Code Name Verity(69)

O.HdV.A. 1872 B. No 4 CdB



[Note to Amadeus von Linden from Nikolaus Ferber, translated from the German:]

SS-Sturmbannführer N. J. Ferber Ormaie





30 November 1943


SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden –

This is my final reminder to you that Flight Officer Beaufort-Stuart is a designated NN prisoner. She has been seen twice in your custody and I will be forced to take formal action against you if it happens again.

I recommend you send her at once to Natzweiler-Struthof as a specimen, with the order that she be executed by lethal injection after six weeks if she survives the experimentation.

If you show this devious little liar one atom’s worth of compassion I will have you shot.

Heil Hitler!





Part 2


Kittyhawk





I have got Julie’s identity papers.

I have got Julie’s identity papers.

I have got Julie’s identity papers.

DRAT DRAT DOUBLE DRAT AND BLAST

I HAVE GOT JULIE’S IDENTITY PAPERS

WHAT WILL SHE DO WITHOUT ID???

What will she do?

Just can’t think when it happened. She checked her papers, I checked my papers, Sergeant Silvey checked both of us, that headmistressy Special Operations officer who was nannying her checked, everybody checked. Anyone could have muddled them.

Drat. Double drat. She must have mine.

This isn’t a very good place to write things – will ruin my ATA Pilot’s Note Book and I probably shouldn’t make a record in any case, but it is the only thing I have to read or write on or do anything with until one of the Resistance circuit comes back. Can’t believe I didn’t check sooner. Two days have passed since we got here. I have looked and looked and I have got my ATA Authorisation Card but my licence and National Registration card are gone, and in their place are Julie’s ration coupons and forged carte d’identité – photograph doesn’t really look like her, she’s wearing her fair and scary Nazi spy face. Katharina Habicht. Can’t think of her as Katharina at all, though she tried to make me call her K?the all summer – had only just got used to thinking of her as Eva.

Not that my own papers or lack of make any difference to me as I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN FRANCE. But Julie, who is supposed to be here, has NO IDENTITY. I have got her FORGED IDENTITY DOCUMENTS.

How – how? Like when Intelligence took my clothing coupons, but that was done on purpose. And I swore to be more careful.

I don’t know what to do.

If I am caught writing this I will be in trouble whoever catches me – German, French, British. Even American. I shouldn’t write anything down. COURT MARTIAL. But I have absolutely nothing else to do, and I have the most marvellous pen in the world – an Eterpen, it has a tiny ball bearing in the nib and is full of quick-drying printer’s ink. The ink rolls over the ball. You can write with this pen at altitude and it does not smudge and the supply of ink lasts for a year. The RAF have ordered 30,000 of these pens from the exiled Hungarian newspaperman who invented them and I have got one of the samples, a gift from Sergeant Silvey, who is soft on lady pilots and small fair double agents.

I know I shouldn’t write, but I’ve got to do something – something. That last ferry flight would have been an S chit, so that means I’ll have to make a report. Also an Accident Report. Ugh. I will have to do it anyway. I’ll work on that.

Accident Notes

Crash landing in field Damask, near Ormaie, 11 Oct. 1943 – Aircraft Lysander R 3892

Permission for flight obtained from C.O. and I had made 4 successful night landings, 3 on simulated flare path, immed. previous to departure. Flight over Channel w/out incident although deviated from planned course over Caen to avoid anti-aircraft fire. New route took us from Mont St Michel to Angers where the aircraft was shot at from the ground and the tailplane was hit. I took action to control fire, but could not achieve level flight as tailplane control was completely gone, aircraft now trimmed for steep climb and barely manoeuvrable in descent

—

Now that I think about it, the tailplane adjustment cable must have snapped during the climb-out from the dive – or I wouldn’t have been able to dive.

That thought has given me chills, that has.

—

All right. Where were we. Stuck in the climb and also lacking some rudder control. Engine pressures/temps & fuel levels acceptable so continued to destination which (w/passenger’s assistance) I had no trouble in locating – however on arrival found descent v. difficult and was concerned about touchdown, and agreed passenger should bail out over airfield as she’d had appropriate training and was more likely to survive a parachute jump than a crash-landing with half-full fuel tanks and cargo of 500 pounds’ Explosive 808 and detonating wire.