Sad news arrived in the press last week as Generalleutnant Günther Rall, an accomplished German fighter pilot and one of the most successful fighter aces in the history of aviation passed away at his home in Germany on 4 October 2009, aged 91, after suffering a heart attack two days earlier.

Click to enlarge image
[Der Bruzzla photo]

Günther Rall goes into history as the third most successful fighter ace ever. He achieved a whopping total of 275 victories during World War II. He flew an equally incomprehensible total of 621 combat missions, was shot down eight times and seriously wounded three times.

Rall claimed all of his victories flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Significantly, "only" three out of 275 were scored on the Western Front, and none against the RAF.

Aged 21 at the outbreak of war, Rall first saw combat during the Battle of France serving with the JG52. On 12 May 1940, he scored his first victory over a French Curtiss Hawk 75. He succeeded in shooting down one more Hawk a week later.

During the Battle of Britain, JG52 was stationed in the Calais area. Rall did not achieve any further combat success at that time. On the contrary, his unit suffered heavy losses. During period of two weeks at the height of the battle the Geschwader lost their commander, the adjutant, and all three Staffel commanders were killed. Thus, somewhat inadvertently, Rall's career got a rapid push forward. On 25 July 1940 he was given command of 8./JG 52 and on 1st August was promoted to Oberleutnant. He would see many more of his peers perish in combat during the subsequent war years.

Rall always spoke very highly of the RAF. During a postwar interview he said:

"In my experience, the Royal Air Force pilot was most aggressive and capable fighter pilot during the Second World War. This is nothing against the Americans, because they came in late and in such large numbers that we don't have an accurate comparison. We were totally outnumbered when the Americans engaged, whereas at the time of the Battle of Britain the fight was more even and you could compare. The British were extremely good."

After the Battle of Britain, Rall's II./JG 52 was posted back to Germany for rest and replacements. It then moved to Romania, took part in the invasion of Greece and operations over Crete in May 1941. As operation Barbarossa began, the unit was posted to the southern part of the Eastern Front.

It was during the three years uninterrupted combat on the Eastern Front that Rall really showed his exceptional class. He scored his third, fourth and fifth victories in three days of June 1941. In October, his tally stood at 12. In November it was already 37, but Rall was himself shot down, crash-landing in no-mans land and breaking his back in three places. Initially it was thought that he would never be walking again, not to mention flying. But Rall defied all the odds and after several months at the hospital in Vienna, returned to his unit a year later, in August 1942. During his treatment he met a nurse, Hertha, whom he later married.

His return to combat brought even more success than previously. From August to November 1942, Rall claimed another 38 victories, bringing his total to 101. During that time he was awarded the Knight's Cross and the Oak's Leaves.

In Spring of 1943 he was promoted to Hauptmann subsequently took command of III./JG 52. He logged his 150th victory in August, only to be followed by 200th near the end of September, for which he was awarded the Swords to the Knight's Cross. In November, he became the second pilot, after Walter Nowotny, to achieve 250 kills.

In April 1944, Rall's service at the Eastern Front was brought to an end through posting as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 11 which served in defence of the Reich and the American daylight bombing. With that came promotion to the rank of Major. His career was short-lived, however. On 12 May 1944 he was shot down in a combat with American P-47s, suffered new injuries and was again hospitalised for many months.

His last wartime duty was with Jagdgeschwader 300 (JG 300), operating in southern Germany.

By any standard, Rall's achievements during the Second World War were outstanding and attracted great admiration from his former adversaries. During his retirement, Rall established firm friendships with his former British and American adversaries and made many visits to each country. He was a charming and modest man and was notable for his many appearances in history documentaries where his flawless English, his objectivity, intelligence and knowledge always made a lasting impression.

"We fought for our country and to stay alive. We did not think about the personal nature of killing in the air. We were proud of every victory in the air, and particularly happy that we had not been hit ourselves. Of course, I tell myself in quiet moments today: 'You've killed. In order to protect others and not be killed yourself.' But in the end: for what? The Third Reich trained 30,000 pilots. Ten thousand survived the war. One-third."
Günther Rall

Labels: history