Baker Adolf Galland

The Authorised Biography
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-0-7198-4545-1
Verlag: The Crowood Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 368 Seiten

A remarkable story of integrity, skill and survival in a world divided by war The most famous German fighter pilot of World War II, Adolf Galland was respected by both comrades and former enemies alike. A highly decorated 'ace' with over 100 air-to-air victories in the West, he was a recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, which was awarded to only 27 men among the millions who served. After the war, he built friendships with the very Allied pilots he once fought and was admired as much for his integrity as for his prowess as a pilot and commander. In his final years, he worked closely with historian David Baker to produce this authorised biography, largely illustrated with photographs from his private albums. Offering a rare glimpse into both the air battles of World War II and the inner workings of the Luftwaffe, and now featuring new appendices that include the latest research into Galland's aerial kills, this book stands as an essential record of one of history's most remarkable fighter pilots.

David Baker has spent most of his professional life involved with US aviation, space programmes and defence organisations worldwide. He has lectured extensively on the political, industrial and technical development of military aviation and has written thousands of articles and over 120 books. Now a professional historian, he has been editor of Horizons, Aviation News, Jane's Aircraft Upgrades, Jane's Spaceflight Directory and SpaceFlight. He has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Arthur C Clarke Award and the American Astronautical Society's Frederick I Ordway award.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Baker, David

Leseproben

CHAPTER 2 March 1932 - April 1933

Adolf Galland had already confronted his father with his ambition to become a professional pilot. It happened just before matriculation when ‘Papa’ took his son on a walk through the Westerholt estate, recalling how he had taught Adolf to shoot and to hunt, how he had given him that elusive instinct for stalking prey, and how - to the lad’s distress - he had given him his first taste of pipe tobacco. But conversation quickly turned to the realities of life in a wider world where Adolf would have to make his way in dangerous and unpredictable times. Beneficiaries of a somewhat detached rural existence, the Gallands were nevertheless perfectly aware of how hard life was for many people in Germany. More than six million Germans were out of work with little or no prospect of employment.

In 1922 escalating inflation followed a flight of capital abroad, stagnant trade and a deepening balance of payments crisis; the heavy reparations claimed by the victorious powers made these conditions impossible to correct. In 1923 French troops occupied the Ruhr, provoking passive resistance and a temporary halt to reparations payments; in retaliation the French blockaded the Rhineland and virtually cut it off from the rest of Germany, worsening the financial crisis. In little more than 18 months the value of the mark against the dollar went from RM162 to RM4.2 billion. Food riots broke out as barter replaced currency. Across Germany a storm of despairing anger fanned support for a range of extremist factions which threatened to plunge the country into civil war. Communists in Saxony and Thuringia joined left-wing socialists in an attempt to seize control of the Reich; in Bavaria officials refused to obey calls from Berlin for the suppression of extremist parties such as Adolf Hitler’s National Socialists. In attempting a putsch in Munich early in November 1923 Hitler overreached himself; his party was dissolved, and he himself was sent to Landsberg prison following trial in April 1924. Later in the decade the reconstituted party would rise again to challenge the precarious order presided over by Field Marshal von Hindenburg. Successive, ineffective governments and continual readjustment of the reparations payment schedule stifled growth and rekindled the flames of dissent.

In September 1930 the communists and the Nazis both recorded major gains in elections. The government led by Heinrich Bruening struggled to maintain stability amid a chaos orchestrated by both left and right. On 13 March 1932 a mandatory election for president saw Hindenburg challenged by four candidates, one of whom was Hitler; a re-run one month later left Hitler in second place. This particular event was only weeks away as the Gallands, father and son, walked and talked in the Westerholt woods.

The dilemma that faced the 19-year-old Adolf was very real. Jobs were desperately scarce; but he had very specific ideas about what he wanted. Reluctant at first, ‘Papa’ Galland warmed to the idea when he saw the sheer determination and enthusiasm with which his son was fixed upon a career in flying. The odds were heavily against success: there were far too many hopeful young would-be pilots chasing far too few openings. Nevertheless, ‘Papa’ Galland put his heart and soul behind his son, and when the walk in the woods was over Adolf had a staunch supporter. It was a turning point in his relationship with his father. From that day forward he had nothing but respect for him, and would always remember how his father had allowed himself to be persuaded that what his son wanted, his son was going to get.

Shortly afterwards Galland applied for one of just 20 positions that year in the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule or DVS (commercial flying school) - as did about 4,000 others in 1932. The odds were daunting, although his glider flying gave him some advantages. From these thousands of applicants about 100 were picked to attend a ten-day selection course at Braunschweig, about 55km (35 miles) south-east of Hannover; and Galland’s name was among the chosen few.

The DVS had four flying schools including Braunschweig; the others were at Warnemuende near Rostock, at Schleissheim outside Munich, and at List on the North Sea island of Sylt. All were heavily subsidised by Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH), created on 6 January 1926 from the two major German airlines of the day - Deutsche Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr - with 36 per cent government capitalisation. There had followed an unprecedented expansion in routes and destinations. Only the DVS could carry a pupil progressively through the five licence grades certifying a pilot for all types of aircraft. These were graded according to the number of engines, the number of people carried and the flight weight, from the basic A1 grade licensing a pilot to fly a single-engined, single-seat aircraft with a flight weight of up to 500kg (1,100lb), to the B2, for twin-engined aircraft of 5,000kg (11,025lb) with up to seven passengers. The C licence was for any aircraft type.

By 1930 DLH was Europe’s leading airline, and would become the de facto training school for Germany’s military pilots and the cradle of her military aircraft development, neither of which were permitted under the terms of Versailles. With heavy government funding DLH was able to stay one step ahead of the international competition in new airliners, feeding the nascent German aircraft industry with specifications to keep DLH equipped with German aircraft and engines - with predictable support from the military, against the expectation of less restricted days. Those days were coming a lot quicker than Adolf Galland or his fellows realised as they arrived at Braunschweig. But flying for Europe’s premier airline was an appealing enough prospect; only the previous year the company had introduced into service the giant Junkers G38, a massive 24,385kg (24 ton) four-engined airliner capable of carrying 34 passengers at 200kph (127mph) for 3,500km (2,150 miles).

There is no doubt that German transport aircraft were ahead of the competition throughout the 1930s, though lacking the markets available to the American, British and French industries. Over the next six years DLH were to specify and introduce into service three aircraft that would play central military roles in World War II: the ubiquitous Junkers Ju52 transport entered service in 1932, and the Heinkel He111 by 1936; and the Focke-Wulf Fw200 - the first four-engined landplane to have a trans-Atlantic capability - carried DLH passengers from 1938.

Life at Braunschweig proved tough and uncompromising. Dressed in blue civilian clothes, applicants were subjected to a disciplinary regimen that was military in its rigour. Scurrying from the modern barrack blocks to their various classrooms, examination rooms, instruction halls and interview boards, they endured psychological as well as technical tests. Evaluation was thorough and highly selective; DLH wanted highly trained and disciplined pilots, and the army wanted a pool of airmen from which the core of a modern air arm could emerge when the time was ripe. No one knew then that, when it did emerge, the air force would become a military service in its own right rather than an element of the army.

* * *

At the end of ten days 18 applicants were selected to go forward for DLH flight training, and Adolf Galland was among them. He was jubilant at this confirmation that he was among the best, but the going got tougher as the real instruction began. Constantly under threat of expulsion if they failed to perform as expected, the trainees got used to working and studying under pressure. Anyone who faltered could look forward to 50 Reichsmarks in his pocket and a train ride home. It was a fitting preparation for military life.

Most instructors were veterans of the 1914-18 war, who brought to their task a military style which did not endear them to their students. Proudly aware that they had been selected from among several thousand applicants, the trainees were unwilling to be brow-beaten like raw recruits. Yet there were some instructors who retained their military bearing while offering much that the trainees could identify with. One such was the principal of the flying school, Oberst Alfred Keller. A former bomber pilot who had conducted raids on London during the war, and who had been awarded Germany’s highest award for bravery - the Ordre pour le Merite - Keller achieved the right balance between maintaining discipline and allowing the freedom to explore individual talent and aptitude. A daunting figure at first sight, he understand how to lead young men, and more than once gave Adolf Galland the confidence to carry on.

An Albatros L101 provided Galland’s first experience at die controls of a powered aeroplane when he was taken into the air by an instructor named Stutz. Powered by a 110hp Argus inverted inline engine, the L101 was a high-wing monoplane with tandem seats; it had a cruising speed of just under 160kph (100mph), a ceiling of just over 4,900m (16,000ft) and a range of 740km (460 miles) in ideal conditions. Last in a long line of Albatros types, the L101 was a pleasant aeroplane to fly.

On a subsequent flight Galland made a heavy landing and broke the undercarriage, denting his confidence and raising the spectre of that rail ticket home. He was further shaken by an incident in which two Klemm trainers collided in midair while he was leading a three-plane formation; fortunately, no one was killed. As flight leader it was Galland’s role to make distinct signals when changing direction; by inference, the conclusion that poor formation tactics had led to the accident...