Adolf Galland
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Adolf Galland (March 19, 1912 - February 9, 1996) was a World War II German fighter pilot and commander of Germany's fighter force (General der Jagdflieger) from 1941 to 1945. Was a member of the NSDAP.
Born in Westerholt, Westphalia, he was the second of four sons of a land manager. He developed early on a keen interest in aviation, flying home-built gliders (at the time the only type of aircraft allowed in Germany under the terms of the Versailles treaty) from an improvised field near his hometown. Galland graduated from Hindenburg Gymnasium (high school) in Buer in 1932 and joined the aviation school of Germany's national airline, Lufthansa, before transferring to the new and technically illegal Air Force (Luftwaffe) in 1933. Despite a bad crash, he completed his training in Italy in 1935 and was posted to the 1st Fighter Group, then based at Döberitz airfield near Berlin.
During the Spanish Civil War, Galland commanded a Legion Condor squadron on the Nationalist side at El Ferrol from mid-1937, flying over 300 missions in Heinkel He 51s. In 1939, he was decorated with the Spanish Cross following the Nationalist victory.
Just before the outbreak of World War II, Galland was promoted to Captain (Hauptmann) and took part in 50 ground-attack missions in Poland with 4.(S)/LG 2 equipped with the Henschel Hs 123. He was transferred to a fighter unit in February 1940, Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG-27) as Adjudant. Two of his brothers were also fighter pilots. Paul Galland would eventually die in action in 1942 and Wilhelm in 1943.On 12 May, near Liege, he scored his first aerial victory. By the end of the French campaign he had 14 victories.
From June 1940 on, Galland flew as squadron leader (Gruppenkommandeur) with JG-26, fighting the Battle of Britain flying Messerschmitt Bf 109'Emils' from bases in the Pas de Calais. In July, Galland was promoted to Major, and in November became Kommodore(CO) of JG26 itself, and promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel). By the end of 1940, Galland had 58 victories. He continued to lead JG 26 through 1941 against the RAF fighter sweeps across Northern Europe. Galland was shot down and slightly wounded by a 303 Sqn Spitfire on June 21, 1941. In November 1941, following his 94th official victory, he was chosen by Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring to command Germany's fighter force as General der Jagdflieger, succeeding renowned ace Werner Mölders who had just died in an air crash (having himself just succeeded another German aviation legend, Ernst Udet). This promotion made Galland the youngest Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) in Germany. No longer flying operationally, he organized the successful air protection for the Channel Dash of the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and the Prinz Eugen, and was then responsible for the air defence of the Reich. As General der Jagdflieger, he had at his disposal a small flight operating Fw 190s. He flew a dozen or so combat missions through 1942-44 and probably gained two more victories over USAAF B-17 heavies sometime during early 1944, although on one occasion narrowly avoided being shot down by USAAF escort fighters. In 1942, Galland flew an early prototype of the Messerschmitt Me 262, the world's first operational jet fighter. After the flight, he described his experience: "It was as if an angel is pushing you..." and he became an enthusiastic supporter of this aircraft.
Typically open, blunt, and a repeated critic of his superior Göring, Galland was soon distanced from the Nazi hierarchy. (He was reportedly more a German patriot than a Nazi admirer) In January 1945, he was finally relieved of his command following the 'Fighters Revolt,' an attempt by senior fighter commanders to give at long last top priority to fighter production against Hitler's orders to keep producing bombers to strike back at the Allies. The High Command approved Gordon Gollob succeeded him as General der Jagdflieger and Galland was returned to front line duties, forming the elite JV 44 (Jagdverband) in March 1945 and leading it until his last mission on April 26, 1945 when he was wounded in a dogfight with an American P-47 Thunderbolt and sustained further injuries crash-landing his Me 262. Galland ended the war with 103 victories in 705 missions and the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) with diamonds, swords and oakleaves, one of the highest German military decorations. His victory claims included 7 ( all USAAF) with the Me-262, 55 Spitfires, 30 Hurricanes, & 5 French Air Force aircraft.
Galland was captured by the U.S. Army on May 14, 1945 and remained a prisoner of war until 1947. His first job after captivity was to lecture on tactics for Britain's Royal Air Force. From 1948 to 1955, he and other ex-Luftwaffe experts worked as consultants to the Argentine Air Force and the nascent Argentine aircraft industry. Following the termination of Argentina's attempt to establish an indigenous aeronautical industry, Galland returned to Germany and had a successful career running his own aviation firm and consultancy. Through the post war years Galland built up lasting respect and friendship with many of his former adversaries, particularly Robert Stanford Tuck , Johnnie Johnson and Douglas Bader.
Galland married Sylvinia von Donhoff in February 1954.
His autobiography, The First and the Last (Die Ersten und die Letzten), was published in 1957 and is widely regarded as the best World War II aviation memoir from the Axis side and one of the best overall. The English translation of this very successful book was reprinted in 2005 by Cerberus Press (ISBN 1841450200).
Trivia
- Such was Galland's love of cigars, he allegedly had a lighter installed in the cockpit of his Bf 109E during the Battle of Britain.
- During a conversation with Göring, in which the Luftwaffe chief asked what he could do to help the fighter effort during the Battle of Britain, Galland allegedly replied "Get me a squadron of Spitfires".
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