DC Database
Register
Advertisement

"War in Heaven": In Bavaria, 1942, Hauptmann Peter Stalschmidt arrives at Castle von Hammer and tries to convince its owner and his compatriot, Hans von Hammer to join him as a pilot, flying against Russia as Germany is starting to take serious losses. Reluctantly, Von Hammer agrees even though

Quote1 I have no more desire to go to war, Peter. Especially not for Nazis. Quote2
Hans von Hammer

Enemy Ace: War in Heaven #1 is an issue of the series Enemy Ace: War in Heaven (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2001.

Synopsis for "War in Heaven"

In Bavaria, 1942, Hauptmann Peter Stalschmidt arrives at Castle von Hammer and tries to convince its owner and his compatriot, Hans von Hammer to join him as a pilot, flying against Russia as Germany is starting to take serious losses. Reluctantly, Von Hammer agrees even though he has no sympathies for the Nazis.

On his first day as flight leader, Von Hammer buzzes the gathered pilots in his bright red plane. An hour later he takes the first flight up. They encounter a group of MiG-3s and run them off, destroying twelve in the process.

After the planes have landed, Hauptman Joachim Engels, a devoted Nazi, inspects the troops and notices that Von Hammer's red plane is missing a swastika. He says he'll have Von Hammer's ground crew remedy that and Von Hammer tells him not to do that. Engels stalks away. Peter warns Von Hammer that he would get in trouble for that kind of disobedience, but Von Hammer is unfazed from the repercussions compare to likely dying in battle.

In the air above Leningrad, Von Hammer and his squadron take out a squadron of Indians. Von Hammer makes Ace in a day, killing five of them himself.

In January, 1943, Engels approaches Von Hammer in the barracks and tells him to report to Berlin to be awarded the Knights Cross by Adolf Hitler, awarded when a pilot has 50 confirmed kills. Von Hammer has 63 since he began leading the German pilots. But Von Hammer burns the communique Engels brought him and says he has no time for medals. This further incense Engels' contempt for Von Hammer.

Von Hammer soon returns to the skies above Leningrad. During the battle, a Russian pilot falls into Von Hammer's rotor, causing his plane to crash but manage to survive. He come across with a German soldier who is killed by a sniper's bullet. Von Hammer takes cover and from safety, watches in shock as a child throws a grenade at a German tank and is riddled with bullets from the tank's machine gunner. Russian partisans then emerge from the nearby buildings and quickly swarm the tank. After wandering through the city and at one point seeing a mother and her child eating a human hand, Von Hammer is eventually captured by Russians. As they are roughing him up, a large black wolf appears and kills the soldiers. But then it reveals that it was a hallucination made by Von Hammer, who singlehandedly killed the soldiers with his own bare hands. Von Hammer walks back to his camp, where Engels is none too pleased to see him.

Once again in the skies, Von Hammer's squadron is attacked by English Hurricanes—the English are in Russia to offer moral support for the Russians. The English planes destroy two of the German planes and Von Hammer turns tail and runs.

Back at the barracks he talks with Peter who remarks that now the English are involved it seems like the entire world has turned against Germany. Von Hammer sardonically wonders why.

Appearing in "War in Heaven"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Hauptmann Peter Stalschmidt

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Concepts:

Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:




See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

Advertisement