Günther Rall (* March 10, 1918 in Gaggenau; † October 4, 2009 in Bad Reichenhall) was a German officer, most recently a lieutenant general in the German Air Force. During World War II, he became the third most successful fighter pilot in air war history (after Erich Hartmann and Gerhard Barkhorn), with 275 kills. In 1970 he became Commanding General of the Air Fleet Command, from 1971 to 1974 Inspector of the Air Force, and in 1974/75 German representative on the NATO Military Committee.
Childhood and youth:
Rall grew up in Gaggenau together with his older sister Lotte in a conservative Protestant home. At that time, his father was an authorized signatory at Eisenwerke Gaggenau AG. After moving to Stuttgart, Rudolf Rall was an independent businessman. He was also a member of the "Stahlhelm" and - "monarchist at heart" - was close to the DNVP. Günther Rall's mother Minna was very involved in church life and raised her children accordingly. Günther Rall attended the humanistic Karls-Gymnasium in Stuttgart before transferring to the Napola Backnang in 1935, where he passed his Abitur the following year.
Military career:
After the Reich Labor Service, he joined the army on December 4, 1936, as an officer candidate with Infantry Regiment 13. On July 1, 1938, he transferred to the Luftwaffe as a midshipman, where, after completing his fighter pilot training, he was assigned as a lieutenant to Fighter Squadron 52. In this squadron he was to spend most of the Second World War. His first aerial victory came on May 18, 1940, near Metz. This was to be followed by 274 more confirmed aerial victories during the course of the war. In 1941, the squadron saw action in the battles of Crete as well as in Operation Barbarossa. After being shot down in November 1941, he had to be treated for a severe back injury at Vienna University Hospital until July 1942. There he met his future wife Hertha. He returned to his squadron and subsequently became the third most successful fighter pilot in history, after Erich Hartmann and Gerhard Barkhorn, based on the number of aircraft shot down. Because of his successes he was stylized as an idol by the propaganda and received high awards. These facts helped him to survive a court case against him in 1943 without any consequences (his later wife had helped several Jewish citizens to leave the country in 1938 in Vienna after the annexation of Austria).
In April 1944, now holding the rank of major and with 273 aerial victories the Luftwaffe's most successful fighter pilot at that time, he was ordered to the Reichsverteidigung in the west, where he became group commander in JG 11. On May 12, 1944, he was shot down immediately after his 275th and last aerial victory. For several months he struggled with a severe wound infection. In November 1944, he became commander of the General of Fighter Pilots' Association Leader School. During the last two months of the war, he commanded JG 300 as Commodore. During the surrender, he was taken prisoner of war, from which he was released in August 1945. Afterwards, Rall initially worked as a manager in the clearing of forests in southwestern Germany, a measure that had become necessary due to a bark beetle plague. He later took up employment with the Siemens & Halske company. His wife worked first as a doctor in a children's hospital and later at Schloss Salem boarding school (Baden); Rall himself was also employed there for a time.
German Armed Forces:
Effective January 1, 1956, Rall was commissioned as a major in the Bundeswehr. From September 1956 to March 1957, he received training on the North American T-6 and the jet-powered Lockheed T-33, followed in late 1958 by instruction on the F-104 Starfighter, for which he was the first German pilot to obtain a license. He was subsequently able to put his experience to good use in a posting as a fighter pilot inspector in the General Air Force Office and as head of the F-104 working staff. After attending a course at the NATO Defense College in Paris in 1964 and a last active flying assignment as 2nd Commodore of JaboG 34 in Memmingen from 1964 to 1966, he was used in duty posts in various command authorities:
1966/67: Inspizient "Flying Units of the Air Force" in the Air Force Office, Cologne-Wahn.
1967/68: Commander 3rd Air Force Division, Kalkar
1968/69: Commander 1st Air Force Division, Meßstetten
1969/70: Chief of Staff of the 4th Allied Tactical Air Force (ATAF), Heidelberg
1970: Commanding General Air Fleet, Cologne-Wahn
1971-1974: Inspector of the German Air Force, Bonn
1974-1975: German Military Plenipotentiary to the NATO Military Committee, Brussels.
After Rall had already come under public criticism because of the "Starfighter" accidents that occurred during his term of office, another affair on the occasion of a trip to South Africa at the end of 1974 led to his departure from office: Rall traveled under a false name and at the expense of the South African government to the country, which was the subject of international criticism because of the apartheid that prevailed there. In South Africa, Rall visited the Pelindaba nuclear research center, spoke with South African generals and toured military facilities. The official reason for the trip was to visit a former comrade living in what is now Namibia. On October 1, 1975, German Defense Minister Georg Leber dismissed Rall. The customary "Große Zapfenstreich" was not held, partly because the SPD parliamentary group had announced that it would not attend the ceremony, whereupon Rall himself is said to have asked for the event to be cancelled. In his memoirs, he also emphasized that the visit had a purely private background and that he had come into contact with the South African military through no fault of his own; however, he did not list individual visits to specific installations.
Rall remained connected to the Air Force even after his active service. In 2004/05, he and other former Luftwaffe generals lobbied unsuccessfully against the withdrawal of the traditional name "Mölders" from Fighter Squadron 74, which he had bestowed on it during his time as Air Force inspector. The traditional name was withdrawn by the Minister of Defense in January 2005.
Awards:
Cup of Honor for special achievement in air warfare
Iron Cross (1939) II. and I. class
Wounded Badge (1939) in Gold
German Cross in Gold
Sleeve ribbon Crete
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves and swords
Knight's Cross 3 September 1942 (on the occasion of the 65th Air Victory)
Oak Leaves 26 October 1942 (134th award on the occasion of the 100th aerial victory)
Swords 12 September 1943 (34th award on the occasion of the 200th aerial victory)
Frontflugspange for fighters in gold with pendant mission number "600
twice mentioned in the Wehrmacht report
"Honorary Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP)
Legion of Merit (USA)
Grand Federal Cross of Merit (1973)
Grand Federal Cross of Merit with Star
