Fighter General

The official biography of Adolf Galland, a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout World War II in Europe, in 705 combat missions. Adolf Galland began World War II in Poland, as a lieutenant and squadron commander, flying obsolescent biplanes. He ended the war as a Lieutenant General – and was again a squadron commander – this time flying Me 262 jet fighters. In all of aviation history there is no comparable rise and fall by a fighter pilot. The most famous German ace and fighter leader of his generation, Galland's story is simultaneously that of the Luftwaffe Fighter Arm, in which he served from foundation to finish. Fighter General recounts the career of an outstanding combat leader torn from the fighter cockpit to defend his country – and sometimes his own pilots – in the bizarre bureaucracy of the Luftwaffe High Command. Galland's battles against the Allied air forces, both as a general and in individual combat, hold no less drama than his head-on battles with Goering and Hitler. Galland's triumphs and tragedies, his friends and his flames, his humor and heartaches pulse anew in Fighter General. Here in this official biography is real-life adventure to shame the wildest fiction.