. I can't evade their attacks. I'll ditch my fighter and eject. My name is Erhardt von Leinders. In August of 1944, on the waters of Lake Mannha, I was looking at the twinkling stars over Germany. The magnificent stars... spreading over the entire sky... have nearly stopped me from fighting for my life. If you'd landed on foreign soil, you would have been a victim... of either guerrillas or the resistance. You are lucky, Lieutenant. And so is your fighter. It can't be... The FW 190-A4... my own fighter, since the African campaign, with dust proof filters on both cauls, lying on the grass with the night dew. The great air-cooled engine of the Focke-Wulf fighter... shared an unforgettable reputation in aeronautic history along with... the Spittfire of England and the Zero of Japan. As if the fighter... haunted by the soul of her human pilot, had flown in the night sky by herself, then landed after she ran out of fuel. Or, was this desperate landing just her revenge on... the pilot who abandoned her? The Focke-Wulf, without a bullet hole and in perfect condition, perplexed me. The silent protest of my own fighter which I had abandoned... in the night sky under fire, now reproached me in full. He just escaped when his fellow pilot got shot down, didn't he? Don't tell me, he's... the ace of the German Air Force! Ha. He probably has more guts on the ground than in the air. after that, I was no longer an honorable pilot... of the glorious Luftwaffe. The branded me as a coward who gave up his fighter without a fight. Perhaps I should have died then, with my own Focke-Wulf. The fighters railing me were the leading spitfires, the ones with the Griffon engine, that perform well at high altitudes. The Focke-Wulf's performance decreases at altitudes higher than 7,000 meters. Although the differences is noted in the catalogue data... as being not much of an actual difference. At high altitude, it's another story. At nightfall, fighting an enemy guided by radar, the Focke-Wulf is... an easy target for their gunfire. You mean to insult our great Focke-Wulf fighter... by implying she's easy game? What I meant to stress is... how she should be used. Its performance at high altitudes yields to enemy fighters. It would be insulting to use the Focke-Wulf... as a night scout plane at high altitudes, knowing its limitations. It's like having a knight on horseback fight in the ocean. If it wasn't for your fighting record, I wouldn't be letting you off. What is that? A test flight of the V2 rocket. A long-range ballistic missile. That's the first missile in the world. In time it will become the key to winning wars. That will be a horrible time. I guess human beings should have stopped... while they were still fighting with bayonets. What's done is done. There is no other way but to keep going forward. I'll give you the chance to wipe clean your dishonor. A new fighter, the TA 152-H1. It's based on the Focke-Wulf but its capabilities are markedly different. You could call it a rebirth. This is the first one off the production line at the plant in Bremen. It flies 760 km per hour at an altitude of 12,500 meters. It has a 30mm and two MG 151 cannons. There is no high-altitude fighter to match this, except the Messerschmitt jet. Moreover, the jet engine is inferior in durability and reliability... to this Jumo 213 engine. You are to fly this new plane to Peenemunde tonight. Leinders, your mission is to escort that plane. That's a B17 in perfect condition, seized while making an emergency landing. We are moving something to Peenemunde. ''Something?'' That's top secret. Just do your job as an escort. Departure time is 23:000. No excuses this time, you got that? Don't load that ammunition box. Professor? Professor Baffstein. Leinders! It's been a long time. I'm glad to see you. Why are you here, sir? I'm going to Peenemunde on this plane. Then... Yes. And I'm very relieved to hear that it's you who will escort us. And so was she. Melaehenna... She's taken your place as my useful assistant. Melaehenna, you are done here. Take a rest. Leinders, will you escort her? My husband was killed in the battle... at El Alamein. We had only been... living together for half a year. I've been working to help my father. I wanted... to apologize to you. I'd like to forget the past. I've never forgotten. I married him to finance my father's research. I was unfaithful to you. I'm a terrible woman. I didn't have the guts to take you anyway. Blaming each other doesn't bring back the old days. True. It was a joyous time. We rowed that boat on the Elbe River. I was only seventeen that summer. Yes, you were so... Of course, you're still beautiful as ever. You're sweet, Leinders. What is the cargo? No, don't tell. It must be strategically confidential. I don't want you to get in any trouble. Leinders, come with me. Check the cargo list? Yes. My father told me to make a final check. Why are you doing this? This... is.. This is not a bomb, but... but... a nuclear warhead! Yes, it is. This is the first one in the world. Although we don't have time to test it, we've foreseen no design flaws. Peenemunde...!? That must be the test base for the rockets. Maybe London... Washington D.C. or Moscow. Someplace is going to vanish. But... If my father, I mean, if Germany didn't make it, somebody else would make it, to end this war. I can't believe this. Certainly, I've thought about the use of nuclear weapons... as a future possibility, but using it in reality is a different story. That's true. Whoever first uses a nuclear weapon on human beings... will be remembered in history as the most cold-blooded of creatures. As demons who have sold their souls to the devil... forever. My father and I had no choice but to lend a hand to the devil. I wish this wouldn't get to Peenemunde. And so does my father. If I had wings on my back, I'd fly away somewhere. They say you get wings after you die, when you become an angel. We've... We've created our own hell. It's impossible. I have to escort this... Escort you and your father... I can't do that. It's all right. I'm sorry. Please forget what I said. I wasn't... thinking clearly. I'm all right now. If the devil were here... what would he say about us...? Professor, soon your name will be well known throughout the world, as the most meritorious person who lead the Third Reich to victory. It's an honor to be in your presence. Enemy planes, bearing 1,000. Not to worry, Lieutenant Leinders is a skilled fighter pilot. Indeed, Leinders is... even more skilled in the TA 152. The TA 152 is much faster than the Spittfire , even at 10,000 meters. The enemy can do nothing but flee. Whoever first uses a nuclear weapon on human beings... will be remembered in history as the most cold-blooded of creatures. As demons who have sold their souls to the devil... forever. Good job, Lieutenant Leinders. We'll be arriving in Peenemunde in 15 minutes. Altitude 7,000 to 5,000. Altitude 7,000 to 5,000. Leinders! Where is Leinders!? Lieutenant Leinders, please respond! This is Schwerzerbritz. This is Schwerzerbritz. Lieutenant Leinders, please respond! This is Schwerzerbritz. This is Schwerzerbritz. If I had wings on my back... I would fly away somewhere... Thank you... Leinders. Since then, I have been branded as a coward. As a pathetic fighter pilot who performed a cowardly deed not once, but twice. But I accept that dishonor. I don't regret what I did. I am Erhardt Von Leinders. I'm a man who didn't... sell his soul to the devil.