On one memorable occasion, while flying a top secret German rocket plane, the Me-163B Komet, the landing gear failed. Rather than abandon the expensive aircraft, Hanna Reitsch decided to land it, and nearly lost her life. Awarded the Iron Cross, First Class—the only woman to be conferred this medal—rumour is Hitler himself forbade her to attempt such a foolhardy feat again.

Berlin motor show, 1938. A petite blonde, just over 5 feet, strides briskly towards a strange looking contraption with twin rotors and settles in. The engine roars to life, the aircraft takes off and to the amazement of the audience executes a variety of manoeuvres, from take-off and hover to sideways flying, steeply ascending and slowly descending. Finally, it freezes in the hover and slowly executes a 360-degree rotation. Twenty six-year-old Hanna Reitsch ends the gripping performance with the Nazi salute. Hanna was flying the Focke- Achgelis Fa-61—the world’s first fully controllable helicopter. Sporting a simple German design, the aircraft was fitted with the fuselage of a small biplane to mount two outriggers supporting contra-rotating rotors powered by a radial engine. Hanna repeated the act each night for three weeks. It was an impressive display, more remarkable since the whole demonstration was indoors! The slightest miscalculation would have resulted in a crash, taking a heavy toll in the crowded hall.

Hanna was born in Hirschberg, Germany on March 29, 1912. An intense and intelligent child with a fascination for flying, she longed to be a missionary doctor. However, the Second World War intervened and had a profound effect on her. She soon became an enthusiastic admirer of Hitler and an unrepentant Nazi. At a time when women were mostly confined to the kitchen, Hanna was the world’s first female test pilot and flew practically everything available. Endowed with great courage and extraordinary skill— essential prerequisites for those in the forefront of aviation given the exceedingly high mortality rates at the time—she was the first woman to cross the Alps in a glider, first to fly a helicopter and first to fly a jet.