Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?

Prisoners

 * Colonel Hogan - Bob Crane
 * Corporal Louis LeBeau - Robert Clary
 * Corporal Peter Newkirk - Richard Dawson
 * Sergeant James Kinchloe - Ivan Dixon
 * Sergeant Andrew Carter - Larry Hovis

Camp Personnel

 * Kommandant Wilhelm Klink - Werner Klemperer

Semi-Regulars

 * General Albert Burkhalter - Leon Askin
 * Fräulein Hilda - Sigrid Valdis
 * Corporal Karl Langenscheidt - Jon Cedar

Guest Stars

 * The Blue Baron's Date - Cynthia Lynn
 * The Blue Baron - Henry Corden
 * Nanny - Celeste Yarnall
 * Honey Hornburg - Laurie Mitchell

Synopsis
Hogan gets Klink to throw a party for the Blue Baron, a WW I flying ace in order to find his headquarters.

Story Notes

 * This is the one hundredth episode of the series, but is the one hundred and fourth episode to be shown on television and is the twelfth episode shown for the Fourth Season.
 * This is the only episode in the series where Sergeant Schultz does not appear. Corporal Langenscheidt takes roll call in his absence.
 * This is the first of two guest appearances by Cynthia Lynn, who played Fräulein Helga during the series' First Season.
 * The Blue Baron's actual name and rank is General Mannfred von Richter. Both his name and nickname are derived from that of Manfred von Richthofen, the famous flying ace of World War I known as the Red Baron.
 * The Blue Baron is the most prominent of Klink's former classmates who have passed him in their military careers and achieved general's rank -- something he never accomplished.
 * Klink earned his nickname, the Iron Eagle, while at flight school.
 * It is implied in this episode (and in Don't Forget to Write) that Klink was relieved from flight duty due to loss of vision.
 * Carter can't swim.
 * The bombing raid against the Blue Baron's airfield is carried out by a flight of U.S. B-24 Liberators.
 * Hogan mentioned the Blue Baron "shot down more planes in World War I than Buddy Rogers." Hogan is referring to Charles "Buddy" Rogers, one of the stars of Wings (1927), the first movie to win a Best Picture Oscar. In the movie, Rogers played a small-town youth who becomes a World War I fighter pilot. In World War II, Rogers served as a United States Navy flight training instructor. He was also a well known jazz musician. He passed away on April 21, 1999 at the age of 94.
 * The Blue Baron shot down 75 planes; he also still resents the fact that he has not danced since August 4, 1917 due to the accident with Klink... and regards Klink as a jinx!
 * The nanny in the opening sequence was played by the same actress as the character Wilhelmina in "LeBeau and the Little Old Lay."

Timeline Notes and Speculations

 * This appears to take place in the spring of 1943. The Blue Baron's plans to form a new fighter group may be related to German strengthening of its Atlantic Wall defenses against any potential Allied invasion of France. It also has the lighter feel of other 1943 episodes of the series -- with such things as Hogan bribing Helga with nylons (like he did with Hilda) and Burkhalter taking the time to ogle pretty girls.
 * This episode provides a good deal of information on Klink's past. Mannfred von Richter, the Blue Baron, was one of Klink's classmates in flight school. Klink claims to have taught him how to fly, although this is most likely an exaggeration. The Blue Baron was also part of the same flight squadron as Klink during World War I. They were involved in a mid-air collision on August 4, 1917, apparently as part of a training exercise, that could have killed both of them. The Blue Baron was injured in the crash, and he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Klink escaped without a scratch. The Blue Baron has always maintained Klink was responsible for the accident, claiming Klink panicked "and almost killed the both of us." In contrast, Klink believes (or has deluded himself into believing) his superior piloting skills saved both their lives.
 * The last time Klink and the Blue Baron saw each other, according to Klink, was at "the Battle of Verdun." This is not the famous World War I battle (given the date of the accident); rather, it is the lesser-known World War II action that essentially completed the German bypassing of the Maginot Line. For many German veterans, like Klink, who had fought in the earlier war, it would have been the real end to the original Battle of Verdun.
 * Two of the background pictures we always see in Klink's office may derive from the events depicted in this episode. One of these shows a German biplane fighter in flight, which may have been one of the planes Klink flew in World War I. Another shows a wrecked plane outside of a hangar, which may be the aftermath of his accident.
 * Klink's nickname, the Iron Eagle, may be one of the more subtle jokes of the series. An iron eagle can't fly.
 * We get a brief glimpse of Burkhalter's past in this episode. He was apparently a field commander on the Russian front in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. He later recalls the first day of the offensive as one of the "most fun" of his life. He appears to have been there for the full campaign, including its near-disastrous end. This would explain his frequent references to the horror of the Eastern Front, which he uses to frighten Klink into submission. It would explain why he is so sure his brother-in-law, Frau Linkmeyer's husband Otto, is dead (Cupid Comes to Stalag 13). It also might explain the prominent scar on his face.

Bloopers

 * Hogan again makes reference to having worked in the Pentagon, which was under construction until January 1943.
 * When Hogan is talking to Klink about arranging the party, the cigar in Hogan's hand changes colour from green to brown.