Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland
Date of Birth: 19.03.1912 - Westerholt, Recklinghausen, Westfalen (German Empire)
Date of Death: 09.02.1996 - Oberwinter, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Nickname: Dolfo, Keffer
Victories: 104 kills from 705 mission
Promotions:
01.05.1934 Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier
01.09.1934 Fähnrich
01.01.1935 Leutnant
01.08.1937 Oberleutnant
01.10.1939 Hauptmann
19.07.1940 Major
01.11.1940 Oberstleutnant
04.12.1941 Oberst
01.11.1942 Generalmajor
01.11.1944 Generalleutnant
Career:
00.00.1932 - 00.00.1934 Pilot-Training at the Commercial-Flying-School Braunschweig
01.04.1934 - 30.09.1935 Entered the Army as Fahnenjunker in the 10th Infantry-Regiment
01.10.1935 - 06.05.1937 Transferred to Luftwaffe Service as Flight-Teacher at the Flying-School Schleißheim then in Fighter-Wing Richthofen, then Group Bernburg
07.05.1937 - 00.08.1937 Leader of Staff-Company J 88 (Legion Condor)
00.08.1937 - 00.06.1938 Staffelkapitän 3.Staffel / Jagdgruppe 88 – Legion Condor
00.06.1938 - 31.08.1938 Detached to the 3rd Department, Staff S in the RLM
01.09.1938 - 31.10.1938 Adjutant Jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen'
01.11.1938 - 31.01.1939 Staffelkapitän in I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen'
01.02.1939 - 30.09.1939 Staffelkapitän inJagdgeschwader 52
01.07.1939 - 30.09.1939 Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Lehrgeschwader 2
01.10.1939 - 31.03.1940 Adjutant Jagdgeschwader 27
01.04.1940 - 05.06.1940 Officer with Special Duties with the Staff of the Jagdgeschwader 27, Detached to I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 27
06.06.1940 - 21.08.1940 Gruppenkommandeur III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 26 'Schlageter'
22.08.1940 - 04.12.1941 Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 26 'Schlageter'
05.12.1941 - 31.01.1945 General der Jagdflieger (L In 3) RLM
01.02.1945 - 26.04.1945 Kommandeur Jagdverband 44 (JV 44) (Me 262)
26.04.1945 - 06.05.1945 Wounded, in Hospital
06.05.1945 - 10.05.1947 In US Captivity
10.05.1947 Released
Awards and Decorations:
00.00.193_ Flugzeugführerabzeichen
00.00.193_ Medalla de la Campaña de España
00.00.193_ Medalla Militar Individual de España con Diamantes
06.06.1939 Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Brillanten
00.00.19__ Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV.Klasse
00.00.1939 Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938
15.09.1939 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
22.05.1940 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
29.07.1940 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes #96, as Major and Gruppenkommandeur III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) “Schlageter”. The following wartime excerpt (dated 30.08.1940) describes why Galland received the Ritterkreuz: “Major Galland has distinguished himself as a Gruppe commander in a Jagdgeschwader as a result of his exceptional aggressiveness. By now he has shot down 14 enemy aircraft. Under his leadership the Gruppe executed numerous successful ground attack attacks as well, which included one mission (19.06.1940) where he eliminated 3 AA batteries.”
00.08.1940 Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachter-Abzeichen in Gold mit Brillanten
16.08.1940 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
24.09.1940 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #3, as Major and Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) “Schlageter”. Awarded after 40 aerial victories.
25.09.1940 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
02.11.1940 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
18.04.1941 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
21.06.1941 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #1, as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) “Schlageter”. Awarded after 69 aerial victories.
22.06.1941 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
30.10.1941 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
28.01.1942 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten #2, as Oberst and Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) “Schlageter”. Awarded after 94 aerial victories.
15.02.1942 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
00.00.194_ Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger und Einzatszahl "400"
00.00.1945 Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz
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Adolf Galland was born on 19th March 1912 and started flying, the same way as many other German pilots of that time, as a glider pilot. He began his flying career with Lufthansa, but then he had to join the army where he was recruited into the 10. Infanterie-Regiment stationed in Dresden. Galland soon transferred to the Luftwaffe and on 12th March 1935 he was appointed as a Lieutenant to the Jagdgeschwader 1 at Doberitz.
He received his combat experience in the Spanish Civil War, where he arrived on 8th May 1937 as commander of 3. / Jagdgeschwader 33 at El Ferrol. This unit flew the Heinkel He 51. During the Spanish Civil War he flew a total of 280 missions.
Just after the start of the Polish Campaign, on 1st October 1939, Galland was promoted to Captain. In the Polish Campaign he flew a Henschell Hs 123 in a ground support unit. During the Campaign in the West (Fall Gelb) he joined Jagdgeschwader 27 (27th Fighter Squadron) and in his Messerschmitt Bf-109 he shot down his first two enemy planes on 12th May 12th 1940, these were soon to be followed by another 10. On 10th June 1940 he was appointed commander of III. / Jagdgeschwader 26 and was promoted to Major on 18th July. During the Battle of Britain, Adolf Galland became one of the top aces with 57 enemy planes shot down. His leadership capabilities did not go unnoticed and he became commander of Jagdgeschwader 26 on 22nd August. After the death of Oberst Mölders on 22nd November 1941, Galland succeeded him as General of the German Fighter arm. But he was not promoted to General until 19th November 1942, becoming the youngest General in the entire German army.
On 22nd May 1942 Galland was the first to make a flight with the prototype of the new Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter. After being promoted to General-Lieutenant (November 1944) he organized a meeting between Göring and the most important Fighter unit Commanders. They criticized the German Fighter policy which resulted in the dismissal of Galland as General of the Fighter arm. Under the influence of Adolf Hitler himself, Adolf Galland was appointed as commander of a new fighter unit flying the Me-262. He succeeded in recruiting most of the Knights-Cross fighter pilots, making it the highest decorated German fighter unit. Galland flew his last wartime mission on 26th April 1945 when he shot down his last plane, a Martin B-26 Marauder.
After the war he had to withstand harsh interrogations for his role as General of the German Fighter Arm and he was released from captivity in 1947. This resulted in him not being allowed to fly again; afterwards he found a job as a Forest Ranger. In 1948 however, he was invited by the Argentine President, Peron, to become an Air Force advisor to the Argentine Air Force. He returned to Germany in the summer of 1953 to married Sylvinia, Countess von Dönhoff. The Argentine forces gave him a Royal farewell party on 7th February 1955 at which, he was highly decorated. At a flying show on 26th April 1955, Galland received special permission to fly an Italian Piaggio 149 and he subsequently won 2nd prize. At the end of 1955 he was invited to work for the German Government once again and he became the Commanding Officer of the newly formed German Air Force. He left the Air Force in 1957 to start his own aeronautical consultancy company.
Subsequently, he became a widower and on 10th February 1984 he married Heidi Horn. Adolf Galland died on 9th February 1996 and was buried at Remagen-Oberwinter.
Source :
Jim Haley photo collection
https://www.alexautographs.com/
https://www.keralapool.com/photos/luftwaffe-general.html
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/G/GallandA.htm
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/215/Galland-Adolf-Dolfo-Keffer.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027111958fw_/http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/WEHRMACHT/LUFTWAFFE/Generalleutnant/GALLAND_ADOLF.html
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