Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients 1941-45

Born on 19 March 1912 in Westerholt. Westphalia, to a family of Huguenot blood. Adolf Galland managed to secure a place in a civil thing school in 1932-33, and was one of those pilots who attended clandestine military courses in Germany and Italy. He flew for Deutsche Lufthansa for a short time before volunteering for military service in December 1933. This meant a spell of Army basic training, which Galland carried out with Infanterie Regiment 10 in Dresden. He was discharged in October 1934, and after refresher flying training Lt Galland received his orders in March 1935 to join Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen', the premier fighter unit of the newly revealed Luftwaffe, flying the Heinkel He 51 and Arado Ar 68 biplanes. In October 1935 he crashed an aerobatic Fw 44, suffering serious skull fractures, facial and eye injuries; he only returned to flying with the help of a sympathetic commanding officer who 'lost' his medical records. In April 1937, Oblt Galland volunteered for the Condor Legion in Spain, and served with 3/J88 flying the He 51. He distinguished himself during many hazardous ground-strafing missions; but despite extending his tour he had to return to Germany before 3.Staffel received the Bf 109, turning his squadron over to the newly arrived Werner Molders in May 1938. In a staff appointment he helped form the new Schlachtgruppen, and his ground-attack expertise trapped him in such units against his will. As Staffelkapitan of 4.(Schlacht)/LG 2 equipped with Henschel Hs 123 biplanes, Galland flew more than 50 missions during the brief campaign against Poland in September 1939.
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