Nickname: No information
Date of Birth: 10.03.1918 - Gaggenau, German Empire
Date of Death: 04.10.2009 - Bad Reichenhall, Germany
Battles and Operations: Western Campaign, Battle of Britain, Balkans Campaign and Battle of Crete, Operation Barbarossa, air defence of Romania, Battle of Kiev, First Battle of Kharkov, Crimean Campaign, Battle of the Caucasus, Kuban Bridgehead, retreat from Stalingrad, Operation Citadel and Battle of Kursk, air battles over Central and Southern Ukraine, Crimean Offensive, Reichsverteidigung
NSDAP-Number: No information
SS-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: Rudolf Rall (merchant and member of Stahlhelm and DNVP) and Minna Rall (née Heinzelmann)
Siblings: one sister Lotte (four years older)
Spouse: Hertha Schön (married 1943)
Children: four (first child Monika born and died November 1943, second child Alex born 1945 and died young, Franziska born 28.09.1950, Felizitas born 17.03.1955)
Promotions:
04.12.1936 Offiziersanwärter (Heer)
01.07.1938 Oberfähnrich (Luftwaffe)
00.00.1939 Leutnant
01.08.1940 Oberleutnant
00.00.1943 Hauptmann
01.11.1943 Major
01.01.1956 Major (Bundeswehr)
00.00.1964 Oberst (Bundeswehr)
00.00.1967 Brigadegeneral (Bundeswehr)
15.11.1967 Generalmajor (Bundeswehr)
00.00.1970 Generalleutnant (Bundeswehr)
Career:
00.00.1922 family moved to Stuttgart
00.00.1928 joined Christian Boy Scouts (later Deutsches Jungvolk)
00.00.1935 Abitur at Napola Backnang
04.12.1936 entered Heer as Offiziersanwärter, Infanterieregiment 13
01.07.1938 transferred to Luftwaffe as Oberfähnrich
07.1939-09.1939 fighter pilot training at Jagdfliegerschule Werneuchen
16.09.1939 posted to 4. Staffel/JG 52 as Rottenführer
25.07.1940 Staffelkapitän 8./JG 52
05.07.1943 (acting earlier) Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 52
19.04.1944 Gruppenkommandeur II./JG 11
20.02.1945-08.05.1945 Geschwaderkommodore JG 300
08.05.1945-08.1945 prisoner of war
07.1947-05.1948 salesman Siemens & Halske
01.01.1956 rejoined Bundeswehr as Major
09.1956-03.1957 flight refresher training on T-6 and T-33
late 1958 first German F-104 Starfighter pilot licence
00.00.1964-31.03.1966 Kommodore Jagdbombergeschwader 34
1966/67 Inspizient Fliegende Verbände der Luftwaffe
1967/68 Kommandeur 3. Luftwaffendivision
1968/69 Kommandeur 1. Luftwaffendivision
1969/70 Chef des Stabes 4. Allied Tactical Air Force
01.10.1970-31.12.1970 Kommandierender General Luftwaffenführungskommando
01.01.1971-31.03.1974 Inspekteur der Luftwaffe
1974-1975 Deutscher Militärischer Bevollmächtigter im NATO-Militärausschuss, Brüssel
01.10.1975 retired
00.00.1975-1989 consultant in aerospace industry (General Electric, MTU Aero Engines)
Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (23.05.1940)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (07.1940)
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (17.11.1941)
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (15.12.1941)
Ärmelband Kreta
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold
Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (03.09.1942) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän 8./JG 52, on the occasion of his 65th aerial victory. Rall had already claimed 36 victories by November 1941 (when he was shot down, badly wounded, and grounded for nearly a year). He returned to combat in August 1942 during the Battle of the Caucasus. In a remarkable four-week span (2–30 August), he scored 26 victories (raising his total from 37 to 62), including four in a single day on 6 August. His unit operated in intense air battles supporting German ground advances deep in southern Russia. A notable episode involved defending German pontoon bridges over the Terek River near Grozny: Soviet forces repeatedly attacked the crossings, but Rall’s III. Gruppe (with pilots like Adolf Dickfeld and Alfred Grislawski) inflicted heavy losses on the Soviet 4th Air Army (which lost 149 aircraft in September 1942 alone). Rall’s 61st victory was scored near Grozny. His 65th victory—a LaGG-3 fighter—was claimed on 2 September 1942 at 15:50 southeast of Kalinowskaja (grid reference PQ 54611). This rapid scoring run in support of the Caucasus offensive earned him the Ritterkreuz the next day.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #134 (26.10.1942) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän 8./JG 52, on the occasion of his 100th aerial victory (achieved 22 October 1942). He was the 28th Luftwaffe pilot to reach the “century mark.”. Following the Ritterkreuz, Rall continued flying with JG 52 on the Eastern Front. He reached exactly 100 victories on 22 October 1942 at 14:36 by shooting down another LaGG-3 west of Werchne Atschakuli. This came during ongoing operations in the Caucasus and southern Russia, just before the major Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad. The award recognised his consistent performance and leadership as a Staffelkapitän. After the presentation he was granted leave and married his fiancée Hertha Schön shortly afterwards. He returned to the front as the German armies began retreating following the disaster at Stalingrad.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #34 (12.09.1943) as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 52, on the occasion of his 200th aerial victory (achieved 29 August 1943). He became only the third fighter pilot (after Hermann Graf and Hans Philipp) to reach the double-century mark. In summer 1943, Rall flew during and after the Battle of Kursk and the subsequent German withdrawal in Ukraine. In August 1943 alone he claimed 33 victories while his Gruppe operated over Central Ukraine. On 29 August he shot down two LaGG-3 fighters in the vicinity of Kuybyshev (present-day Samara area); the second of these was his 200th victory (claimed at 08:21 near Sinjewka, grid PQ 34 Ost 88364, 25 km south-southeast of Jalisawehino). This achievement was highlighted in the official Wehrmachtbericht (armed forces communiqué) the same day. By the end of 1943 he had passed 250 victories (second pilot after Walter Nowotny to do so), but the Swords were specifically tied to the 200th. The award recognised not only the raw score but his leadership of III. Gruppe during intense defensive fighting against growing Soviet air superiority.
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger 600
Mentioned in Wehrmachtbericht (29.08.1943 and 30.11.1943)
Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (1973)
Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
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Günther Rall (10 March 1918 – 4 October 2009) was a highly decorated German military aviator, officer and General, whose military career spanned nearly forty years. Rall was the third most successful fighter pilot in aviation history, behind Gerhard Barkhorn, who is second, and Erich Hartmann, who is first.
Rall was born on 10 March 1918 in Gaggenau, at the time in the Grand Duchy of Baden of the German Empire during World War I. He was the second child of merchant Rudolf Rall and his wife Minna, née Heinzelmann. His sister Lotte was four years older than Rall. Rall stated that his father was a member of Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten (The Steel helmet, League of front-line Soldiers) and had an affiliation with the German National People's Party.
In 1922, the Rall family moved to Stuttgart. There, in 1928, Rall joined the Christian Boy Scouts. In 1934, the Gleichschaltung converted the Christian Boy Scouts into the Deutsches Jungvolk as part of the Hitler Youth. He attended the Volksschule in Stuttgart. For his secondary education, he first attended the humanities-oriented Karls-Gymnasium in Stuttgart. Then in 1935 he transferred to the National Political Institutes of Education (Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt—Napola) in Backnang, a secondary boarding school founded under the recently established Nazi state. The goal of the Napola schools was to raise a new generation for the political, military and administrative leadership of Nazi Germany. There he received his Abitur (university entry qualification). Following graduation, Rall volunteered for military service in December 1936.
On 4 December 1936, Rall joined the 13. (Württembergisches) Infanterie-Regiment of the Army in Ludwigsburg as a Fahnenjunker (junior officer candidate). From 1 January to 31 June 1938, he attended the Kriegsschule, a military school in Dresden. In the summer of 1938, Rall requested to be transferred to the Luftwaffe. Now an Oberfähnrich, he was trained as a pilot at Unterbiberg airfield. On 1 September 1938, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant). Rall then attended the Jagdfliegerschule Werneuchen (fighter pilot school) from 15 July to 15 September 1939. He was then posted to 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 16 September where he served as a Rottenführer (flight leader of a Rotte).
World War II in Europe began on 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. JG 52 did not support the invasion. It was posted to western Germany, protecting the German border during the "Phoney War" and Rall did not see combat. On 7 March 1940, he was transferred to 8. Staffel when JG 52 was augmented by the newly created III. Gruppe (3rd group). On 10 May 1940 Fall Gelb began, and JG 52 supported German forces in the invasion of Belgium and Battle of France. On the third day of the campaign, 12 May 1940, Rall achieved his first victory. Three French Curtiss H75-C1 fighters were attacking a German reconnaissance aircraft at a height of 26,000 feet (7,900 meters). Rall attacked them and shot down one, stating: "I was lucky in my first dogfight, but it did give me a hell of a lot of self-confidence ... and a scaring, because I was also hit by many bullets." The victory was his only success on the Western Front.
JG 52 was later moved to Peuplingues and Coquelles on the French Channel coast where it fought in the Battle of Britain. Due to heavy losses, he was given command as a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 8. Staffel JG 52 on 25 July 1940. He was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) a week later, on 1 August 1940. Rall replaced Oberleutnant Lothar Ehrlich, who was killed in action with No. 610 Squadron RAF the previous day during the convoy battles. Ehrlich was one of three pilots killed that day. Rall said of the battle, "probably no one even had time to shout a warning. Suddenly a flock of Spitfires were on us like hawks on a bunch of chickens." Rall placed the blame for losses on faulty tactics such as flying the Bf 109s in close escort roles for the slow Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers. On the day he was appointed Oberleutnant, JG 52 lost another four pilots, including two Staffelkapitäns. Rall's Staffel lost one pilot missing in action with No. 65 Squadron RAF over Dover in the early afternoon. Rall and his unit achieved little. Several of the highest claiming pilots of JG 52, including Gerhard Barkhorn, Alfred Grislawski, Adolf Dickfeld, were not successful over England.
The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this task, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) Wilhelm Speidel. III. Gruppe JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941. Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel. Rall arrived at Pipera Airfield on 15 October, where 8. Staffel stayed until 18 November when they moved to Leipzig-Mockau Airfield. Three days later, 8. Staffel moved to Parndorf in Austria. On 30 November, the Staffel began relocating back to Pipera Airfield where they arrived on 2 December, staying there until 27 May 1941.
Rall's unit was then transferred to Greece and participated in the final phase of the Balkans Campaign. On 27 May, Rall flew to Plovdiv, Saloniki, Tatoi Airfield north of Athens and then to Molaoi where he stayed until 10 June. Based at Molaoi, he flew combat missions in support of the airborne invasion and subsequent Battle of Crete. JG 52 was transferred back to Romania to help defend their recently acquired allies' Ploiești oil fields.
On 21 June 1941, III. Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești. The invasion of the Soviet Union began on 22 June. The next day, the Gruppe moved to Mamaia, the northern district of Constanța on the Black Sea coast. On 22 June, the Axis forces launched the war on the Eastern Front. The majority of JG 52 were supporting Army Group South and the invasion of the Ukrainian SSR.
Rall's contingent remained in eastern Romania. The Red Air Force (VVS) immediately began a campaign to destroy the Romanian oil fields. Major General Pavel Zhigarev, commanding the VVS ChF (Air Command Crimea), committed the 63 BAP (63rd Bomber Aviation Regiment) and 40 SBAP (40th High Speed Bomber Aviation Regiment). The attacks met with some success, although heavy losses forced the switch to night bombing from mid-July. Rall scored his second, third and fourth victories intercepting Soviet bombers. During a five-day period, III. Gruppe JG 52 claimed between 45 and 50 Soviet aircraft. Rall remarked the reason for the success was the Soviets did not provide fighter escort for their bombers.
The Gruppe moved to Belaya Tserkov on 1 August during the Battle of Kiev and also used an airfield at Yampil from 6 to 8 August. Rall claimed his fifth victory on 4 August thus becoming an "ace". While providing escort for Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (StG 77—77th Dive Bomber Wing) on 13 August 1941, with Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), Rall claimed a Polikarpov I-16 as did JG 3's Günther Lützow. The Soviet pilots were from the 88 IAP Fighter Regiment and identified as Lieutenants Yakov Kozlov and Ivan Novikov. III. Gruppe JG 52 supported the encirclement of Kiev in August.
Rall claimed 12 victories in October 1941 as III. Gruppe JG 52 fought for air superiority during the First Battle of Kharkov; an autumn offensive to seize the industrialized regions of Eastern Ukraine. On 14 October there was heavy air fighting. Rall claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 over his group's Poltava airfield after being scrambled in the midst of a Soviet air attack. The Germans had failed in the race for the Ukrainian industrial heartland. After the capture of Kharkov and Stalino the Germans found 54 medium and 223 large factories; all empty. Some 1.5 million wagonloads had been evacuated.
On 23 October, III. Gruppe JG 52 moved to Chaplynka in the Crimea. With II. Gruppe JG 3 and JG 77, it was ordered to clear the skies. The Crimean Campaign lasted into the following year. The German fighter units claimed 140 aircraft from 18 to 24 October over Perekop. Rall had reached 28 victories by this date. At the time, his regular wingman was Obergefreiter Friedrich Wachowiak.
The Gruppe then moved to an airfield at Taganrog on 2 November where they stayed until 1 January 1942. In November the Red Army regrouped and conducted a well-orchestrated recapture of Rostov. The victory denied the Germans access to the Caucasus. Rall received the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 17 November. On 28 November 1941, Rall claimed his 36th victory near the contested city, but as he watched the burning I-16 fall in the fading light, Rall relaxed his vigilance and was shot down. He tried to fly back to German lines with a damaged engine, but crash landed and was knocked unconscious. A German tank crew rescued him from the wreck. His Bf 109 came down hard, breaking his back. Rall was hospitalized for nearly a year and was invalided from flying duties.
Rall returned to combat operations in August 1942. He quickly regained his form and on 3 September 1942 was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after reaching 65 victories. By 22 October 1942 he claimed his 100th victory and received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. Rall participated in the intense air battles over the Eastern Front, including operations supporting the advance toward the Caucasus and later defensive actions. In 1943 he suffered another injury in a hard landing that broke his back again. While recovering he married Hertha Schön, the doctor who treated him. By late August 1943 he reached 200 victories. On 12 September 1943 he was awarded the Swords to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves after surpassing 250 victories by the end of the year. Rall commanded elements of JG 52 during major operations such as the Battle of Kursk and subsequent retreats.
In April 1944 Rall was transferred from the Eastern Front to command II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 11 on the Western Front for the Defense of the Reich. There he was wounded for the third time when his left thumb was shot off during combat with a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. In November 1944 he served as an instructor, test-flying captured Allied fighters including American and British types to prepare tactical notes for Luftwaffe pilots. His final wartime assignment was command of Jagdgeschwader 300 near Salzburg, Austria. He surrendered to American forces in May 1945.
After the war Rall was held briefly as a prisoner before release. In 1956 he joined the newly reconstituted West German Air Force, the Bundesluftwaffe, as one of its founding officers. He trained in the United States on jet aircraft such as the F-84 Thunderjet and later the F-104 Starfighter. Rall rose steadily through the ranks, commanding various fighter wings and groups during the Cold War era. He served in key leadership roles, including staff positions at the Ministry of Defence. From 1970 to 1974 he held the position of Inspector of the Air Force (Inspekteur der Luftwaffe), the highest command role in the German air arm. He then served as the German military representative to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels until his retirement in 1975 at the rank of Generalleutnant. For his contributions to rebuilding Germany's air force and strengthening NATO ties, he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Following retirement Rall worked as a consultant for aviation and defence companies. He remained involved in historical and veterans' organisations, frequently speaking about his wartime experiences and the evolution of air power. He authored memoirs detailing his career and maintained contacts with former comrades and Allied pilots. Rall lived quietly in southern Germany and continued to advocate for professional military standards.
Rall died on 4 October 2009 in Bad Reichenhall, Germany, at the age of 91.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://books.google.com/
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units
Günther Rall: Mein Flugbuch. Erinnerungen 1938-2004 (2004)
Christopher Shores, Clive Williams: Aces High. A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII (1994)
Mike Spick: Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. The Luftwaffe's Greatest Pilots (1996)
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