Anflug Alpha 1 (1971)

Day after day, the “Heinrich Rau” fighter squadron of the NVA Air Force flies training missions. Five men from one flight squadron and their conflicts are at the center of the story. Ambitious Lieutenant Dieter Lenz suddenly experiences “illusions” in the clouds—that is, perceptual disturbances. He has to eject and ends up in hospital, with no certainty about whether he can recover. In the worst case, he could be permanently paralyzed. His girlfriend, Anka, a student, stands by him, although at first he does not want to tie her to him. Second Lieutenant Jochen Kullas, for whom Lenz is like a brother, has to prove himself as the squadron’s fourth pilot and Lenz’s replacement after successfully completing officer school. Since the incident, Kullas has been struggling with feelings of fear. Should he simply suppress them, or speak openly about them and risk being grounded? At the same time, Flight Commander Major Thomas Milan has to come to terms with leaving active flying because of his age. His annual flight medical also found that his eyesight was inadequate. It is a hard blow, but not an unexpected one. In future, Milan is to take on a responsible ground-based position in the command group. First Lieutenant Roland Herzog is in love with Sigrid, a teacher. He wants to marry her, but after the tragic death of her husband two years earlier—a bomb-disposal expert whose death is depicted at the beginning of the film—she does not feel strong enough to become the wife of a “hero” again. For Herzog, giving up flying is out of the question. Nevertheless, he hopes to find family happiness with Sigrid and her son. Captain Helmut Wendland is a pilot in Milan’s flight and the party secretary—an evidently socialist-minded man who seems to know his comrades well. Wendland’s outlook is the subject of many discussions with his brother, who is also favorably disposed toward the GDR but sees his future not in the NVA, but in civilian university studies.