>Of course, Hurricane feels a bit overshadowed (and perhaps even
>a little envious) of Spitfire, as her younger sister is the one
>everyone talks about from the big meet-up between the British and
>German teams, even though she did most of the work. Her sister gets
>hired for photo shoots, while she labors away in the background.

Indeed. She's very English about it, though. "Oh well, mustn't grumble."

It just occurred to me, as well, that Hurry does have an actual younger sister, who would probably only appear once or twice. Typhoon is kind of a troubled kid - capable, but confused. Doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up. There are also rumors floating around that she's experimented with drugs and runs with a bad crowd.

Tiffy would turn up a couple of times over the course of the series to give her big sister something else to worry about, and then would reappear in the big series finale - having completely gotten her act together and changed her name to Tempest.

>Of course, with that ruggedness comes crude talk and manners, as well
>has her insistence on wearing a non-regulation leather jacket with a
>prominent Flying Tiger logo on the back.

"Hey, man, I was in this war before it was a war. I didn't sit around on my ass and wait for the Japs to bomb Pearl like some people I could mention. Ni hao, you sonsofbitches, here's piss in your eye! Speaking of which, we got any more of that cheapass beer left?"

>There's a bit of an unspoken rivalry between her and P-51, as
>while they both served together in Europe and Asia, 51 is better known
>in the former while she's the unrivaled ace in the latter.

True. The Germans probably respect her more, though. I wouldn't put it past her to have a tattoo of their nickname for her someplace (Gabelschwanz Teufel, "Fork-Tailed Devil").

>She's also
>frequently seen with her uniform partially unbuttoned and fanning
>herself as she complains about the heat.

On the plus side: excellent night vision!

>It also goes without saying that she and the British twins hate each
>other with a passion, with every meeting starting with sniping and
>ending in bare-knuckled brawls if nobody stops them. The Brits make
>jokes about how she doesn't have the stamina for a good fight, but she
>retorts that they just can't handle the sort of twists and turns she
>uses.

And yet, you know, they'd miss her if she wasn't there. They've known each other for such a long time...

>The rest of the students like to give her a wide berth, as they never
>know what's going to happen, but they're sure that it's going to
>involve a lot of property damage and some bodily injuries.

Yes - particularly given that she sometimes explodes not at the end of a sprint, but just from being accidentally jostled in the hallway. Or the cafeteria. Do not go near that one when she's eating. In fact, she occasionally explodes for no reason at all, while engaged in customarily-non-volatile activities like sitting at her desk. Even Komet herself isn't entirely sure why that happens.

>She got
>along well with fellow lunatic Ohka, but their relationship
>went out in a bang.

Poor Ohka. Nobody likes to talk about that (particularly Zero, who goes completely stonefaced whenever anyone brings her up).

>>And sometimes
>>they seem to be talking in this strange code that's all acronyms and
>>bizarrely compressed phrases ("Did you hear about COMSUBPAC? He got
>>into another fight with CINCPACFLT and it looks like he might get
>>COMTRANned to SOWESPACFLT LOPU." "Ha ha, he's gonna spend the rest of
>>his career counting CONRATs in Biloxi if he ain't careful").

In fairness to the Grumman sisters, it has just occurred to me that Hurry and Spitfire do this too - lapse into jargon that is incomprehensible to anyone else (although P-51 sometimes pretends to understand it). "Bally Jerry pranged her kite right in the how's-your-father," etc.

>Hellcat's favorite meal? Turkey.

But only if she's shot it herself.

>Definitely the girl who would have a serious samurai vibe going on.
>And would frequently launch into boasts about her superiority and the
>fighting prowess of the Japanese Navy...before Hellcat thumps her on
>the head and she falls over.

Heh, yeah, she and the Grummans would have an oddly good-natured rivalry, all things considered - but in that same vein, I see Zero and P-40 having a strange, strange thing going on. You'd think they would be natural enemies like 109 and Hurry, and they have a head-to-head record almost as long. Add to that the contrast between Zero's rigidly-together soldier/calligrapher/tea ceremonist thing and the fact that 40 usually has a can of beer in one hand and looks like she slept in (or, in fact, partway out of) a barn, and you'd think they would either hate or just dismiss each other, and yet... whenever anybody starts dissing 40's lack of refinement or what a bad dancer she is behind her back, Zero reacts as if she's being insulted, which usually ends poorly for the one doing the insulting if they aren't quick enough with the apology.

>It doesn't help that the other students don't know what to make of
>her, though all agree that she's a bit of an oddball. The Brits
>always regard her wearily, while the Americans try to make friends and
>quickly find that she's always trying to borrow something from them.

Oh hey, that reminds me that I forgot about her best friend, P-39. 39's actually an American, but everyone assumes she's Yak's sister, because she's gone completely native - speaks only Russian, appears to enjoy wearing shapeless brown clothes and eating cold beet soup with sour cream, can quote Lenin.

>Of course, there's also the younger sisters that get much talked
>about, but rarely seen on-screen: Me-262, Meteor, and
>P-80.

They're in the movie. :)

>Me-109 likes to talk about her sister's blazing
>fast speed, but the Americans snidely remark that they've shot her
>down dozens of times.

Me 163 is under the tragically mistaken impression that if she works hard, she'll grow up to be a jet too, and maybe not blow up as often.

>Hurricane likes to talk about her
>sister's ruggedness and numerous kills, to which the Germans retort
>that she never leaves home.

Also, most of those kills are V-1s, and, well, you thought Komet wasn't quite all there.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.