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| Gunther Rall -Lieutenant General and Doctor, Luftwaffe Inspektor 1974-1975 has died at 91 in his home in Germany. http://faz-community.faz.net/blogs/sicherh...-gestorben.aspx Holder of the Knights cross of the Iron Cross with Swords he is historys 3rd ranking Ace fighter pilot with 275 Kills("Wictories" as he would say). Participated in 621 Air Battles over France, Britain, Yugoslavia, Greece, Russia, and Germany. Taken out of a POW camp to show USAAF & RAF pilots how to fly the ME-262 Jet Fighter. After his first dogfight he said: "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" Shot down 6 times, severely wounded 3 times including having his thumb shot off in a dogfight with Cpt. Joseph Powers jr USAAF(56th Ftr Grp). In his Opinion, the RAF fighter pilots were the best he faced: "In my experience, the Royal Air Force pilot was most aggressive and capable fighter pilot during the Second World War. This 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" Upon joining the West German Lufwaffe in 1956 he set about rebuilding the air arm and insisted upon safety improvements to the US built F-104G ejection seats. He was part of the Honor Guard at Konrad Adenauers funeral. Awards and Decorations included: Knights Cross of the Iron cross with Swords Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class German Cross Wound Badge "Kreta" Cuff title Front flying clasp of the Luftwaffe (combat badge) Mentioned in despatches twice Honor roll of the Luftwaffe US Legion of Merit Federal Cross of Merit (West Germany) |