Rall--ace of the Luftwaffe

Air Classics, Feb 2003 by Amadio, Jill

AN INSIDE LOOK AT ONE OF WORLD WAR TWO'S MOST IMPORTANT FIGHTER PILOTS

PART TWO

Nothing could have prepared Rail for a freak mid-air collision during the Battle of Kursk. Stationed on the Eastern Front, where he would remain for three and a half years, Rail was at one point engaged in the fierce fighting around Kiev. Although he landed safely after the rare incident, the sound of metal grinding against metal high in the skies still haunts him.

"It was late afternoon, around five o'clock. I was flying on a westerly heading with my adjutant in a standard two-ship formation over the Russian Front at an altitude of about 19,000-ft. I saw two spots coming towards its. Behind them was a huge cumulus cloud. The sun was setting but still sending out bright rays from the edges of the cloud. It was dazzlingly bright.

"We approached at full power and as we got closer and closer I was able to detect what appeared to be large radial engines. But the rays distorted their image. The oncoming planes were flying in our German two-ship formation and straight, not like the Russians normally flew so I thought they might be the new Focke-Wulf 190s with the stubby nose that had arrived two days earlier on the Russian Front. The planes were assigned to Major Druschel's group which was stationed nearby. I'd seen photos of the Luftwaffe's new planes on the ground but never met them in the air. So we held our fire. There was no haze but I was skewered by the sun," said Ginther. "I couldn't see the planes' colors or emblems. All I saw were black silhouettes against this huge white cloud."

Pulling up to gain height to help them identify the mystery planes by observing their colors against the white snow, Rall and his wingman looked down as the aircraft flew under them. Suddenly the second airplane executed a split-S and Rall was able to distinguish the markings.

"The dark green color and red stars of the Russian air force! A LaGG! I pulled up. My speed was excessive and I couldn't bypass him otherwise he would be behind me and I'd be smack in the middle of his gunsight. Now I must attack. He was only about 165-ft underneath me as I dived down at full speed."

Rail turned his 109 quickly, pumped the button and sent a full burst into the enemy's cockpit. At such close quarters Gunther had to pull up again - fast, He'd attacked far too closely. But the quick ascent had caused his Bf 109 to go into a high-speed stall - exactly above the aircraft he'd just hit.

"I crashed down hard sideways, right on top of him. The noise as our aircraft smashed one against the other in mid-air was unbelievably loud. My propeller cut off his right wing. As my speed carried me over him his prop sliced through my undercarriage, slashing the fuselage. I shall never forget the sensation of the impact. He went into a spin and never recovered, poor guy."

The collision set up a horrendous vibration in Rall's plane.

"I thought the engine was about to break off so I adjusted the throttle for the right rpm to correct it, to smooth it out, but nothing worked. I was at 13,000-ft over Russian territory and needing to land. I knew I was seriously hit so I made my turns very gently as I prepared to come down, pulling no Gs so the aircraft wouldn't break apart. The problem was, where was I? Down below battles raged all over the place and I had no idea if I was behind German lines or not. I was looking for our tanks so they'd see me and pick me up."

Finding a grass meadow, Rail landed and brought the shuddering aircraft to a stop. "When I cut the engine and I got out to inspect the damage, my propeller looked like a limp banana skin, the blades bent forward. The fuselage had a long, six-foot gash wide enough to fit a fist through, so it was a total write-off. I felt extremely lucky and thankful to be on the ground."

Rall's Leistungsbuch, or logbook, recorded each of Rall's 275 victories: 273 kills on the Eastern Front and two on the Western Front, between 18 May 1940, and 17 April 1944. The type of aircraft he shot down, date, time of day, altitude, location, position, witness name, and explanation - demolished, exploded on impact, burst into flames - were all meticulously documented.

"We filled out a long questionnaire each night with all these facts as well as how much ammunition was used. This was important because it showed the ratio of bullets to victories."

Missing from Rall's logbook are five additional enemy aircraft he destroyed in ground attacks over Greece and the island of Crete during April and May 1941, as well as a P-38 and a P-47 demolished in the same manner after he was recalled to the Western Front in 1944 to assist in the battle against the United States' 8th Air Force. Aircraft destroyed on the ground are neither counted nor recorded as part of an ace's total yet these incidents are considered far more dangerous than aerial combat since the attacking planes come under fire from tanks, ground troops and antiaircraft artillery.

Long after the war, when all his documents were thought destroyed, Rall received the logbook from an archivist who had discovered its whereabouts. He was amazed it had survived and that it was in almost perfect condition. A few of its pages are reproduced in his biography, which also contains 80 or so photographs from Rall's private collection and never seen before.