Adolf Galland Quotes

Adolf Dolfo Joseph Ferdinand Galland was a German Luftwaffe General and flying ace who served throughout World War II in Europe. As a young man he learnt to fly gliders and as soon as he was old enough he joined the Luftwaffe. In October 1934, he was commissioned as a lieutenant and led a squadron during the Spanish Civil War. In the Asturias campaign in September 1937, he experimented with new bombing tactics. This became known as carpet bombing. He also took part in the bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937. Between May 1937 and July 1938 he carried out 280 combat missions in Spain. On the outbreak of the Second World War he was placed in charge of a ground support unit and during the blitzkrieg in Poland he won the Iron Cross and was promoted to captain. Galland returned to front-line duty and now flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 shot down two more Allied aircraft on April 26, 1945 bringing his score to 103. Galland returned to Germany in 1955 and was employed as a aerospace consultant, airline president and business executive. Adolf Galland died on March 9, 1996.