Adolf Galland
Military Person
name=Adolf Galland | lived=March 19, 1912 - February 9, 1996 | placeofbirth=Westerholt | placeofdeath= | image= | Adolf_Galland_portrait.jpg |
| caption= | nickname= | allegiance=Germany | serviceyears=1933-1945 | rank=General der Jagdflieger | commands=JG 26 and JV 44 | unit=Condor Legion, LG 2, JG 27, JG 26 and JV 44 | battles= | awards=Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillianten | laterwork=Aircraft consultant}}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. He was a member of the NSDAP. Two of his brothers were also fighter pilots. Paul Galland would eventually die in action in 1942 and Wilhelm Galland in 1943.Born in Westerholt, Westphalia, Galland was the second of four sons of a land manager. He developed an early 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 Jagdgeschwader 2 Richtofen, then based at Döberitz airfield near Berlin.During the Spanish Civil War, Galland was appointed Staffelkapitän of a Legion Condor squadron, 3. Staffel/J/88, on the Nationalist side at El Ferrol from mid-1937, flying ground attack missions in Heinkel He 51s. In Spain, Galland first displayed his dashing style - flying in swimming trunks, clenching a cigar between his teeth, flying an aircraft gaily decorated with a Mickey Mouse figure. But he was no mere show-off; he flew over 300 missions in Spain, developed early gasoline bombs, and was awarded with the Spanish Cross following the Nationalist victory.Just before the outbreak of World War II, Galland was promoted to Hauptmann and took part in 50 ground-attack missions in the Invasion of Poland with 4.(S)/LG 2[For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization] equipped with the Henschel Hs 123 from 1 September 1939 onwards. The Hs 123 was a 'bi-plane Stuka' and he flew about 50 ground attack missions. He was transferred to a fighter unit in February 1940, Jagdgeschwader 27 as Adjudant. On 12 May, near Liege, Galland scored his first aerial victory. By the end of the French campaign he had 14 victories. On the 1 August 1940 Galland became the third fighter pilot to receive the Ritterkreuz.
From June 1940 on, Galland flew as a Gruppenkommandeur of III./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.
By mid August, Goering's dissatisfaction with the performance of the fighter arm led to him replacing his pre-war Jagdgeschwader Commanders with the current wave of younger high-achievers. Thus on 22 August Galland replaced Major Gotthard Handrick and became Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26.
Galland was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 25 September for 40 kills.
By the end of 1940, he had 58 victories. Promoted to Oberstleutnant, Galland 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 Squadron Spitfire on 21 June, 1941. The Schwerter (swords) award to the Ritterkreuz followed the same month.
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). The promotion made Galland the youngest Generalleutnant in Germany. No longer flying operationally, he organized the successful air protection for the Channel Dash of the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the cruiser Prinz Eugen.
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.
During 1943 Galland became more involved with the air defence of the Reich against the increasing USAAF day bombing offensive. 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 the USAAF escort fighters.
By mid 1944, the catastophic losses suffered by the Luftwaffe prompted Galland to carefully husband a last reserve of 1,000 pilots and planes in order to strike a potentially decisive single blow at the Allied bomber streams. However the daring operation planned for late 1944 never came about as the reserves were used up during the ill-fated Ardennes offensive.
Typically open, blunt, and a repeated critic of his superior Göring, Galland was soon distanced from the Nazi hierarchy. In January 1945, he was finally relieved of his command and put under house arrest following the 'Fighter Pilot's Revolt'. A group of the most decorated Luftwaffe leaders loyal to Galland confronted the Luftwaffe commander Reichsmarschall Herman Göring with a list of demands for the survival of their service, and their concern over the Reichsmarschall's lack of understanding and unwillingness to support his pilots against accusations of cowardice and treason.
The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe appointed the more politically acceptable Gordon Gollob to succeed him as General der Jagdflieger. Although professional contemporaries, Gollob and Galland had a mutual dislike for each other, and after Galland had removed the Austrian from his personal staff Gollob started to gather evidence to use against Galland, detailing his gambling, womanising and private use of Luftwaffe transport.
Galland was returned back to front line duties in disgrace, and was initially assigned to command a Staffel of JG 54, at that time stranded behind Soviet lines in Courland. However he was soon tasked with forming the elite JV 44 (Jagdverband) in March 1945. He was allowed to handpick a number of formidable experten, including Johannes Steinhoff, Heinrich Bär and Gerhard Barkhorn. Galland led JV 44 until his last mission on April 26, 1945 when he was wounded in a dogfight with an American P-47 Thunderbolt and sustained a knee injury crash-landing his Me 262. Command was transferred to Bär, but Galland was concerned about his men and tried to negotiate a separate surrender for the JV 44 pilots to Allied forces in early May.
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 were all against the Western Allies, and included 7 with the Me-262. His kills include 55 Spitfires, 30 Hurricanes and 5 French Air Force aircraft. All 7 Me 262 kills were against American 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. In 1984 he married his second wife, Heidi Horn, and remained with her until his death.
His autobiography, The First and the Last (Die Ersten und die Letzten), was published in 1957 and is widely regarded as the most insightful 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).* David Baker (1996), Adolf Galland: The Authorised Biography. Windrow and Green, London.
* Mike Sprick (2006), Aces of the Reich: The Making of a Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot Greenhill Books.*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.
*In Galland's autobiography, Galland discusses the much debated "Give me a squadron of Spitfires." quote. In Galland's own words:Goering clearly represented the point of view of the bombers and demanded close and rigid protection. The bomber, he said, was more important than record bag figures. I tried to point out that the Me109 was superior in the attack and not so suitable for purely defensive purposes as the Spitfire, which, although a little slower, was much more manoeuvrable. He rejected my objection. We received many more harsh words. Finally, as his time ran short, he grew more amiable and asked what were the requirements for our squadrons. Moelders asked for a series of Me109's with more powerful engines. The request was granted. 'And you ?' Goering turned to me. I did not hesitate long. 'I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my group.' After blurting this out, I had rather a shock, for it was not really meant that way. Of course, fundamentally I preferred our Me109 to the Spitfire, but I was unbelievably vexed at the lack of understanding and the stubbornness with which the command gave us orders we could not execute - or only incompletely - as a result of many shortcomings for which we were not to blame. Such brazen-faced impudence made even Goering speechless. He stamped off, growling as he went.*http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/gallan/gallan.htm
*http://members.aol.com/geobat66/galland/galland.htm
*http://www.luftwaffe.cz/gallanda.html
*http://www.xs4all.nl/~ejnoomen/galland.html
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