The recruitment of pilots was not advertised, but rather the aspirants, of whom many had only just entered the Luftwaffe, received a discreet invitation to be trained as military glider pilots. It is assumed that each student possessed at the very least the “C” class of the civil glider proficiency qualification badge. After approximately four weeks of intensive training these same students were considered competent to fly a DFS 230 assault glider and their places at the school were taken by a fresh batch of willing students.

In addition to training students to fly the DFS 230, the school also provided a means by which pilots recently drafted into “propaganda-Ballonzug”, including former students from the first and second training courses, such as Gerken, Nagel, Schupp and Winkler, could become reacquainted with the DFS 230.

Nagel, who had joined the Propaganda-Ballonzug in February 1940, made five trial flights in a DFS 230 including two short night flights totalling seventeen minutes under the watchful eye of Heiner Lange between 22 April and 4 May 1940. (Nagel, it is believed was a reserve pilot for the missions flown on 10 May 1940.) The school also enabled more accomplished glider pilots, including Frey, Hartbrodt and Rieger, who had been recently drafted into “Propaganda-Ballonzug”, or 17/KG zbV 5 as it was known from mid March 1940, to be taught how to fly the DFS 230 with only minimal instruction.

On 9 May 1940 Rudi Opitz and the other pilots of SA Koch teaching at Braunschweig, were ordered to report at once to Cologne. Opitz flew in a Ju 52 used next day to tow up a glider for the attack. Unteroffizier Otto Krutsch also received orders to report to Cologne. He was experienced in motorized aircraft and had completed his instruments training at Blindflugschule Wien-Aspern. Subsequently in March 1940 he was transferred to the school at Braunschweig where he was taught to tow the DFS 230. On 3 May he was ordered to present himself with a Ju 52 at Hildesheim and on 9 May he brought Hauptmann Koch aboard it to Cologne-Ostheim aerodrome.

On the morning of 10 May, Krutsch’s Ju 52 dropped straw paratroopers over Liège and the Belgian defensive positions before returning to Cologne to tow Oberleutnant Witzig’s glider which had made an emergency landing in a nearby field after the tow line had prematurely parted. For this service Krutsch received from Witzig’s hands the EK II.

At the Cologne airfields (Ostheim and Butzweilerhof) everything was ready. The starting points for the gliders had been marked on the grass strips, although neither the DFS 230s nor most of their pilots left the halls before darkness fell. When Rudi Opitz arrived in Cologne on the evening of 9 May he was shown his glider but was neither provided with the plan of attack nor details of his objective until late that night. All he was told was: “You look after us and get us there. As soon as we arrive, we shall look after you.”