Help with German-> English translation

[HGabor]

Hello TOCH! Below is a German passage of text I could use some help in accurately translating (I know the general content but some lines are tricky):

"Es dauert ein paar Kleine Sekunden, und ich kann mich an eine LaGG 5 heranschleichen. Nein, nein, der hat mich noch nicht geschnallt, hat den Luftraum nicht beobachtet, so sieht er mich nicht kommen. Endlich liegt die Feindmachine in meiner Schußlinie. Eine leichte Kurve Bringt sie voll ins Visier! Jetzt drücke ich zugleich auf alle Knöpfe meiner Brause und sehe sofort auch, daß der Feuerstoß einwandfrei liegt. Steuerlos, mit stehender Latte gleitet die schwer getroffene LaGG tiefer und tiefer und stellt sich schließlich fast senkrecht auf den Kopf und stürzt ungespitzt zur Erde, wo ein Aufschlagbrand weithin sichtbar den Abschußerfolg erkennen läßt."

Any help is much appreciated, especially with the bold section.

Gabor.

[Nick Beale]

"It takes a couple of seconds and I'm able to steal up on a LaGG-5. No, no, he has't caught on to my presence, wasn't watching the airspace and so he doesn't see me coming. Finally the enemy machine is in my line of fire. A slight turn brings it fully into my sights! Now I press all the buttons of my sprinkler at the same time and see that my burst is perfectly lined up. Out of control with its propeller stopped, the badly-hit LaGG glides lower and lower and finally stands almost vertically on its head and dives straight into the ground, where an impact fire reveals the victory over a great distance."

[HGabor]

Thank you very much Nick! "Steuerlos, mit stehender Latte" was giving me trouble, especially 'Latte'! The old pilot slang makes translation tricky


Gabor.

[Nick Beale]

[quote=HGabor;311049The old pilot slang makes translation tricky[/QUOTE]

Not if you have a facsimile edition of the 1944 US War Department German Military Dictionary!

[Larry deZeng]

Nice job, Nick!
One very tiny suggestion. In the passage "and I'm able to steal up on a LaGG-5", the word "steal" doesn't sound like the best choice to me and I would probably use "sneak up" instead. But my choice might just be an Americanism and therefore not sound right to you.

Larry deZ.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Larry deZeng

Nice job, Nick!
One very tiny suggestion. In the passage "and I'm able to steal up on a LaGG-5", the word "steal" doesn't sound like the best choice to me and I would probably use "sneak up" instead. But my choice might just be an Americanism and therefore not sound right to you.

Larry deZ.

Either’s good but the Memphis Jug Band were Americans and, as all good blues fans know, they recorded “Stealin’, Stealin’” back in 1929!

P.S. I never thought of it before but I suppose “steal” in this sense shares roots with “stealthy”.

P.P.S. “watching the sky” would have been better than “watching the airspace” — I usually try to use language that RAF pilots used in their sortie reports.

[Johannes]

Hi Guys

I have recently had to clean-up some computer translations German to English, which read terribly, hardly anything of it was flowing, and indeed the old pilots slang often completely baffled me because of the computers literal translation. So much so that the original wording was needed to make any sense at all.

I still think it'll be many years before computers replace interpreters, as my daughter(speaks about a dozen languages, unlike her old Dad) is an interpreter and tour leader, then I'm rather happy about that.

Keep well

Johannes

[ChrisMAg2]

Originally Posted by HGabor

Thank you very much Nick! "Steuerlos, mit stehender Latte" was giving me trouble, especially 'Latte'! The old pilot slang makes translation tricky

Gabor.

Please disregard, if this is too late:

Steuerlos = without steering, with no directional control or without anybody controlling the stick (here an unabled pilot).

mit stehender Latte = with (a) non spinning (not moving) prop (because of a stopped engine).

[HGabor]

Thank you guys for all of your help.
Cheers,
Gabor