The Devil's General

The Devil's General is a 1955 German movie based on Carl Zuckmayer's drama of the same name with Curd Jürgens in the leading role. Marianne Koch, Viktor de Kowa, and Karl John are cast in leading roles. The film was directed by Helmut Käutner in 1954 and produced by Walter Koppel and Real-Film GmbH. Germany, 1941: General Harras holds an important position in the development of the Luftwaffe but has little to do with the Nazis. As more and more of his squadron's bombers fail due to sabotage, the SS put him under pressure. To find the fault, Harras gets behind the controls himself.
The movie was based on Carl Zuckmayer's drama of the same name, which he wrote in exile in the USA between 1943 and 1945. The character of Harras is based on the aviator and Luftwaffe general Ernst Udet, who officially had a fatal accident in 1941 while testing a new aircraft, but actually shot himself. Udet flew together with Hermann Göring in Manfred von Richthofen's flying squadron during the First World War. He was friends with Zuckmayer.
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=Pistols=
==FN Model 1910==
General der Luftwaffe (lieutenant general) Harry Harras (Curd Jürgens), SS-Gruppenführer (major general) Schmidt-Lausitz (Viktor de Kowa), and other German soldiers carry FN Model 1910 as their personal sidearms.
==SIG P210==
What appears to be an anachronistic Swiss SIG P210 is used by SS-Hauptsturmführer (captain) Zernick (Joseph Offenbach).
=Rifles=
==Karabiner 98k==
Wehrmacht and SS soldiers are seen with Karabiner 98ks with hooded front sights and late-war barrel bands.
==Unknown Rifles==
Three rifles are seen hanging on a wall in Harras' apartment.
=Other=
==Wurfgranate 15==
Harras owns a Wurfgranate 15 from his service during the First World War as a fighter pilot.
==Junkers Ju 86 K-13==
The "new boombers" in the movie are pre-war Junkers Ju 86 K-13 monoplane bombers. It was difficult for the filmmakers to find suitable old airplanes: The Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter aircraft from British war booty initially offered to Real-Film were not yet operational in 1941. However, Käutner justified his refusal differently: "Then the whole film would be called into question because then people would say: 'If these wonderful machines had been used in time, we would have had to win the war'." 
Finally, with the help of the German legation in Stockholm, the Swedish Air Force managed to obtain three old Junkers Ju 86 bombers, built in 1936. These twin-engine aircraft were the K version with British Bristol Mercury gasoline radial engines. This version of the aircraft type, partly built by SAAB under license, was used by the Swedish Air Force. The Luftwaffe generally considered the type to be less suitable for combat missions and was therefore mainly used as a transport aircraft. The development of the type, which was judged to be a failure even during testing, was the responsibility of Ernst Udet, so the choice of aircraft can be regarded as extremely appropriate.
==Junkers Ju 87==
Two Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bombers are briefly seen at the airfield.
==2 cm Flakvierling 38==
A Flakvierling 38 is stationed on a tower at the airfield.
Category:Movie
Category:B&W
Category:Drama
Category:War
Category:German Produced/Filmed
Category:Helmut Käutner