Flying the Bf 109 throughout his service career, Luftwaffe fighter ace, Gunther Rall, ended the war with 272 aerial victories, making him the third most successful fighter ace of all time. Serving through the battles of France and Britain, it was not until his involvement in Operation Barbarossa that his victory tally began to increase in spectacular fashion. After the war, Rall offered his services to the RAF in evaluating the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, where he became firm friends with RAF ace Robert Stanford Tuck. He was also the star of many WWII documentaries on the subject of Luftwaffe operations and air combat in general.
The absolute epitome of WWII fighter design, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 series of fighters have to be regarded as amongst the finest aircraft of all time. Serving throughout the Second World War, the Bf 109 was the most heavily produced fighter in history and was the mount of some of the most prolific fighter aces of WWII. The basic airframe was flexible enough to allow constant upgrades throughout its service career and in tandem with the Focke Wulf Fw 190, provided the backbone of Luftwaffe offensive and defensive fighter support throughout the war. Small, light and powerful, with both cannon and machine gun armament, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 always posed a significant threat for Allied pilots and in the hands of an
Experten, you were in real trouble!
Lieutenant-General Gunther Rall (10 March 1918 - 4 October 2009) was the third most successful fighter ace in history with a total of 275 victories during World War 2. He logged 621 combat missions, was shot down eight times and wounded three times, icluding one serious crash which almost ended his flying career and the loss of a thumb, shot off in combat.
Finishing the war with the rank of Major and Geschwaderkommodore of JG 300. Gunther Rall rejoined the West German military in 1956, overseeing the modifications to the F-104 Starfighter to meet the requirement of the Bundeswehr, leading to the F-104G version. He held the post of Inspekteur der Lftwaffe Jan 1971 to March 1974 and military attache to NATO until retiring October 1975.
Gunther Rall was an enthusiatic and colourful contributor to many documentaries on the wartime Luftwaffe and Bf109 fighter, including Thames Televisions' 'The World at War' and Dicovery Channels' 'Wings' series.