One of the enjoyable aspects of Galland, Adolph wanted more bombers; where RISE OF THE and (Bf.109: P, H, Bu, A; Me.262: A, CV, P, Bu) Galland wanted to create a central is using One of the most famous of all the fighter defense for protecting pilot counters to give missions Luftwaffe pilots, Adolph Galland 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 , earning offensives. Galland also had to known. This is the first in a series the , 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 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 . 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 '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 "" 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 , 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 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 . 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 victories of Day Fighters West, effectively of Britain and 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 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"), Fighter Arm, he was flying to of the Western Front daylight campaigns became known to the RAF as on November 22, 1941 to currently in the Down in Flames series.] "The Man with the White Scarf" attend 's funeral and to for his combat attire and the request more support for his unit. Marseille, Hans-Joachim The plane in which he was a (Bf.109: A, Bu, D) frequency with which he was seen Known by many colorful nick shooting down RAF aircraft. He passenger crashed in bad weather. names, "The Star of Africa" being arrived on the Western Front in The first to exceed Manfred von the most common, Hans-Joachim December 1939 and started Richtofen's 80 kills of WW I and Marseille actually made his slowly; however he was to be the first to score 100 kills total, combat debut during the Battle of come the first Luftwaffe pilot to Molders' decorations included the Britain with JG 52. Despite a achieve 100 kills on the Western Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, number of victories during that Front. Mayer and Georg-Peter Swords and Diamonds. battle, his informal nature com Eder developed a head-on ap A quiet, serious man, in addition bined with lone-wolf flying habits proach to exploit a weakness in to his talents as a pilot Molders earned him the label "unreliable" the armament of American heavy was exceptional at command, and a transfer to JG 27, which bombers, which contributed to his organization, tactics and instruc embarked for North Africa in the final score of 102 victories includ tion. He personally desired to be spring of 1941. Flying his famous ing 25 four-engined aircraft. A considered the "Boelcke of the "Yellow 14" Bf.109 he racked up

Luftwaffe," a reference to the of the West, North Sea, and Battle of legendary German aerial tactician Britain campaigns.] of WW I. Molders is credited with developing the "Finger Four" formation, the Rotte system of leader and wingman, and empha sizing loose rather than tight combat formations. [DiF: He would have appeared in any daylight campaign on Nowotny, Walter the Western Front from 1939 to very early (Me.262: A, D) 1941, and the invasion of Russia in the An Austrian by birth, "Nowi" summer of 1941.] Nowotny flew his first combat sortie in February of 1941; how Muller, Friedrich-Karl "Tutti" (Fw.190: D) ever it would be 5 months before Friedrich-Karl Muller flew with he scored his first victory, and by JG's 53 and 3, racking up 140 kills, then he was flying over the Soviet including 50 in one month, before Union. He claimed two other kills his death May 29, 1944. A major at that day, and despite once spend the time, he had been awarded ing three days on a raft in Riga the Knight's Cross with Oak Bay, added 252 more in the next 28 months, all on the Eastern Leaves. [DiF: Muller participated in the Front. Nowotny repeatedly Battles of France and Britain, the war in achieved more than 40 victories in Russia from 1941 to 1943, and was back a month, and twice scored 10 in a on the Western Front in 1944 until his day. During this time he flew the death.] Bf.109 (both the F and G variants) Claus, Georg and the FW-190A. After becoming (Bf.109: D) the first pilot to score 250+ kills, A friend of Werner Molders, First he was ordered back to Germany Lieutenant Georg Claus flew in JG in November, 1943 for morale 51 during the Invasion of the West boosting tours and to instruct and the Battle of Britain, other pilots. In July of 1944 totalling "Kommando Nowotny" was 18 victories before becoming a formed to test the Me.262 jet, November 11, becoming operational as part of 1940, when his Bf.109 was shot JV 7, which Nowotny also com down into the . manded, in October. By this time

Wick, Helmut (Fw.190: P) a Major, he quickly claimed three more victims (B-17's) in the jet to started the war in bring his total to 258, fifth on the Berlin as part of a home defense all-time list. However, on Novem staffel in JG 2. His first victories ber 8, 1944, after an attack on US were over France in May, 1940, bombers, his damaged Me.262 and he scored 40 quick kills. Wick was followed home by P-51 was actually leading Werner Mustangs, which were probably Molders with 56 victories when responsible for his destruction his plane was seriously damaged within sight of the airfield. in a during the late Nowotny had received the stages of the Battle of Britain on Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, November 28, 1940. Forced to take to his parachute over the Swords and Diamonds. [D/F: He can English Channel, his body was be considered to have flown in the Soviet never found. He had been Union from June 1941 to November 1943, awarded the Knight's Cross with most notably over Leningrad in 1942, and in the daylight defense of Germany in the Oak Leaves. [DiF: It should be noted fall of 1944.] that Wick never flew the Fw.190, only the Bf.109; additionally, given his performance Rossmann, Edmund "Paule" in a limited time span and his reputation (Bf.109: A, Bu) amongst his colleagues, I believe the Burst (I believe this counter is meant to be Rossmann, not Roseman, and the resource skill should be added to his counter (a options of the Daylight 1943 campaign counter with these changes will be seem to support this.) appearing in a forthcoming C3i). He can be considered to have flown in The Invasion

Edmund Rossmann was an Philipp, Hans of Major, he commanded both experienced Master Sergeant (Fw.190: D, P) staffels and gruppen in JG 52 but flying in JG 52 in the late summer A "hunter" who preferred dueling finished the war with JG 53. of 1942 when a young Erich enemy fighters, Flying on the last day of the war, Hartmann joined the unit. Con debuted in the Hartmann was captured by the sidered one of the best with JG 76, scoring his first kill Soviets and spent over ten years Schwarmfuehrers ( Leaders) there. He was then transferred to in various jails before being on the Eastern Front, Rossmann JG 54 and the Western Front for released into , often took young pilots, including the subsequent Battles of France where he later served in the new Hartmann, up as his wingman. and Britain. Philipp went east German air force. He had been Eventually promoted to Lieuten with that unit for the invasion of awarded the Knight's Cross with ant and earning the Knight's the , where he would Oak Leaves, Swords and Dia Cross, Rossmann scored 93 kills achieve 177 of his 206 kills with monds. before becoming a POW on July 9, the "Green Heart ." He was [DiF: Hartmann's sole aircraft during WW 1943. [DiF: Besides any campaigns in the transferred west on April 1, 1943, to command JG 1 in Holland. The II was the Bf.109, primarily the G and K Soviet Union from June 1941 until his following October he was shot variants. Any campaign on the Eastern capture, he also flew in the Battle of Front from late 1942 onward may have Britain.] down and killed by a P-47. His final rank was Lieutenant Colo included Hartmann. For now, I would nel, and he had been awarded the suggest he be replaced in the Daylight Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves 1944 campaign by Galland in the Bf.109.1 and Swords. [DiF: He took part in the Hackl, Anton

invasions of Poland and the West, the Anton Hackl was one of the Battle of Britain, campaigns in the east leading destroyers of Allied Weiss, Robert until April 1943, and the daylight cam heavy bombers, shooting down at (Fw.190: H) paign in the west in 1943.] least 32 of them, fourth on the First seeing action on the Western Luftwaffe's list. Stationed oppo Front in 1941 with JG 26, Robert Hartmann, Erich site France in 1939, he partici Weiss was later transferred to JG (Bf.109: H, Bu, CV, A) pated in the Battles of France and 54 and the Eastern Front. Ninety The highest-scoring fighter pilot Britain with JG 77 before heading of his 121 kills were to occur in history, Erich "Bubi" Hartmann east. His total of 192 victories there, where he was a noted pilot got off to an ignominious start by included 87 on the Western Front of the Fw.190D. He was killed in earning a three-day assignment to (including all of his heavy combat near Lingen, December the maintenance section after his bomber kills), and 105 on the 29, 1944. A Captain at the time, he third mission in the air. He flew Eastern Front. Fighting from the had been awarded the Knight's his first combat mission October beginning to end, he flew over Cross with Oak Leaves. 1942, claimed his first victim, an 1000 sorties, ending the war a 11-2, a month later, and proceeded Major with the Knight's Cross Buchner, Hermann to be credited with 351 more over with Oak Leaves and Swords. [DiF: (Fw.190: H, CV) the next two and a half years. By He can be included in the Invasion of the An ex-tank buster on the Eastern 1943, he was flying four or more West and Battle of Britain Down in Flames Front with StG 1 and 2, Sergeant missions a day; his career total of campaigns, plus any mid-war campaigns Hermann Buchner moved on to 1425 sorties (he had a ratio of 4.05 occurring on the Eastern Front and late fighters and JG 4, but his greatest sorties per kill) included 800 war daylight campaigns on the Western exploits came near the end of the involving combat. Despite the Front. Hackl was a noted pilot of the war in the Me.262. While he large number of missions flown, Fw.190, and a subsequent issue of C3iwill totalled "only" 58 aerial kills, he never lost a wingman or contain a new counter for him with the twelve of these were four-engined received a wound. He was, bombers downed with the jet. however, forced down 16 times, at Burst and Performance skills.] These twelve victories, his only least half the result of his combat Rudel, Hans-Ulrich kills in an Me.262, were scored style of shooting from as close to (Ju.87: Bm, S, A, G) with JV 7 and left him tied for the enemy as possible. Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the third on the Luftwaffe's list of greatest of the Stuka pilots, flying jet All of Hartmann's 352 kills were 2,530 sorties from the invasion of experten. Buchner survived the on the Eastern Front; the total the U.S.S.R. to the end of the war. war, having received the Knight's includes 261 single-engine, 90 He first saw action in Poland as Cross. [DiF: As a Fw.190 pilot, he can be twin-engine and one four-engine an observer in a reconnaissance aircraft. Seven of the single found in any campaign over the Eastern plane and subsequently served a engine victories were American Front. A future C3iwill provide a supple short stint in Greece, but did not flown P-51 Mustangs shot down mental counter for his career in the see action over Crete. His unit over and Czechoslova Me 262 ] was then transferred east for the kia in the closing months of the attack on Russia, where he was war. Eventually reaching the rank stationed for the remainder of the

war. While still a First Lieutenant, the pilot and aimed forward and brought back to daytime duties in he was credited with the final and upwards. Highlights from his desperation to contend with the decisive bomb hit on the 23,600 career include shooting down five American bomber streams, the ton Soviet battleship Marat, on Lancasters in 14 minutes, and in German high command forbade September 23, 1941. Besides the February 1945, shooting down Lent to participate for fear of battleship, Rudel's final tally two Lancasters in the early losing him. Wounded three times, included a cruiser, eleven aircraft, morning and seven in the next he was killed during a flying innumerable ground targets and evening before midnight, for a accident October 5, 1944. He had 519 Soviet tanks. The latter were total of nine heavy bombers in scored 102 night victories (second primarily destroyed with the anti one day. His final tally was 121 only to Schnaufer) to go with his tank gun armed Ju.87G, which he victories in 164 sorties-all at eight daytime kills. A Lieutenant helped develop. The eleven aerial night, all on the Western Front, Colonel at the time of his death, victories were achieved in ap and almost all were four-engined he had received the Knight's proximately 400 sorties flown in a planes. He finished the war as a Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords Fw.190 over Hungary. Forced or Major in command on NJG 4, and Diamonds-the first night shot down over 30 times, after the with the Knight's Cross with Oak fighter to win the Diamonds. last of these Rudel had to have a Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. [DiF: As a daytime fighter pilot, Lent leg amputated in February 1945, [DiF: While Schnaufer did fly the Bf.110 participated in the Polish campaign, as but returned to flying with an artificial leg within a few weeks. exclusively, he did not participate in any well as early bomber defense in the West daylight actions, so the Schnaufer counter and the invasion of Norway. A new counter Ending the war a Colonel, he had should be considered to be more represen for him, in the Bf.110 with the Burst and received the Knight's Cross with tative of another skilled Bf.1 10 pilot. As a Ace Pilot skills, will appear in a future C3i. Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and night-fighter, he can be considered to have He was also a premier night-fighter, flying Diamonds; he was the only participated in all Western Front cam as such in the West from 1940 to 1944, recipient of the Golden Oak paigns from 1942 to 1945; I have begun to and he should appear as an skilled pilot in Leaves, the award being created consider a system to allow for aces in any system for night aces. Besides the for him. [DiF: Rudel can be incorporated night campaigns.] night-fighting Bf.110, he may also have in all Russian campaigns, including the Lent, Helmut flown in a radar-equipped Ju.88 briefly.] Stalingrad operation and the Kuban Another Bf.110 pilot whose main Streib, Werner Bridgehead campaign.] claim to fame was at night, (Bf.110: P, Bu) Schnaufer, Heinz-Wolfgang also had a brief but debuted as a (Bf.110: H, A, G) notable career as a daytime daytime Bf.110 pilot over France Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer was Zerstorer ace. He started his in 1940 with ZG 1, scoring his the premier night-fighting ace of training in single-engine fighters, first victory in that campaign. the Luftwaffe, known variously to but was transferred to the Bf.110 However, by July 1940 he was the the British as "The Night Ghost of before the outbreak of WW II. He first of Germany's night-fighting St. Trond" or "The Spook of St. scored his first kill, a Polish P.11c, pilots to score a victory (an RAF Trond." While he trained initially on the second day of the war. Whitley bomber). His victory total as a daytime Bf.110 pilot, he was Three months later he played a steadily mounted despite the transferred to night-fighting units significant role in the "Battle of early limitations of night-fighting. before becoming operational with the German Bight" (aka Eventually he became known as NJG 1. Taught by the number two ), downing two "The Father of Night Fighting." A night-fighting experte Helmut Wellingtons in a five minute span proponent of the ill-fated He.219 Lent (see below), he flew his first and finishing off a third. His final night-fighter, Streib was the first sorties in early 1942 as part of the five daytime successes were to fly it in combat, scoring five night-time coverage of the "Chan Norwegian Gladiators during the kills in its first use on June 11, nel Dash," but only scored his invasion of that country. He and 1943. Streib spent the entire war first victory, a Halifax, in June of the only radio operator/gunner to on the Western Front, and was that year. Schnaufer 's regular serve with him, Walter Kubisch, made Inspector of the Night crew consisted of radio-operator took part in the dramatic capture Fighters in March, 1944. His final Fritz Rumpelhardt and gunner of the vital Olso-Fornebu score of 66 kills included 14 Wilhelm Gaensler. Their specialty airfield shared with his gunner/radio was hunting down a bomber by 1/ZG-76 on the first day of the operator Kurt Bundrock. A raid's "Master of Ceremonies," campaign. After Norway, Lent Colonel at the end of the war, he the pathfinder aircraft with the was transferred to the relatively had received the Knight's Cross bombing force's commander new night-fighting units, where with Oak Leaves and Swords. [DiF: aboard. Schnaufer regularly upon he took command of a As a daytime Bf.110 pilot, he participated scored multiple victories in a squadron in NJG 1. In the next in the . As a , single evening, later using a four and a half years he flew over he participated in all campaigns from 1940 Bf.110 with "Jazz Music"-four 300 night combat sorties, rising to to 1945.1 20mm cannons mounted behind gruppe and later geschwader commands. When Bf.110's were