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Adolf Galland may well be the
most popular figure of German WW II military aviation. Respected
by friend and foe all over the world, both during and after this
momentous struggle, he became one of the early aviation war heroes
of the German public during the aerial fights of the Battle of
Britain.
He obtained his Private Pilot
Licence in 1932, joined the airline Lufthansa a year later and
finally volunteered for service in the Luftwaffe in 1934.
He fought in the Spanish Civil
War in 1937 and pioneered fighter bomber tactics that would later
be used extensively throughout WW II. After working in the Ministry
of Aviation upon his return from Spain, he was made commanding
officer of 1./JG433 and later 5./LG2. It was in this latter unit
that he participated in the Polish campaign, flying over 50 missions
during the initial phase of WW II. Posted to JG27 he won his
first three aerial victories in May 1940, quickly adding ten
more to them by the end of the French campaign. Awarded the Knight´s
Cross on July 28th, 1940 and promoted to Officer Commanding (Kommodore)
JG 26 "Schlageter" about a month later. In this role
he fought during the entire duration of the Battle of Britain.
40th victory and award of the Oak Leaves on September 24th, 1940.
The Swords followed after his 69th victory when he was shot down
and injured in a dogfight but managed to bale out.
Recovering quickly, he succeeded
Werner Mölders as General of the Luftwaffe Fighter Forces
on December 5th, 1941 when Mölders was killed in a flying
accident. He was awarded the Diamonds to his Knight´s Cross
with Oak Leaves and Swords, and promoted to Major General at
the age of 30. In his position of Fighter General, Adolf Galland
experienced every detail in the rise and fall of this formidable
force. He pioneered many of the new technical advances and their
testing to operational status, including the world´s first
operational jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me-262. His loyalty
to his men got him into serious trouble with his Nazi superiors,
and as a consequence of these mounting tensions he was finally
relieved of his command as Fighter General in January of 1945.
He survived the end of the war, flying jets in JV44 which operated
under his command. He once again scored several victories and
was eventually captured by U.S. Forces and imprisoned until May
of 1947. His record speaks for itself: 705 combat missions. 103
aerial victories, all on the Western Front including 4 four-engined
bombers and 7 kills in the Me-262 jet.Decorations include: Knight´s
Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamond. |