Gunther Rall

[Helldiver]

I believe the Officer standing next to Adolf Galland in this picture is Gunther Rall.

[Flyboy208]

I think you are right Helldiver, The 4 Luftwaffe pilots that I repect most, because of their flying abilities, not their political affiliation are indeed Adolf Galland, Gunther Rall, Erich Hartmann & Hans Ulrich Rudell.

Real Gunther Rall info here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_Rall

Mike :typing:

[OBIO]

I think you are right Helldiver, The 4 Luftwaffe pilots that I repect most, because of their flying abilities, not their political affiliation are indeed Adolf Galland, Gunther Rall, Erich Hartmann & Hans Ulrich Rudell.

Real Gunther Rall info here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_Rall

Mike :typing:

Interestingly enough, none of the four German pilots listed had any political affiliation...in fact, they were not allowed to have any political affiliation. German officers were not permitted to be a member of any political organization. So, these...and other...pilots were not members of the Nazi Party. They were simply fighter pilots whose air force, unfortunately, was run by the Nazi Party. They, in this regard, were no different than any other fighter pilot....they were simply doing what fighter pilots do on behave of the government of their home nation. The fact that these four pilots flew planes with Nazi Markings on them did not make them Nazis....and, in my eyes, their achievements are not tarnished by those markings.

OBIO

[TARPSBird]

I occasionally see Gunther Rall doing commentary in the various aviation history TV programs. For a guy over 90 he seems to be pretty spry and sharp. Seems like fighter guys "keep it together" in their old age better than the average senior citizen. Maybe it's that residual adrenalin still pumpin'. :d

[Crusader]

Hey TARPSBird : I wonder if they sell " residual adrenalin " anyplace ? I sure could use some .:faint:
Rich

[TARPSBird]

Hey TARPSBird : I wonder if they sell " residual adrenalin " anyplace ? I sure could use some .
Rich
Hehe, we all could - I ought to check at the GNC store! :icon_lol:

[Wild Bill Kelso]

German officers were not permitted to be a member of any political organization.

Sorry, Obio, I don't want to start a political discussion here, but I think I have to answer on this statement:
The membership in the NSDAP in fact was set in abeyance during an officer's active duty in the Wehrmacht.

Being a NSDAP member was definately no impediment for an officer's appointment! But of course, membership could speed up an officer's career...
It's true that membership in the NSDAP was not required for an officer, but from 1934 on, an officer's candidate was obliged to proof his "aryan" origin.

It's also true that the Nazi party tried to increase its influence on the Wehrmacht and these efforts were less successful concerning the Luftwaffe (and the Marine too...), compared to the Heer. On December 22nd, 1943 the function of a Nationalsozialistischer Führungsoffizier (=ideological education officer), who had to be a party member, was installed (source: "Die Wehrmacht" by Rolf-Dieter Müller http://books.google.de/books?id=tOBQq0HA7dYC ). In the end of 1944, there were about 48.000 of those active.

For reasons of historical accuracy, this clarification had to be made.

Regards,
Markus.