It’s June the 21st ,1941.
A unit of Spitfires and Hurricanes escort a formation of British Blenheim bombers towards their target in the north of France.
When suddenly a Bf109 falls from the heavens and flies straight through the allied formation
heading directly for the bombers.
The lone and astonishingly brave Bf 109 heads
for the Blenheims and cuts one down with a deadly barrage of cannon fire.
It bursts into flames and its crew bail as the aircraft falls away from the formation.
The Spitfire pilots are aghast at what’s occurred.
This 109 had just ignored them, knowing they’ll get locked in combat with the rest of his German unit.
Suddenly the mysterious 109 blasts through the middle of the fight a second time, paying absolutely no mind to the escort of deadly Spitfires.
It races through the bomber formation tearing a second Blenheim to shreds.
A Spitfire escapes the melee and chases down the daredevil German pilot.
The 109 dashes left and right as the British aircraft fires
a volley of tracers his way, striking its fuselage.
The German pilot turns upside down and pulls his aircraft into a sharp dive, his pursuer is caught off guard
and fails to match him, overshooting the turn by a mile.
But the German isn’t out of the woods, another Spitfire is following the chase and he takes the place of his compatriot.
The new opponent flies at the 109 and strikes it square on the radiator, a plume of white steam pours out of the Messerschmitt
and the Spitfire victorious pulls away to return to the more pressing battle, leaving the 109 to his fate.
Down below the German aircraft overheats quickly, and its engine seizes.
The pilot acts with calm and spots a German held airfield not too far away.
He expertly glides his wounded and steaming 109 all the way to safety and performs a gentle belly landing on the runway.
Inside, the pilot takes a deep breath, he looks up with the adrenaline still pumping through his veins and stifles a smile.
He had pushed his luck and they had got him.
But it was no matter.
He’ll be back.
This dashing young man is one of the Luftwaffe’s rising stars.
Adolf Galland's career accelerated when in February 1940 he found himself at the controls of the mighty Bf 109.
Just in time for the invasion of Belgium three months later.
Just two days after the beginning of the invasion Galland would find himself in his first ever dogfight.
While flying alongside his wingman he spotted 8 Hurricanes flying below him.
With a brief exchange, the two 109s pounce for their prey.
They dive into the action, sweeping in from behind the group of Hurricanes.
Galland would later recall “I was neither excited nor did I feel hunting fever.
I had one in my gun sight and I thought ‘Come on, defend yourself!’ “
But Galland had caught his opponent completely by surprise.
He fires a burst of shells and they strike the Hurricane on its wings.
The allied pilots immediately fall into disarray, the Hurricanes scatter every which way fleeing the scene,
while Galland keeps up the chase on his chosen target.
The pilot before him attempts evasive maneuvers but he follows them with ease, lining up his shot and opening fire.
His short and deadly bursts tear through the Hurricane’s tail and wing, sending it into an uncontrollable spin straight into the ground.
Galland leaves the wounded aircraft to its fate and races on for a second.
The Bf 109 easily outclasses the Hurricane in speed and quickly catches up to one of the fleeing allies.
The enemy pilot sees Galland coming and he makes a sharp turn into a cloud but Galland keeps up with ease.
With his opponent almost point blank ahead, he pulls the trigger.
In a blur a torrent of 7.92 mm bullets tears through the Hurricane’s tail.
His opponent instantly pulls sharp upwards, throwing its aircraft into a steep climb.
Galland is caught off guard and he pulls off the chase, looping around as he keeps his eyes on his opponent, baffled at its behavior.
But then he quickly realizes that the climb is uncontrolled as he witnesses
the Hurricane keep its upwards angle until it loses all speed,
stalls and drops like a rock from the sky.
He had just claimed two victories, However, Galland was never proud of these events.
He would write “I had not felt any excitement and I was not even particularly elated by my success…
The congratulations of my superiors and comrades left an odd taste in my mouth.
An excellent weapon and luck had been on my side.”
Victories kept climbing after that day, scoring his third that very afternoon.
He kept fighting throughout the battle for France,
slowly but surely earning a staggering 96 victories, one or two at a time.
With his climbing victory count came climbing recognition.
Known for his skill and bravery in the air and gentlemanly behavior on the ground,
he soon found himself befriending important generals and climbing the ranks.
But not all would be good.
Fighters were seen as defenders and bombers as attackers.
So during the Battle of Britain Bf 109s were put into bomber formations
and tasked with defending them during their sorties.
This was insanity as it put 109s at a ridiculous disadvantage against the Spitfire,
which was much better at maneuvering at low speeds.
With bomber losses mounting Goering came to France by train where Galland was summoned.
Exiting the train Goering spent half an hour in a fury with Galland accusing his men of cowardice, uselessness, and more.
For what felt like the millionth time Galland calmly suggested ending such missions
and freeing his fighters to hunt allied attack aircraft, instead explaining
“when we slow down to bomber speed we are only targets, we can’t maneuver.”
Goering fired back “then you will be shot down, better than my expensive bombers.”
Galland was internally furious, eying his superior with ire.
Goering then proceeded to ask what his fighters needed to be more effective at escorting bombers.
Galland bluntly stated; “equip my wing with Spitfires.”
The men’s confrontations continued with no end in sight, with Galland never afraid to fight back against Goering
and never ceasing to request changes that his fighters desperately needed.
In November 1941 the Luftwaffe General in charge of Fighters passed away in an aircraft accident
and Adolf Galland was chosen as his replacement.
He received the promotion unwillingly at the funeral where he was taken to one side by Hermann Goering and given the role.
Galland didn’t wish for this promotion as it would keep him on the ground, whereas his calling was in the air.
But he saw a chance to try and fix the procedural problems that had plagued
the Luftwaffe fighter force throughout the Battle of Britain.
He went on to clash with his superiors more often than he did with the enemy, particularly with Hermann Goering.
As the Minister of Aviation, Goering was Galland’s direct superior and the main advocate of the bomber strategy,
the source of many of Galland’s frustrations.
Surprisingly, despite this constant infighting, he became the longest serving General of the Fighters of the war,
remaining in the position for more than 3 years.
Galland among others bravely pushed for Goering to be replaced
after which the inevitable came to pass and Galland was fired from his post.
Goering championed sending him to Court Marshall for incompetent leadership,
but many skilled fighter pilots loyal to Galland stood up in protest, and Hitler himself intervened.
Galland ended the war flying interceptor Me 262 fighter jets against bombing raids on German soil.
Such a unit had been one of his longtime requests from the moment he got to test fly the jet.
About the experience he wrote “It was as if the angels were pushing me.”
He recruited many pilots to the jet program including a young pilot by the name of Franz Stigler.
In the dying months of the war Galland got to experience the aircraft he had long wished for,
becoming terror personified for the bomber crews over Germany.
But it was too little, far too late.
Galland ended the war with 107 victories to his name, not including possible victories acquired
in his unofficial sorties during his tenure as General of the Fighters.
He was also awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves,
Swords, and Diamonds, among many others.
He surrendered to the Americans and continued his military flying career in Argentina.
Many years after the war he remained friends with Stigler.
In Adam Makos’s book "A Higher Call" Franz Stigler recalled this exchange between the 2 men.
Franz admitted to Galland that he had let a B-17 escape.
All Galland had to say was “It would be you.”
Franz could sense that Galland was neither thrilled nor angry that he had let the bomber escape.
Instead, Galland had mixed feelings, having lost his younger brothers in the war.
Even forty-six years later, he considered Franz’s act to be dereliction of duty — and yet the right thing to do.
Franz and Galland would remain close friends and continue to talk week after week until Galland’s death in 1996.
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