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Gunther Rall
WW2 Fighter Pilot

Fast Facts

Full Name: Gunther Rall
Occupation:
Fighter pilot
Birthday: March 10, 1918
Place of Birth: Gaggenau, Baden, German Empire
Date of Death: October 4, 2009
Place of Death: Bad Reichenhall

Lifespan: March 10, 1918 – October 4, 2009

Gunther Rall

Gunther Rall was the third highest scoring German fighter Ace of WWII. He achieved 275 victories during his fighter pilot career during the World War II. Out of those victories, 272 were against the Soviet fighters. He was assigned to 621 combat missions and was shot down 8 times and wounded 3 times but was never captured by the enemies. He participated in a lot of battles like the Battle of France, The Battle of Britain, the Balkan Campaign and the Battle over Crete. His rank rose from Second Lieutenant to Major, then to Geschwader kommodore of JG 300. Gunther Rall led his pilots to many victories because he was very intelligent when it comes to combat tactics at the same time his leadership skills were excellent.

 

Background and Early Life
Gunther Rall was a son of a business man. He was educated in Gymnasuim which is located in Stuttgart. He spent his elementary and high school years there. He studied 9 years in Latin and 5 years in Classical Greek. His education was focused more on Literature; Math and Science were just minor subjects. He graduated at the age of 18 and joined the infantry regiment.

Personal Life and Family
Gunther Rall was born on March 10, 1918 in Gaggenau, Baden, German Empire. His father was a merchant and was on service during World War 1 when he was born. He had one sister who lived in Stuttgard.
He married Dr. Hertha Schon in 1941, whom he met while he was under hospital treatment. She died 8 years after their marriage. They had 2 daughters. His eldest daughter was married to a French man and lived in Paris, France with 1 son, Clement and daughter, Anna Louise. Felicita, his second daughter, lived in Munich with 2 daughters.

Work and Career
France:
The Battle of France was his first fight and he achieved his first victory on May 12, 1940.

Britain:
He participated in the Battle of Britain and was given command of Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 52. Because the squadron had many loses, they were withdrawn from combat so their loses would be replaced.

Yoguslavia and Greece:
On the spring of 1941,
Gunther Rall joined the Balkans Campaign. He took part in the air invasion and was successful. He was later on assigned to Romania to help defend the oil fields from Soviet bombers.

Eastern front:
On June 1941, he had his third and 4th victories after he joined Operation Barbarossa. By the end of WW11,
Gunther Rall had achieved 250 victories with a total of 151 aircraft destroyed.

He was quoted during the campaign of 1943- 1945:

“In my experience, the Royal Air Force pilot was the 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.”

"The British were sporting. They would accept a fight under almost all conditions."

Details of Death
On October 4, 2009, Gunther Hall died at the age of 91. He had had a heart attack two days prior to his death.

 

Influence & Legacy
His bravery and leadership skills had been an inspiration to the other fighter pilots to win any combats they met. Although, he was assigned to a team known for many losses, he did not lose hope but he lead them to many combat victories.

  • Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on November 17, 1941
  • Combined Pilots-Observation Badge
  • Iron Cross on 1939
  • 2nd Class on May 23, 1940
  • 1st Class on July 1940
  • Wound Badge on 1939 in Gold
  • German Cross in Gold on December 15, 1941 as Oberleutnant of the 8./JG 52
  • "Crete" Cuffband
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on September 3, 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 8./JG 52
  • 134th Oak Leaves on October 26, 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 8./JG 52
  • 34th Swords on September 12,1943 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur in the III./JG 52
  • Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for fighter pilots in Gold with penant "600"
  • Mentioned two times in the Wehrmachtbericht
  • "Honorary Fellow" Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP)
  • Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern on 1973
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Gunther Rall

 

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Gunther Rall - WW2 Fighter Ace

 

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