Steinhoff clawed at his burning face and ran along the wing, his screams drowned out by the blast furnace around him. The rockets ignited beneath his feet and launched, skipping along the earth before exploding. Steinhoff jumped blindly off the wing. High above, Galland had heard the Count’s frantic radio calls. He turned his jet and saw Steinhoff burst from the blaze, “a human torch.” Galland wept, because he knew he was watching his friend die. Franz saw Steinhoff staggering, a “flaming figure.”6 Cannon shells ruptured behind him. Steinhoff fell to the ground and into a pool of burning jet
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