Günther Rall (10 March 1918 – 4 October 2009) was a highly decorated German military aviator, officer and General, whose military career spanned nearly forty years. Rall was the third most successful fighter pilot in aviation history, behind Gerhard Barkhorn, who is second, and Erich Hartmann, who is first.
Rall was born in Gaggenau, the German Empire, in March 1918. Rall grew up in the Weimar Republic. In 1933 the Nazi Party seized power and Rall, deciding upon a military career, joined the Army in 1936 to train as an infantry soldier. Rall transferred to the Luftwaffe soon after and he qualified as a fighter pilot in 1938. In September 1939 World War II began with the German invasion of Poland. Rall was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) and flew combat patrols during the Phoney War period on the Western Front. Rall flew combat missions in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain, claiming one enemy aircraft destroyed in May 1940. Rall's wing sustained heavy casualties and the then 22 year old was appointed as a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader). He served in the Balkans Campaign in April and May 1941 without success.
In June 1941, JG 52 moved to the Eastern Front, where it remained from the start of Operation Barbarossa until the end of the war. Rall claimed his first successes in the air defense of Romania. In November 1941, he was shot down, wounded and invalidated from flying for a year. At this time Rall had claimed 36 aerial victories. His achievements earned him the German Cross in Gold in December 1941. Rall returned in August 1942 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 3 September 1942 for 65 enemy aircraft shot down. By 22 October Rall had claimed 100 victories and received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. He reached 200 in late August 1943. On 12 September 1943, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, the second highest military award in Nazi Germany at the time of the presentation. By the end of 1943 Rall had achieved over 250 victories, the second flier to do so after Walter Nowotny, who did so in October 1943.
In April 1944, Rall left JG 52 and the Eastern Front. He was given command of II. Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 11 and served in the Defense of the Reich where he was wounded for a third time. In November 1944, Rall was appointed as an instructor and flew captured Allied fighter aircraft in order to prepare instruction notes on their performance for German fighter pilots. Rall ended the war with an unsuccessful stint commanding Jagdgeschwader 300 (JG 300—300th Fighter Wing) near Salzburg, Austria, where he surrendered in May 1945. During World War II, Rall was credited with the destruction of 275 enemy aircraft in 621 combat missions. He was shot down five times and wounded on three occasions. Rall claimed all of his victories in a Messerschmitt Bf 109, though he also flew the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 operationally. All but three of his claims were against Soviet opposition. Rall joined the West German Air Force in 1956, served as Inspector of the Air Force from 1971 to 1974, and as the German representative to the NATO Military Committee until 1975. After his retirement Rall became a consultant. Among his post-war achievements was the honor of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was awarded to him for his post-1945 service.
Early life and career Rall was born on 10 March 1918 in Gaggenau, at the time in the Grand Duchy of Baden of the German Empire during World War I. He was the second child of merchant Rudolf Rall and his wife Minna, née Heinzelmann. His sister Lotte was four years older than Rall. Rall stated that his father was a member of Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten (The Steel helmet, League of front-line Soldiers) and had an affiliation with the German National People's Party.
In 1922, the Rall family moved to Stuttgart. There, in 1928, Rall joined the Christian Boy Scouts. In 1934, the Gleichschaltung converted the Christian Boy Scouts into the Deutsches Jungvolk as part of the Hitler Youth. He attended the Volksschule in Stuttgart. For his secondary education, he first attended the humanities-oriented Karls-Gymnasium in Stuttgart. Then in 1935 he transferred to the National Political Institutes of Education (—Napola) in Backnang, a secondary boarding school founded under the recently established Nazi state. The goal of the Napola schools was to raise a new generation for the political, military and administrative leadership of Nazi Germany. There he received his Abitur (university entry qualification). Following graduation, Rall volunteered for military service in December 1936.
On 4 December 1936, Rall joined the 13. (Württembergisches) Infanterie-Regiment of the Army in Ludwigsburg as a Fahnenjunker (junior officer candidate). From 1 January to 31 June 1938, he attended the Kriegsschule, a military school in Dresden. In the summer of 1938, Rall requested to be transferred to the Luftwaffe. Now an Oberfähnrich, he was trained as a pilot at Unterbiberg airfield. On 1 September 1938, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant). Rall then attended the Jagdfliegerschule Werneuchen (fighter pilot school) from 15 July to 15 September 1939. He was then posted to 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 16 September where he served as a Rottenführer (flight leader of a Rotte).
World War II World War II in Europe began on 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. JG 52 did not support the invasion. It was posted to western Germany, protecting the German border during the "Phoney War" and Rall did not see combat. On 7 March 1940, he was transferred to 8. Staffel when JG 52 was augmented by the newly created III. Gruppe (3rd group). On 10 May 1940 Fall Gelb began, and JG 52 supported German forces in the invasion of Belgium and Battle of France. On the third day of the campaign, 12 May 1940, Rall achieved his first victory. Three French Curtiss H75-C1 fighters were attacking a German reconnaissance aircraft at a height of . Rall attacked them and shot down one, stating: "I was lucky in my first dogfight, but it did give me a hell of a lot of self-confidence ... and a scaring, because I was also hit by many bullets." The victory was his only success on the Western Front.
JG 52 was later moved to Peuplingues and Coquelles on the French Channel coast where it fought in the Battle of Britain. Due to heavy losses, he was given command as a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 8. Staffel JG 52For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organisation of the Luftwaffe during World War II. on 25 July 1940. He was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) a week later, on 1 August 1940. Rall replaced Oberleutnant Lothar Ehrlich, who was killed in action with No. 610 Squadron RAF the previous day during the convoy battles. Ehrlich was one of three pilots killed that day. Rall said of the battle, "probably no one even had time to shout a warning. Suddenly a flock of Spitfires were on us like hawks on a bunch of chickens." Rall placed the blame for losses on faulty tactics such as flying the Bf 109s in close escort roles for the slow Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers. On the day he was appointed Oberleutnant, JG 52 lost another four pilots, including two Staffelkapitäns. Rall's Staffel lost one pilot missing in action with No. 65 Squadron RAF over Dover in the early afternoon. Rall and his unit achieved little. Several of the highest claiming pilots of JG 52, including Gerhard Barkhorn, Alfred Grislawski, Adolf Dickfeld, were not successful over England.
The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this task, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) . III. Gruppe JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941. Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel. Rall arrived at Pipera Airfield on 15 October, where 8. Staffel stayed until 18 November when they moved to Leipzig-Mockau Airfield. Three days later, 8. Staffel moved to Parndorf in Austria. On 30 November, the Staffel began relocating back to Pipera Airfield where they arrived on 2 December, staying there until 27 May 1941.
Rall's unit was then transferred to Greece and participated in the final phase of the Balkans Campaign. On 27 May, Rall flew to Plovdiv, Saloniki, Tatoi Airfield north of Athens and then to Molaoi where he stayed until 10 June. Based at Molaoi, he flew combat missions in support of the airborne invasion and subsequent Battle of Crete. JG 52 was transferred back to Romania to help defend their recently acquired allies' Ploiești oil fields.
Eastern Front
On 21 June 1941, III. Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești. The invasion of the Soviet Union began on 22 June. The next day, the Gruppe moved to Mamaia, the northern district of Constanța on the Black Sea coast. On 22 June, the Axis forces launched the war on the Eastern Front. The majority of JG 52 were supporting Army Group South and the invasion of the Ukrainian SSR.
Rall's contingent remained in eastern Romania. The Red Air Force (VVS) immediately began a campaign to destroy the Romanian oil fields. Major General Pavel Zhigarev, commanding the VVS ChF (Air Command Crimea), committed the 63 BAP (63rd Bomber Aviation Regiment) and 40 SBAP (40th High Speed Bomber Aviation Regiment). The attacks met with some success, although heavy losses forced the switch to night bombing from mid-July. Rall scored his second, third and fourth victories intercepting Soviet bombers. During a five-day period, III. Gruppe JG 52 claimed between 45 and 50 Soviet aircraft. Rall remarked the reason for the success was the Soviets did not provide fighter escort for their bombers.
The Gruppe moved to Belaya Tserkov on 1 August during the Battle of Kiev and also used an airfield at Yampil from 6 to 8 August. Rall claimed his fifth victory on 4 August thus becoming an "ace". While providing escort for Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (StG 77—77th Dive Bomber Wing) on 13 August 1941, with Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), Rall claimed a Polikarpov I-16 as did JG 3's Günther Lützow. The Soviet pilots were from the 88 IAP Fighter Regiment and identified as Lieutenants Yakov Kozlov and Ivan Novikov.IAP—Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk (Fighter Aviation Regiment—Истребительный Авиационный Полк) III. Gruppe JG 52 supported the encirclement of Kiev in August.
Rall claimed 12 victories in October 1941 as III. Gruppe JG 52 fought for air superiority during the First Battle of Kharkov; an autumn offensive to seize the industrialized regions of Eastern Ukraine. On 14 October there was heavy air fighting. Rall claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 over his group's Poltava airfield after being scrambled in the midst of a Soviet air attack. The Germans had failed in the race for the Ukrainian industrial heartland. After the capture of Kharkov and Stalino the Germans found 54 medium and 223 large factories; all empty. Some 1.5 million wagonloads had been evacuated.
On 23 October, III. Gruppe JG 52 moved to Chaplynka in the Crimea. With II. Gruppe JG 3 and JG 77, it was ordered to clear the skies. The Crimean Campaign lasted into the following year. The German fighter units claimed 140 aircraft from 18 to 24 October over Perekop. Rall had reached 28 victories by this date. At the time, his regular wingman was Obergefreiter Friedrich Wachowiak.