"He who wants to protect everything, protects nothing," is one of the fundamental rules of defense.
Adolf Galland
 |
Adolf Galland during the Spanish
Civil War, in which he flew
Heinkel He-51 biplanes,
more often on strafing missions
than in aerial combat. |
This article was written by Colin D. Heaton and originally appeared in the January 1997 issue of World War II (taken from
HistoryNet).
"When historians speak of pilots and the history of air combat, certain names invariably come up sooner or later–Manfred von Richthofen, Edward Mannock, René Fonck, Erich Hartmann, Alexander Pokryshkin, Johnny Johnson, Dick Bong… and Adolf Galland. Galland was the youngest general grade officer of either side in World War II, and at age 29 he was more competent in aerial combat, strategy and tactics than many of the experts nearly twice his age. Galland fought a hard battle against his superiors on the ground, which made the danger in the air inviting, almost welcome. Adolf Hitler and Luftwaffe Chief Hermann Göring, who were always trying to find fault and place the blame on others for their own failures, began pointing fingers at the fighter pilots. Was it not they who failed to stop the death and destruction delivered by Allied bombers? Was it not the fighter pilots who demanded more of the resources and new technology, yet produced the least results? Göring betrayed his pilots and publicly denounced them as cowards, provoking the Fighters’ Revolt in January 1945.
"German Luftwaffe members Erich Hartmann, Adolf Galland and Johannes Steinhoff achieved a measure of immortality for their flying and fighting prowess during World War II. A name missing from many histories of that conflict, however, is Hermann Graf — with 212 confirmed victories, one of the most decorated aces in the Luftwaffe.
