Strike Witches/Characters: Difference between revisions

* [[Improbably Female Cast]]: The overwhelmingly female demographics of the witches is hardly unique since magic is pretty much an all girl party. What justifies the presence of this trope is Minna enacting a rule that prevents any guys from getting anywhere near the limelight.

Sergeant (later Master Sergeant) Lynette Bishop is a very personable, if a bit shaky, sniper from Britannia. Lynette is the middle child of eight siblings and was sometimes overlooked. Because of this, she's very domestic and painfully shy. She joined the Strike Witches shortly before Yoshika to help protect her homeland. Lynette is assigned to be Yoshika's roommate, where the two quickly become friends. Her striker unit is based on the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IX and she lugs around a Boys Anti-Tank Rifle in battle. Her sister, Wilma Bishop,　is named after the WWI Ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Avery_Bishop William Avery Bishop].

* [[Hot Blooded]]: A bit more tempered than most, but is not one to back down from a fight.

Wing Commander, or Oberstleutnant, Minna Dietlinde Wilcke is the leader of the 501st joint fighter wing and the commander of the Karlsland Air Force. After the Neuroi appeared and her lover was killed, she gave up her dream of becoming a singer to join the Karlsland Air Force. Because of her traumatic past, the safety of her subordinates is her top priority. Despite her kind and gentle demeanor she will go to any lengths to protect her subordinates. She is even willing to issue orders specifically to prevent them from being hurt and she was the one behind the order forbidding male workers in the base from socializing with the witches. Her striker unit is based on the Messerschmitt BF109G2 and her weapon is the MG42 machine gun. Her character is named after the WWII ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf-Dietrich_Wilcke Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke].

* [[Team Mom]]: [[All in The Manual|The novels]] mention that she and Mio have a [[Good Cop Bad Cop]] approach to discipline, with Mio as the Bad Cop and Minna as the Good Cop.

* [[X Ray Vision]]: Minna's ability essentially lets her see ''everything'' in her proximity out to a respectable yet unspecified distance. In battle it makes her a mobile CIC: out of battle it allows her to keep tabs on her subordinates.

Flying Officer Perrine H. Clostermann is a rich Gallian noble that saw her home destroyed when the Neuroi invaded Gallia. She joined the Strike Witches in their liberation of Gallia to help free her homeland from the Neuroi. She admires Mio and quickly develops a dislike of Yoshika due to their closeness. Her dislike eventually turns to full blown jealousy as she challenges Yoshika to a duel. Eventually she does come to view Yoshika as a comrade, but still makes constant attempts to win Mio's attention and to make Yoshika look bad. Her striker unit is based on the Arsenal [[VG 39]] and her weapon is the Bren Light Machine Gun Mk1. She is also seen carrying a rapier in some official art, which doesn't show up until midway through season 2. Her character is named after the WWII Ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Clostermann Pierre Clostermann].

Pilot Officer Francesca Lucchini is a talented and cheerful witch from the Duchy of Romagna. Unlike most other members of the 501st her past isn't marred by tragedy, she joined the Strike Witches out of a sense of duty to ensure that no harm would ever come to her beloved Romagna. However for all her lofty ideals she's still twelve years old and often acts childish or self indulgent like a typical twelve year old. Her energetic personality masks the fact that she's quite lazy. She'll often spend time napping around the base only waking up to change where she naps. However in the air, she displays a passion and talent for flying that nobody in the 501st can match. Her striker unit is based on the FIAT G-55 Centauro and her weapon is the Breda-SAFAT Machine Gun 12.7 mm. She is named after the WWII ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Lucchini Franco Lucchini].

First Lieutenant (later Captain) Shirley Yeager is a mechanical enthusiast from the United States of Liberion. She is a thrill seeking speedster and her goal is to break the sound barrier. Before the war, she raced motorbikes and set a land speed record. When she joined the 501st she modified her Striker unit to help her with her goal of breaking sound barrier. In addition to her obsession with speed she's also obsessed with cleanliness: even going so far as to have her personal bath shipped when she was transferred into the 501st. Her Striker Unit is based on the P-51 Mustang and her weapons of choice is the Browning Automatic Rifle M1918. She is named after American WWII ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager Charles] "Chuck" Yeager.

* [[Hot Blooded]]: She doesn't back down from any challenge even going so far as to charge a neuroi in an unarmed plane.

** Also maybe because U.S.A. G.I.(Usagi) means rabbit/bunny in Japanese. Could also be a [[Shout Out]] to [[Cat Shit One]].

*** As mentioned below, [[Fridge Brilliance|it could also be]] a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_Yeager Bunny] Yeager.

* [[Shout Out]]: Other than the obvious one to Chuck Yeager, there's one to the photographer Bunny Yeager.

Flying Officer Erica Hartmann is one of the "Double Aces" from Karlsland, having the second highest kill score in the world at just over 200. However her skill in the air and on duty is in sharp contrast with her disorganized and careless nature when off duty. She is a close acquaintance of Gertrude and Minna having served with them long before the creation of the 501st although, unlike Minna and Gertrude, she spends most of her time sleeping and eating, only getting up to investigate oddities and fight neuroi. Her striker unit is based on the Messerschmitt Bf109G-6 and her weapon is the MG42. She is named after WWII ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Hartmann Erich Hartmann], the highest scoring ace in history.

Flight Lieutenant Gertrude Barkhorn is also one of the "Double Aces" of Karlsland. She holds the highest kill score over 250. She is disciplined and efficient: a very stereotypical German military personality. However to her friends Minna and Erica, whom she has known for a long time, she's slightly more open and friendly although she often yells at Erica for lacking discipline. She cares deeply about her little sister Chris, who was injured before the first season in a Neuroi attack. Her striker unit is based on the Focke-Wulf Fw190D-9 and her weapons are two MG42 machine guns with dual drum magazines. She is named after WWII ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Barkhorn Gerhard Barkhorn], the second highest scoring ace in history.

* [[Pistol Whipping]]: When she mixes it up toe to fin with the neuroi she sometimes uses her guns as clubs.

Flying Officer Alaxandra Vladimirovna Litvyak, or Sanya as she prefers to be called, is a shy Orussian witch in the 501st that often handles night patrol duties alone. Described as "nocturnal" she doesn't have a lot of contact with the other members of the 501st, but is essential for the unit's safety. Because of her lack of contact with the rest of the squad, she is only close to Eila and Erica although her compassionate and submissive personality means she's kind and accepting of everybody in the 501st. Sanya's father was an accomplished musician and taught Sanya how to play the piano and sing. He even wrote a song for her entitled 'Sanya's Song'. When the neuroi invaded Orussia, Sanya was separated from her father but maintains hope that he's still alive in Orussia and someday they'll be reunited. To remind herself, she often hums the song her father composed for her. Unlike the other girls, most of whom wield machine guns, she uses a rocket launcher called the FliegerHummer which is based on the Fliegerfaust, a contemporary German anti-aircraft rocket launcher. In season one her striker unit is based on the MiG60 a fictional fighter combining features of the MiG-1, MiG-3, and Yak-1: in season 2 her striker unit is based on the Yak-9. She is named after WWII ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Litvyak Lydia Litvyak], one of just two female aces in real life.

Flying Officer Eila Ilmater Juutilainen is the top ace of the Suomus witch corps where she held the rank of captain (the rank indicated by the three roses on her collar). She is an expert at reading people, allowing her to predict her companions' actions and outwit her enemies. Her ability to read people combined with her ability to see the future means that in the air she is nearly untouchable. She is so used to her mastery of evasion that she relies exclusively on dodging and has difficulty raising a shield. Her striker unit is based on the Messerschmitt Bf109G-2 and her weapon of choice is the Suomi KP/31 Sub-Machine Gun. She is named after the Finnish WWII ace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilmari_Juutilainen Eino Ilmari Juutilainen] the highest scoring non-German ace in history.

* [[High Speed Missile Dodge|High Speed Laser Dodge]]: She uses her ability to see several seconds into the future to dodge lasers.