Showcase #58

Rittmeister Hans Von Hammer, the Enemy Ace, dispatches allied planes in the skies above Europe. When the Enemy Ace is shot down, he plays possum as the enemy planes land to capture him. Just as the planes land, the Enemy Ace takes off and strafes the landed planes, destroying them.

In the sky again, the Enemy Ace is fired upon by an Italian Ansaldo. While dogfighting, the Enemy Ace takes a shortcut through a barn, shooting down the Ansaldo on the other side. Once again, the Enemy Ace’s battered Fokker crashes into the airfield, barely hanging on, as the German armies cheer for the “Hammer of Hell.”

Taking some time off, Von Hammer goes into the Black Forest hunting for game with the wolf that has befriended him. The two find a woman who has fallen in the forest with a twisted ankle. Von Hammer brings the wounded woman back to his manor, and she rewards him with a kiss.

Back in the air, the Enemy Ace faces off against a one-eyed French pilot that they call the “One-Eyed Cat.” The One-Eyed Cat bests the Enemy Ace, bringing his plane down. Though only wounded, the Enemy Ace does not stay in the hospital for long. Soon, he is back in the skies hunting for the One-Eyed Cat. The two engage each other, and the Enemy Ace figures out the One-Eyed Cat’s weakness. He defeats this newest enemy, with a salute to the fallen foe.

Vignettes:

• “Pioneers in the Sky”
• “Air Force Mottoes” [sic]
• “Nature’s Bill of Rights”
• “Aviation Almanac!”