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Gunther Rall
| General Gunther Rall (deceased) A young pilot with III/JG52 at the outbreak of war. He quickly demonstrated his natural ability and leadership qualities, scoring his first air victory early in the Battle of Britain, and by July 1940 was leading 8/JG52. After transfer to the Eastern Front his air victories mounted at an astonishing rate. A crash hospitalised him but within nine months he was back in the cockpit, and, when commanding III/JG52, gained the Wings 500th victory. Gunther fought throughout the war to become the 3rd highest Ace in history with 275 victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Gunther Rall was born on March 10, 1918 in the small Bavarian town of Gaggenau, Baden. Immersing himself in Boy Scout activities during the difficult economic times in Germany following WW 1, Rall finished school in 1936 and joined the German Army. Influenced by a friend, who was a young officer in the Luftwaffe, Rall entered pilots school in 1938. His initial posting was with JG52. He attained his first aerial victory during the Battle of France in May of 1940. During the Battle of Britain JG52 absorbed many casualties, and Rall was promoted to Squadron Commander at the young age of 22. With his fair-hair and smooth complexion the young officer looked even younger than his years. But behind this pleasant exterior was a fierce competitor with the heart of a tiger. Later, Ralls squadron would support the attack on Crete, followed by deployment to the Southern Sector on the Eastern Front. Ralls victory totals began to mount. Following his 37 th victory, GiInther was himself shot down. He was lucky to survive the crash, but with a badly broken back he would spend most of the next year in various hospitals. In Vienna at the University Hospital he would meet his future wife, Hertha. Miraculously, Rall recovered and returned to the Luftwaffe in August of 1942. By November his score exceeded 100 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves to accompany the Knights Cross he was awarded only weeks earlier. As the War progressed against Russia, Rall began to encounter ever more experienced Soviet pilots flying better performing aircraft. Despite this fact, and being shot down several more times himself, Ralls victory tally kept rising. By March of 1944 the ace had attained 273 aerial victories. With the War now going badly for Germany, Rall was transferred to the Western Front. He was able to attain only two more victories against the swarms of Allied bombers and fighter escorts which now pounded Germany every day and night. In May of 1944 Rall was shot down by a P-47. Losing his thumb in the battle he remained out of combat until later in 1944. Ralls final assignments included flying 190Ds as Kornmodore of JG300, and flying the Me-262 jet. Ralls 275 aerial victories (attained on less than 700 combat sorties) make him the third highest scoring ace of all time. If not for the down time suffered as a result of his broken back, Rall might have actually equaled or exceeded Erich Hartmanns alltime record of 352 aerial victories. Rall was not much for socializing during the War. He was a fierce competitor with a businessmans attitude about flying. He was an excellent marksman, and possibly the best deflection shot expert of the War. He continued to fly with the Bundeslufwaffe following the War, serving as its Commander-In Chief in 1970-74. Sadly Gunther Rall died on 4th October 2009. |
  Ju87 Stukas by Jason Askew. (P) |   In Defence of the Reich by Jason Askew. (P) |   Erich Hartmann - Me109 Ace by Jason Askew. (P) |   Desert Defence by Jason Askew. (P) |
Items Signed by General Gunther Rall (deceased) |
  | Defending the Homeland by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £430.00 | Erich Rudorffer's Me 262 brings down a B-17 Flying Fortress during the defence of Germany. ...... | |
  | Bf109Es of JG52 by Ivan Berryman. Price : £80.00 | Bf109Es of JG52 flown by Gunther Rall during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. ...... | |
| | Bf109Es of JG52 by Ivan Berryman. (AP) Price : £95.00 | B0242AP. Bf109Es of JG52 by Ivan Berryman. ...... | |
| | Bf109Es of JG52 by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £360.00 | Bf109Es of JG52 flown by Gunther Rall during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. ...... | |
  | Bf109Es of JG52 by Ivan Berryman. (P) Price : £440.00 | Bf109Es of JG52 flown by Gunther Rall during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. ...... |
  | JG52 - Summer 1940 by Ivan Berryman. Price : £80.00 | Gunther Rall is shown flying his Bf109E of JG52 during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. ...... | |
| | JG52 - Summer 1940 by Ivan Berryman. (AP) Price : £95.00 | Gunther Rall is shown flying his Bf109E of JG52 during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. ...... | |
| | JG52 - Summer 1940 by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £280.00 | Gunther Rall is shown flying his Bf109E of JG52 during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. ...... | |
  | JG52 - Summer 1940 by Ivan Berryman. (P) SOLD OUT | Gunther Rall is shown flying his Bf109E of JG52 during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. ...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
  | Gunther Rall by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £480.00 | Gunther Rall sitting on the cockpit side of Bf 109G-2 Black 13 of III/JG 52, Eastern Front, 1943. ...... |
  | Gunther Rall by Ivan Berryman. (P) SOLD OUT | Gunther Rall sitting on the cockpit side of Bf 109G-2 Black 13 of III/JG 52, Eastern Front, 1943. ...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
  | Gunther Rall - Black 13 by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £480.00 | Bf 109G-2s of III/JG 52 leave their dispersal on the Eastern Front in 1943. Nearest aircraft is Black 13 of Gruppenkommandeur Gunther Rall, then fast approaching his 150th victory. ...... | |
  | Gunther Rall - Black 13 by Ivan Berryman. (P) Price : £700.00 | Bf 109G-2s of III/JG 52 leave their dispersal on the Eastern Front in 1943. Nearest aircraft is Black 13 of Gruppenkommandeur Gunther Rall, then fast approaching his 150th victory. ...... | |
  | JG2 - Gunther Rall and his Wingman by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £480.00 | Gunther Rall and his wingman on patrol in the skies above the Western Front in April 1944 whilst serving with II/JG II. ...... | |
  | JG2 - Gunther Rall and his Wingman by Ivan Berryman. (P) SOLD OUT | Gunther Rall and his wingman on patrol in the skies above the Western Front in April 1944 whilst serving with II/JG II. ...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
  | Gunther Rall - on the Tail of a Yak by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £480.00 | Gunther Rall in action on the Eastern Front in 1944 with III/JG 52, attacking a Yak 4. ...... | |
  | Gunther Rall - on the Tail of a Yak by Ivan Berryman. (P) Price : £650.00 | unther Rall in action on the Eastern Front in 1944 with III/JG 52, attacking a Yak 4. ...... | |
  | Gunther Rall - 274th Victory by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £480.00 | Gunther Rall claims his 274th victory, a P.38 Lightning on 29th April, 1944 whilst assigned to II/JG II on the Western Front. ...... | |
  | Gunther Rall - 274th Victory by Ivan Berryman. (P) SOLD OUT | Gunther Rall claims his 274th victory, a P.38 Lightningo n 29th April, 1944 whilst assigned to II/JG II on the Western Front. ...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
  | Lost Over Dunkirk by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £430.00 | Spitfire N3289 of F/O John Wilson was shot down over Dunkirk on 29th May 1940 by a Messerschmitt Bf109. ...... |
  | Me109 - Adolf Galland by Jason Askew. (P) Price : £300.00 | From June 1940 on, Adolf Galland flew as a of III./JG 26, fighting in the Battle of britain with 109-Emils from bases in the Pas de Calais. During the Battle of Britain, in a legendary front line General Officer briefing on Luftwaffe tactics, Herma...... | |
  | Schweinfurt Thunderbolts by Jason Askew. (P) SOLD OUT | Thunderbolts of the 78th Fighter Group based at Duxford (station 357) engage Me109s during the August 17th raid on Schweinfurt. The 78th Fighter Group were assigned the duty of escorting the B-17s from Antwerp to Eupen between the hours of 1353-141...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
  | Snow Warriors by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £320.00 | Gunther Rall in his Me109G Black 13 about to set off with the rest of III./JG52 from a snow covered eastern front airstrip in 1943. ...... | |
  | Snow Warriors by Ivan Berryman. (P) Price : £690.00 | Gunther Rall in his Me109G Black 13 about to set off with the rest of III./JG52 from a snow covered eastern front airstrip in 1943. ...... | |
  | Gunther Rall - Me109 Ace by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £320.00 | With 275 victories, Gunther Rall was one of the top Luftwaffe Aces of the second world war. Here, he is depicted in his Me109 Black 13 of JG52. ...... |
  | Gunther Rall - Me109 Ace by Ivan Berryman. (P) Price : £690.00 | With 275 victories, Gunther Rall was one of the top Luftwaffe Aces of the second world war. Here, he is depicted in his Me109 Black 13 of JG52. ...... | |
  | Black 13 - Gunther Rall by Ivan Berryman. (B) Price : £320.00 | Gunther Rall scored almost all of his huge tally of 275 victories on the eastern front. Here, his Me109 Black 13 is shown over the snowy landscape that JG52 often operated in. ...... | |
  | Lucky 13 - Gunther Rall by Ivan Berryman. (P) SOLD OUT | ...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
  | Battle of Britain - Tribute to the Luftwaffe Aces by Graeme Lothian. (P) Price : £580.00 | ...... | |
  | Combat over the Russian Front by Jason Askew. (P) Price : £300.00 | An Me109 claims another Russian victim during the push on the eastern front in 1942. ...... |
  | Me109s on the Russian Front by Jason Askew. (P) Price : £300.00 | Gerhard Barkhorn takes off in his Bb109 from an airfield in Russia. The second highest scoring Ace in history, he was one of only two to achieve over 300 victories, an achievement that will likely never be surpassed....... | |
| | Desert Defence by Jason Askew. (P) Price : £300.00 | Infantry of the British 8th Army fend off marauding Me109s with a Bren gun in the Western Desert in 1942. ...... |
