A variation on the rabbit- from-a-hat trick. A ground crewman passes a Heinkel He 111 pilot his mascot before taking off on yet another mission, in 1941.

Germany's famous woman aviator Hanna Reitsch during a visit to KG55 in France the background.

The wreckage of a Henschel Hs 126 that crash landed in Holland. The Hs 126, powered by a 870 h.p. BMW engine, was initially a tactical reconnaissance and army co-operation aircraft. It was slow and vulnerable, and when production ceased in January 1941 the type was already relegated to second-line duties away front aerial opposition.

Oslo Fornebu airfield choc-a-bloc with Luftwaffe aircraft in April 1940. The Ju 52 in the foreground lost its tail in a landing incident, but has already been put into use as a line office by the crews of 5./KG4, whose aircraft are lined up immediately behind.

A Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, with British roundels just visible under the wings, on the recently liberated Dutch airfield of Soesterberg.

He 46c C2-KL of an unknown spotter unit was photographed at Weimar-Nora in 1940.

Just who carried the can for for this glorious mishap we'll probably never know. The aircraft involved at this German flying school include the Ju-W 34, with four-blade propeller in the foreground, a Ju-34/hi, and the Fw 58c in the distance.

Just who carried the can for for this glorious mishap we'll probably never know. The aircraft involved at this German flying school include the Ju-W 34, with four-blade propeller in the foreground, a Ju-34/hi, and the Fw 58c in the distance.