Günther Rall (10 March 1918 – 4 October 2009) was the third most successful fighter ace in history. He achieved a total of 275 victories during World War II: 272 on the Eastern Front, of which 241 were against Soviet fighters. He flew a total of 621 combat missions, was shot down eight times[2] and was wounded three times. He fought 1940 in the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain, 1941 in the Balkan Campaign and over Crete. He began the conflict as a young Second Lieutenant, and was a Major and Geschwaderkommodore of JG 300 at the surrender. [3] He claimed all of his victories in the Messerschmitt Bf 109.
I had the honor of meeting him at EAA Airventure at Oshkosh, WI, in 2007.
