The next day a rumor ran rampant throughout the pilot camps. The Voegl Flight was going to be stripped of their victories. Franz and Swallisch could not believe it. They asked around and learned that Stahlschmitt had reported seeing the Voegl Flight in mock dogfights, “emptying their guns into the sand.” Stahlschmitt believed that this was the secret behind the Voegl Flight’s victories—they would pretend to fight and come home with their ammo exhausted to lie about what they had done.
