Original subtitles

- Gentlemen, welcome.

Now, this is a very special occasion,

and although I don't know the nature of your mission,

an oversight I'm sure,

I am aware that this must be a task

that will bring greater glory to the Third Reich.

Now, I am very proud that Stalag 13 was chosen

because this is the most secure place in all of Germany.

From time to time there have been escape attempts,

but not one has been successful.

Stalag 13.

- All positions report, over.

- Six Kraut officers just arrived, colonel.

- Confirming six of them.

- Two, three, four, five, six.

Let me double check that for you, colonel.

- Never mind, Carter, you're holding up the war.

What are the Krauts, SS, Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe?

- There's not enough light, colonel.

I can't make 'em out.

Hold on. LeBeau, we need more light in the subject.

- Colonel, the guards in those towers

are very nervous at night.

- It's my guess they won't shoot.

- And if they should me it means you guessed wrong.

No one's perfect.

- From all the other prison camps they fly away like birds.

But here at Stalag 13,

we know where every prisoner is every day.

- Don't shoot!

Don't shoot!

- What is this?

- LeBeau, mon commandant.

- But what happened?

- Do you expect me to believe that?

- Of course, mon commandant.

- Schultz, put him on report.

Get him out of here.

- Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!

- I can read 'em now, colonel.

Luftwaffe.

- Confirming Kinch's report, colonel, Luftwaffe.

- Yep, I can read 'em now.

They're Luftwaffe and there are six of them.

- Carter, I don't know what I'd do without you,

but sometimes I'd like to try.

- But I tell you, I know nothing. Nothing.

- Spend a week fixing up the barracks,

six Luftwaffe officers move in.

Since when is that nothing?

- Come on, Schultz, you can't be all that stupid.

Who says I can't?

- It's just possible that our Kraut friend here

is telling the truth.

- Yeah, maybe.

Okay, Schultz, thanks anyway.

- I'm glad someone believes me.

- LeBeau, what's interesting in the Red Cross package

this week?

- Oh, let's see now.

Hey, we have chocolate.

Chocolate with nuts. - Oh, wow.

- Chocolate with raisins. - Chocolate with raisins.

- Chocolate with raisins and nuts.

- I'll have the nuts.

- I take chocolate with anything.

I take chocolate with anything.

I take raisin and nuts.

Raisin and nuts for me please.

- Schultz,

what about the Luftwaffe officers?

- They left early this morning when it was still dark.

- But their gear is still in the barracks.

- They will be brought back tonight.

- From where?

- The big shots don't tell me everything.

- All right.

- You see, Schultz, you're not so stupid.

I'm still not convinced.

- Six Krauts leave camp, they'll be brought back,

their stuffs still here.

They moved in. - But why in a Stalag?

- It could be for security reasons.

Kinch, any problem in bugging their barracks?

- Only if we get caught and shot.

A mere detail.

- He never worries about funeral arrangements

until the last minute.

- Look, Carter, LeBeau, wait a minute, hold on.

What's that?

- It's a plane. - I know that.

It's not a German plane.

- Hey, it's RAF.

- What's it doing here? - Must be lost.

- Impossible, we're too deep in Germany.

Fighters don't have that range.

- Hey, look more of them.

- How do you figure it, colonel?

- I don't know.

- Maybe the RAF has a secret air base here in Germany.

- Yeah, that's crazy.

- Maybe our guys have invaded Europe.

- We'd be the first to know.

- We would? - Sure.

That great German war machine, Colonel Klink,

would be hiding under his bed.

- No, no, no, no.

- But we must get inside this building.

- We've come to shine their boots.

- What? - Commandant's orders.

This building is strictly verboten.

It is of limit to everybody.

- Well that's great,

because we didn't want to shine their boots anyway.

- I will just tell the commandant

Schultz chased us away.

- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

I didn't say no.

As long as these are his orders.

Why doesn't he tell me these things?

- Well, the commandant is a busy man.

- Yeah.

It's not easy to lose a war.

All right, polish the boots.

- Yeah, we'll make it fast, Schultz.

- Tell me something,

did the commandant say anything about shining my boots?

- Not a word.

But we'll do it anyway.

- You will?

Thank you.

- Hey, LeBeau, where...

LeBeau?

How do you like that? He's gone.

- What do you mean?

- He must have sneaked out.

He's always goofing off.

Now, I'm fighting this war single handed.

- You work.

Oh, if I catch that little cockroach,

I, I, oh, believe me, I will.

LeBeau.

- We'll run it to the ceiling and up to the roof.

Kinch can hook it tonight to the phone wire.

- Boy, if Schultz comes back and catches us

what are we tell him we're doing?

- Ah, we'll say we're putting in air conditioning.

That's a good idea.

- I just knew you'd like it.

They just went into the barracks.

Burkhalter and some bush colonel and Klink.

- Good, let's hope it works.

- I did the best I could.

- It's gotta work, I shined six pair of boots.

- Seven pairs with Schultz.

- What are you complaining about?

Now you both have a trade for after the war.

- At ease, gentlemen.

This is Colonel Leman

who will be in command for the final phase of your training.

Hey, it works.

- All right, all right, pipe down.

Let's hear this.

- Gentlemen, up until now

you have been learning how to fly RAF planes

of the type used by the British Fighter Command.

- You were right, colonel, you had it pegged.

- Wish I'd been wrong.

- And now I will explain your mission.

- Well hurry it up, the suspense is killing us.

- All of you have been chosen for Operation Albatross.

- Operation Albatross, ooh, I like that name.

- I'm glad, there was no time to consult you in advance.

- Oh, that's quite all right, Herr General.

- Thank you and shut up.

- Shut up, yes, sir, shut up.

- Beginning tomorrow you will learn RAF recognition codes

and flight patterns.

After that, you and your planes will be transported

to our airfields on the coast of France.

At that time, you'll fly up, infiltrate the enemy squadron,

shoot them down and destroy them.

You will be the foxes among the sheep.

- And your first strike against the enemy

will be on the 12th.

A birthday present for our beloved

Reich's Marshal, Goering.

Any questions?

Any comments?

- Gentlemen, I just wanna tell you how proud I am

to be the commandant of your base

for this very important mission.

Now I- - Excellent.

The moment we named it Operation Albatross

we thought of you.

- Thank you, Herr General. - That's all, gentlemen.

- Oh, general, colonel.

There is just one little problem.

What have you done now?

- I distinctly saw Colonel Hogan watching the planes

when they flew over the camp.

- Klink, do not try to explain this incident to him.

If he asks questions,

do not act as if you know anything.

You know nothing. You are ignorant.

- Yes, sir, I'm ignorant.

I shall do it right away.

- I have every confidence in your ability along those lines.

- You realize the damage those Krauts could do

to the British Bomber Command?

- The fox is among the sheep.

- If they take off just once, just once,

they could kill off a lot of our planes.

We gotta head 'em off.

- We don't even know where they keep the fighters.

- Kinch, get a message to the underground.

Tell 'em to check all the airfields in the area

and look for anything suspicious.

And I need a quick answer. - Right, colonel.

- Let's see if we can kill off that albatross

while it's still on the ground.

- They're pretty nice birds, you know?

They just have a bad name.

- It's not getting any better.

And neither are you.

- Nice looking bunch of dogs today, Schnitzer.

- To me a dog is a dog.

Except maybe Fritzy here.

- What about him? - I don't know.

He's been acting very strange.

And I think he's trying to tell me something.

- What are you two mumbling about?

You are not supposed to be here at all.

- I know. I know.

That's what makes it fun.

See you later, Fritzy and we'll have a nice talk.

Hey, Fritzy, come on.

Here, Fritzy.

That's it, Fritzy.

Come on, baby. Come on. That's it.

- "Usual place 22:00 hours, Conrad."

All right, Carter, go out

and bring him in through the emergency tunnel.

- Right, colonel.

- LeBeau, get the dog back before they miss him.

- Oui, colonel.

- Thanks a lot, Fritzy, you've been a big help.

Heil Hitler.

You sure he's a German Shepherd?

- There's an emergency airfield approximately here, colonel.

- About five kilometers north of Hammelburg.

- Six planes dispersed, barbed wire fence.

Main gate guarded by two sentries

and more of them inside the wire.

- All right, that's it.

Let's try for tomorrow night.

I'll need six of your best men.

Automatic weapons.

Kinch will you give you the assembly point and time later.

- You can depend on us, colonel.

- Good. LeBeau, take him out.

- Right, sir, come on.

- Carter, they've got six planes,

we need six demolition charges, short time fuses.

- You got it, boy, I mean, sir.

- We need an alibi. - Alibi?

- Yeah, the Krauts know we saw the planes.

We blow 'em up, they link it back to us,

they start investigating,

our whole operation could go down the drain.

- Why don't I stay behind and tell 'em I'm having this party

and that you were all with me?

And we were dancing and everything was going-

- Carter,

why don't you join the other side?

- Hold it, hold it. A party.

The Krauts have been having a shindig

in Klink's quarters every night celebrating in advance.

- Yeah?

- Why can't I become the life of that party?

Supply convoy will take this route

to the coast.

- I think you are right, colonel.

- And for security purposes

the personnel carriers will go in the autobahn.

- Sorry, colonel, didn't know you were busy.

- Well, I am.

- Just wanted to add one thing

to our Red Cross requisition, sir.

- Request denied. Dismissed.

- We need ping pong balls, sir.

- All right, all right, ping pong balls.

Dismissed. - Thank you, sir.

Excuse me.

Aren't you Captain Kurt Leman?

- Colonel Leman. Richard.

- Of course, Daredevil Dick we used to call you.

- What is this?

- I was attached to the RAF for a while

and I read all their intelligence reports

on Germany's best pilots.

You, you flew Stukas in Norway, didn't you, colonel?

- Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I did.

And that was no beer party, I can tell you that.

- Yeah, that's why we called you Daredevil Dick.

Now, come to think of it,

they even had your picture posted in the ready room

with a caption that read, "Dangerous, handle with care."

- I'm glad to know the enemy appreciated my efforts.

- So has your own people, you've been promoted.

Incidentally, my name is Hogan.

Senior POW Officer.

- All right, all right, this is all very interesting.

- You gonna be around for a while?

We might have an hour or so of good old pilot talk.

- Well, yes, as a matter of fact,

we're going to have a little get together

in the commandant's quarters if you care to join us.

Oh, with the colonel's permission.

- Impossible. Request denied.

It's a violation of security.

Colonel Hogan is a prisoner here, colonel.

- Well in that case I'd better contact General Burkhalter.

- And a very trusted prisoner, sir.

We might make an exception.

- Thank you, commandant.

- Tonight at eight. - Eight o'clock.

I'll be looking forward to it.

Gentlemen.

- Comes in here for ping pong balls

and gets himself invited to a party.

- So anyway, anyway,

I get on the radio then to the squadron leader

and I said, "My fuselage is full of holes.

I can't make it home. What should I do?"

And he said, "Don't land in Switzerland.

They'll sell you for cheese."

- Oh, oh, easy, colonel, I've already had four shots

of this machine oil.

- Machine oil? This is our best brandy.

- Then you better check

and see what they're putting in your carburetor.

- He has an amazing sense of humor.

- Yes, yes.

Oh, I'm, I'm so glad I invited him.

Tell me, colonel, what was the last campaign?

- Conrad's in position, we're all set.

- How do you like our Krauts?

- They look good enough to shoot.

Merci for nothing.

- We got about 40 minutes.

Everybody relax.

- Well, they didn't have many planes.

The Dutch Air Force gave us a run for our money.

- Oh, all this flying talk, it's so exhilarating.

- Tell me, have you ever had any combat experience?

- Only with headquarters in Berlin.

- Well you see, sir,

we administrative people have many problems.

- Yeah, sure, when he crashes they just give him a new desk.

- Sorry.

- General, Colonel Hogan is drinking too much.

- Nein, nein, let him oil up.

If he loosens his tongue, we may learn a few things.

- Has he mentioned anything about the RAF planes he saw?

- Shh! Not a word.

I was prepared to be ignorant just as you ordered,

Herr General.

- The most unnecessary orders I ever gave.

- Okay, Olsen, time to go. - Right.

So long.

Good luck to all of us.

- Hogan.

Hogan!

Passed out.

Typical American weakness.

Can't drink, can't finish wars they start.

- Anybody home?

- Oh, here's a map, colonel.

You stay on the Hammelburg road, you can't miss it.

The weapons carriers is a half mile outside the perimeter.

- Thanks, Kinch. What's the word from Conrad?

- He'll meet you on the road near the field.

- Achtung!

Soldiers of the Third Reich, let's move out.

Jawohl, Herr Kapitan.

- Stick to English will you?

You've got enough trouble.

- Situation?

- Airfield's just around the next turn.

The sergeant and one man on duty at the gate.

- Where are your men? - Right here. All set.

- All right, good, hop in, let's go.

- Achtung! Open up.

- The password for the day, Herr Hauptmann?

- Password?

Haven't heard anything about a password.

You, Herr Schmidt?

Nein, Herr Kapitan.

- You're delaying us, sergeant.

Open up.

- Sir, if you don't have the password,

may I see your orders?

- Yes, of course.

- Your orders, Herr Hauptmann?

Don't move.

Get 'em in there quick.

I'll open the gate. Move!

LeBeau, Carter, get the charges into those planes.

Set the timers for 60 seconds, no longer.

- Oui, colonel.

- You'd better watch those barracks.

We don't need any surprise. - Yes, colonel.

Come on, boys.

- There, general, I wanted you to see Colonel Hogan

in all his glory.

- Hogan, wake up.

Dead to the world.

Phew, it smells of schnapps in here.

- Phew, terrible.

- Let him sleep.

Good work.

Get in the truck.

- Colonel, you'd better leave at once.

- What about the barracks?

- We can handle that.

- All right. Good luck.

Let's go.

- You fools!

How could you let such a thing happen?

Roadblocks at once.

Yes. Yes.

Our planes have been destroyed on the ground.

Sabotage.

- But how is such a thing possible?

- Mainly because you were in charge of security.

- General, you mentioned sabotage.

- Three men in Luftwaffe uniform

forced their way into the airfield.

One of them fits the description of our friend Hogan,

by the way.

But it is only a coincidence.

Or is it?

Hogan?

Hogan.

- Oh, come on, pipe down.

Let a guy sleep, will ya?

- Six of our planes destroyed.

Sabotage.

- I miss everything.

I'd like to leave a call for 6:00 AM.

I got an early war in the morning.