Galland, Adolf “Dolfo” Josef Ferdinand, born 19-03-1912 in Westerholt,
the second of four sons of a farmer, became a glider pilot in 1929 before he joined the Lufthansa. Adolf was fascinated by aviation from a very young age. When he was barely 12 years old, he was already building gliders with which he took off from a field next to his house. When Galland was only 16, he already competed as a glider pilot. Galland did in high school baccalaureate Buer Hindenburg in 1932 and joined the school of the German national airline, Lufthansa. He completed his training in Italy in 1935 and was appointed the first battle group, located then in Döberitz airfield near Berlin. In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, he volunteered for the Condor Legion
and flew ground attack missions in support of the Nationalists under Bahamond Franco.
1940 Galland managed to persuade his superiors to allow him to become a fighter pilot. Galland flew a Messerschmitt Bf 109s
During the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain under defend of Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Sir Arthur Harris “Bomber Harris” or “Butcher Harris”.
By the end of 1940 his tally of victories had reached 57. Adolf Galland was the commander of the Jagd Geschwader 26 “Schlageter”.
Galland earned the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. 








Albert Leo Schlageter (12 August 1894 – 26 May 1923) was a member of the German Freikorps. His activities sabotaging French occupying troops after World War I led to his arrest and eventual execution by French forces.




Although many Luftwaffe records were lost at the end of the war, research suggests that Jagd Geschwader 26 claimed around 2,700 aircraft shot down, with 763 pilots killed (631 in action, 132 in accidents). Some 67 were shot down and became prisoners.



In November 1941, General der Flieger, Kommodore Jagd Geschwader 51, Werner “Vati” Mölders











On 17-01-1945, a group of senior pilots took part in a “Fighter Pilots Revolt”. Galland’s high standing with his fighter pilot peers led to a group of the most decorated Luftwaffe combat leaders loyal to Galland, including Oberst, Kommandeur der II./J.G. 52, Johannes “Macky” Steinhoff
and Freiherr Kurt Günther von Lützow into confronting Goering with a list of demands for the survival of their service. Goering initially suspected Galland had instigated the unrest. Reichsführer-SS, Heinrich “Reichsheini” Himmler (Did you know)
had wanted to put Galland on trial for treason himself. The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKW) appointed the more politically acceptable General der Flieger, Kommandeur II./J.G. 3, Gordon Gollob,
















However, Sylvinia was unable to have children and they divorced on 10-09-1963. On 10-09-1963, Galland married his secretary, Hannelies Ladwein. They had two children: a son, Andreas Hubertus




Death and burial ground of Galland, Adolf “Dolfo” Josef Ferdinand.









Galland later said in his autobiography: I consider myself a sportsman who plays a game with athletes from other countries. The purpose of the sport is to eliminate each other’s aircraft. Just as with car racing, fatal accidents sometimes occur. He also added:Politics has never fascinated me, I did not want to die for Germany or fight for Hitler. I just wanted to be the best. I happened to be born in Germany, if I was born in England I would have fought the Germans.
Dolfo flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western Front and in the Defence of the Reich. On four occasions, he survived being shot down, and he was credited with 104 aerial victories, all of them against the Western Allies.



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