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Erica's rejection of the jet Striker has some historical inspiration.
Late in the war, Galland recruited pilots for an experimental jet fighter squadron. Krupi and Barkhorn were among those who joined the jet unit; indeed it became famous as a squadron of experts. Everyone who signed up had enormous victory counts. The Knight's Cross might as well have been the unit emblem. It became an elite unit, led by the best fighter General in history, waging a losing battle in the dying sunset of a doomed war.
Hartmann declined the jet unit, and he returned East. JG52 was his home, and had many new pilots who he wanted to mentor. He was loyal to JG52.
In hindsight, the decision ended in tragedy. A cruel agreement between American and Soviet leaders meant that captured Germans would be handed over to the front they last fought on. For Krupi and Barkhorn in the jet unit, that meant surrender and quick release from American captors. Hartmann, by contrast, surrendered to the Americans but was turned over to the Russians. For his loyalty to JG52, he spent ten years in a prison cell in Russia.
