One of the Enjoyable Aspects of Pilot Counters to Give Missions Historical
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One of the enjoyable aspects of Galland, Adolph wanted more bombers; where RISE OF THE LUFTWAFFE and (Bf.109: P, H, Bu, A; Me.262: A, CV, P, Bu) Galland wanted to create a central EIGHTH AIR FORCE is using One of the most famous of all the fighter defense for protecting pilot counters to give missions Luftwaffe pilots, Adolph Galland Germany from Allied bombers, historical color. To many players, was a product of the "secret" Goring wanted a peripheral one. defeating a named ace is an event Luftwaffe of the 1930's, flying his Towards the end of the war worth celebrating. However, first combat missions over Spain Galland would repeatedly con while some of the pilots included in 1937 and 1938. He started serve his meager fighter forces for in the games are familiar to flying up to four sorties a day in telling blows upon the Allies, anyone with a passing interest in WW II in an antiquated Hs.123 only to have Hitler order them World War II (e.g. Bader, Galland, ground support aircraft during into premature and ineffective Yeager), most are much less the invasion of Poland, earning offensives. Galland also had to known. This is the first in a series the Iron Cross, Second Class. defend the pilots under his of articles by myself and other Without a victory at the end of the command from repeated defama authors which provide back campaign, he used trickery and a tion at the hands of Hitler, Goring ground information on the pilots sympathetic doctor to get himself and the German propaganda of the Down in Flames series. I will back into fighters. Joining machine. be focusing here exclusively on Jagdgeschwader (JG) 27, he saw All of this plus a disagreement the experten ("experts"-the usual little action until the invasion of over the deployment of the definition of an "ace" was not the West, recording his first three Me.262 jet resulted in Galland's recognized by the Germans) of kills, all Hurricanes, on May 12, dismissal as General of the the Luftwaffe. As a caveat, some of 1940. The following month he was Fighter Arm in January 1945. Still the counters (primarily the transferred to JG 26 (aka "The a Lieutenant-General, he was then unskilled pilots) were created by Abbeville Boys"), where he given command of a Me.262 staffel the games' designer and develop commanded 3 Gruppe during the (squadron), the famous JV 44 or ers as "generic" pilots, and were conclusion of the French cam "Squadron of Experts", to prove not modeled on historic individu paign and the start of the Battle of his contentions about the jet. als. Thus, while there may have Britain. By September 1940, he Galland led JV 44 until he was been actual pilots with those had racked up 40 victories and wounded in late April, 1945, names, in most cases I have not been promoted to Major. In scoring seven more kills for a attempted to document them. November he was promoted final tally of 104, including four Further, where I have made again to Lieutenant Colonel and heavy bombers. His sorties per recommendations to change the given command of JG 26 as part kill ratio of 4.09 was comparable skills, aircraft or campaigns of a of an overall restructuring of the to Erich Hartmann's 4.05. By the particular pilot, it is intended for Luftwaffe, with younger combat conclusion of the war, he had historical accuracy only, as officers replacing older ones in received the Knight's Cross with changing the mix of pilot counters many units. Oak Leaves, Swords and Dia may unbalance a competitive Upon the death of Werner monds, one of ten members of campaign. A forthcoming article, Molders in November 1941, the "Experten of the Luftwaffe, Part Galland was made General of the Luftwaffe to do so. II," will add more German pilots Fighter Arm, which greatly cut to the game and provide balanced In the air, Galland was a good down on his flying combat historical pilot counter mixes for pilot, marksman and tactician; missions. However, he still flew all campaigns. within the Luftwaffe he was whenever he could, eventually considered to be an "aerial achieving 97 kills in the Bf.109 by NOTE: The German tally system for hunter" to Molders' theoretician. the end of 1944, all on the Western recording aerial victories is considered to However, it was Galland who Front. His new role led him to be one of the most thorough. Only one coordinated the air cover which pilot could claim a particular victim, and become entangled increasingly in frustrated the RAF over the witnesses had to observe the shoot-down. Luftwaffe politics and in almost Therefore, the following victory totals are "Channel Dash" of the constant conflict with Hitler and thought of as accurate. Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Goring. Where Galland wanted to Eugen, and he displayed other produce more fighters, Hitler organizational talents during his tenure as General of the Fighters. kills at a prodigious rate until career high was downing three B He always had the daring-do of a felled by combat fatigue in June 17s in 19 minutes on September 6, stereotypical fighter pilot, having 1942. Returning to action in mid 1943. This specialization often a special holder installed in his August, on September 1 Marseille resulted in heavy damage to his fighter so he wouldn't lose a good shot down 17 American and aircraft; he took to his parachute cigar during a scramble. [DiF: British aircraft (P-40's and Spit four times and often landed with Galland could have been found in any day fires) during the Battle of Alam El a damaged plane. He was shot campaign or operation on the Western Halfa. At the time of his death in down and killed in March 1944 by Front from May 1940 to 1945, albeit with a flying accident 29 days later, he escorting P-47's, having received much less frequency during the period had tallied 158 victories, includ the Knight's Cross with Oak 1942 to 1944.] ing more British victims than any Leaves and Swords. [DiF: Mayer other Luftwaffe pilot. He had could have flown in any of the daylight been decorated with the Knight's campaigns on the Western Front from 1940 Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords to early 1944.] and Diamonds, as well as the Molders, Werner Italian Gold Medal for Bravery. Held back by his reputation, he (Bf.109: P, H, A) "Daddy" Molders was an experte Priller, Josef "Pips" had received just recently his long before WW II started, having promotion to Captain. (Bf.109: P, Bu) scored 14 victories in Spain. In A popular pilot whose small Marseille was legendary for his September 1939 he was stationed stature was almost custom-made shooting eye and acrobatic in the "Four Borders" region of for the cramped cockpits of the piloting, often firing in the midst the Western Front with JG 53, Bf.109's in which he would spend of a maneuver. These talents scoring his first victory of the new the war. "Pips" Priller flew resulted in a remarkable frugality conflict on the 21s' day of the entirely on the Western Front. A with his ammunition, reportedly month. By June 1940 he had 25 staffel leader in JG 51 at the start he required an average of just 15 kills when he was captured by the of the war, he was transferred to bullets per kill. While generally French, resulting in two weeks of JG 26 in November 1940, eventu aggressive in combat, he was also captivity. After his release he was ally becoming its Kommodore in willing to fight at minimal power given command of JG 51 (subse early 1943. To combat the daylight and speed. As a consequence of quently known as "Geschwader bomber streams, in August of that his aggressive style, Marseille had Molders") for the Battle of Britain. year the unit was brought back to the habit of bringing back a badly In 1941, JG 51 was transferred Holland and the lower Rhine area damaged Bf.109-during the east for the invasion of the Soviet from its bases on the English Battle of Britain alone he was Union, where he added another Channel. Priller left JG 26 in forced to bail out six times. [DiF: 33 kills to his 68 Western Front January 1945 to become Inspector Marseille would have fought in the Battle and 14 Spanish Civil War victories of Day Fighters West, effectively of Britain and North Sea campaigns in the before ordered to stop flying. He ending his career as a combat Down in Flames series; the "Last Stand in then commanded a battle group pilot. In 307 sorties he registered North Africa" campaign is borderline, so of Stuka's, fighters and ground 101 kills, eleven of which were he could be included in it as well.] attack planes, occasionally man heavy bombers. A Colonel at aging to get into the air as a war's end, he had received the Mayer, Egon forward air controller. After Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves (Bf.109: D) Flying exclusively with JG 2 (the promotion to General of the and Swords. [DiE Priller fought in all "Richthofen JG"), Egon Mayer Fighter Arm, he was flying to of the Western Front daylight campaigns became known to the RAF as Berlin on November 22, 1941 to currently in the Down in Flames series.] "The Man with the White Scarf" attend Ernst Udet's funeral and to for his combat attire and the request more support for his unit.