The Scorpion Tales

Erwin Ziller was a test pilot during the 2nd World War. As one of an elite group, he became the chief test pilot for the Horton HO 229, Hitler’s experimental plane. The Gothaer Waggonfabrik Company built the plane just outside the city of Gotha and its existence was a closely guarded secret. On February 18th 1945 Erwin Ziller planned to fly the latest version of the plane, the HO 229 V6. It was a cloudy evening, not ideal conditions for testing the fastest and most advanced fighter bomber in the world. On this particular flight it had been fitted out with the most up to date secret weaponry Germany had ever designed. Erwin knew this was Hitler’s last chance to gain control of the skies. If this plane failed to live up to his expectations then the war was lost, and Erwin was determined not to let down the Fuhrer. He attached the special Perspex helmet onto his suit, secured the lid of the cockpit, and started to taxi down the runway. He thrust the controls forward and let the Jumo jet engines reach full throttle before ascending into the cloudy sky. As this was an experimental flight he put the plane through a series of hoops and rolls. He then took the plane up to 50,000 feet but hit some turbulent weather. So he decided to climb even higher to get above the bad weather. He levelled out at 60,000 ft., the highest the plane had ever been flown. The air was thin at this height so Erwin opened the twin jet engines even more and watched the speed increase to 700 mph. Suddenly the plane began to shudder and vibrate, but he gripped the controls even harder and did not throttle back. Erwin knew he was approaching the speed of sound. What would it be like to be the first person to break through the sound barrier? The Fuhrer would be so proud of him. Erwin flew straight and level, even though the plane was buffeting the speed kept increasing: 710, 720. Just as Erwin thought he had pushed the plane far enough there was a loud bang. The buffeting stopped and the plane’s controls eased off. Erwin looked at his speed: 738 mph - he had passed through the sound barrier. A big smile spread across his face. No other plane could get anywhere near that speed. But his smile soon vanished when he noticed some of the dials were not working. His altimeter was stuck on 50,000ft; he flicked it with his finger but the gauge didn’t move. He tried to make contact with the ground but the radio was dead. He looked at the other gauges; the only ones that seemed to be working were the fuel tanks and they both registered over half full. Erwin was flying blind; he didn’t know his height, he didn’t know which direction he was flying and worst of all, he didn’t know where he was. He eased back on the controls and let the plane descend gradually. At 40,000 feet he was still in the clouds and it was getting darker. He looked at his watch and realized he had been flying for over an hour. Erwin dropped down even lower: 30,000 feet then 20,000 feet, but he was still in black clouds. He calculated he was flying west by north-west. If he turned the plane around in a long sweep and headed south by south- east he should arrive back where he started. He noticed the fuel gauges hadn’t altered. He flicked them with his finger, and realized they were not working either. Panic began to grip him; he would have to fly even lower and break out of the clouds, then land at the nearest runway. Erwin checked his radio again, but it was dead. Nothing seemed to be working. He dropped down to 10,000 feet and levelled out; at least he was below cloud level and could see lights on the ground. But he still hadn’t a clue as to where he was. Erwin tried to look for familiar landmarks: rivers, tall buildings, railway lines but he did not recognize anything. Suddenly one engine spluttered then cut out. He wrestled with the controls and managed to keep control, and then the other engine cut out without any warning. Erwin knew his fuel tanks were empty. He kept the plane parallel with the ground as he lowered the landing wheels and hoped there was a flat piece of land ahead. The plane dropped rapidly out of the sky. It hit a small hill and broke into several pieces. The fuselage was catapulted into the air then nose-dived into the ground. Erwin Ziller was killed instantly when his head hit the canopy.