| Director | John Guillermin |
|---|---|
| Budget | $5 million |
| Box office | $16.2 million |
and a Pfalz D.III from Lynn Garrison's collection in flight over Weston Aerodrome, Ireland]] German Corporal Bruno Stachel leaves the fighting in the trenches of World War I to become a fighter pilot in the German Army Air Service. Of modest origins (his father ran a small hotel), Leutnant Stachel needs to prove himself and in spring 1918, he sets his sights on winning Germany's highest medal for valour, the "Blue Max", for which he must shoot down 20 aircraft. Leutnant Willi von Klugermann resents having a commoner as his rival. Their commanding officer, Hauptmann Otto Heidemann, is an aristocrat whose belief in chivalry and the laws and customs of war conflict with Stachel's disregard for them.
On his first mission, Stachel shoots down a British S.E.5, but receives no credit because there were no witnesses. Stachel searches the countryside for the wreckage, which gives the impression that he cares more about himself than the death of his wingman. When he attacks an Allied two-man observation aircraft and incapacitates the rear gunner on another sortie, he signals the pilot to fly to Stachel's airfield. The rear gunner revives as they approach and reaches for his machine-gun. Stachel shoots the aircraft down and a disgusted Heidemann believes that Stachel has committed a war crime in his pursuit of personal glory.
The incident brings Stachel to the attention of Willi's uncle, Generaloberst Count von Klugermann who visits the base with his wife Kaeti, who is having a discreet affair with Willi. The Count sees propaganda value in the commoner Stachel. After Stachel is shot down rescuing a red Fokker Dr.I from two British fighters, he's introduced to Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Richthofen offers Stachel a place in his squadron. Stachel declines, expressing his desire to "prove himself" with Heidemann's squadron. When Stachel is temporarily grounded by a minor injury, General von Klugermann orders him to Berlin to help shore up crumbling public morale. The general invites him to dinner, and Stachel spends the night with Kaeti.
On a mission escorting a reconnaissance aircraft, Stachel's guns jam, but Willi downs three enemy planes. Willi challenges Stachel to a flying contest on their return to base, flying under a railway viaduct. Willi is killed when his plane hits a building and crashes. When Stachel reports his death to Heidemann he impulsively claims Willi's victories, even though he fired only 40 bullets before his guns jammed. Outraged, Heidemann accuses him of lying, but the Air Service backs Stachel. Later, he admits to Kaeti that he lied.
During a strafing mission covering the retreat of the German Army, Stachel disobeys orders and engages enemy fighters. The rest of the squadron follows him. Later, Heidemann confronts him because half his pilots were killed in the ensuing dogfight in which Stachel shot down enough aircraft to finally qualify for the Blue Max. Heidemann submits a report recommending a court-martial and both men are ordered to Berlin where von Klugermann tells Heidemann that Stachel is to receive the Blue Max because the people need a hero. The general orders Heidemann to withdraw his report. Instead, Heidemann resigns his command. Later that evening, Kaeti visits Stachel and suggests they flee to neutral Switzerland, since defeat is inevitable. Stachel refuses.
The next day, Stachel is awarded the Blue Max by the Crown Prince in a public ceremony. Field Marshal von Lenndorf telephones von Klugermann to order him to stop the ceremony since an investigation has been opened into Stachel's claim. The general realises Kaeti is responsible for leaking information. When Heidemann reports that the new monoplane that he has just test-flown is a "death trap" with weak struts, von Klugermann tells Stachel, "Let's see some real flying". Stachel's aerobatics cause the aircraft to break up and crash, killing him.