Günther Rall in Finland, again
 

Dear countrymen,

I would like to take the opportunity and remind you all that Mr Günther Rall is visiting Finland again during the weekend 19.-21.5, 2006.
Mr Rall was here in June 2003 as a guest of the Finnish Aviation Museum Society, and I believe that we all who met him, have unforgettable memories.

You can read more about the last visit here:

http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/...ntherrall2003/

http://www.virtualpilots.fi/hist/WW2...llEnglish.html

At this time he is a guest of Koala-Kustannus Oy, the company that recently published his memoirs in Finnish language. Thanks to Mr Lassi Eskola from Koala, we are able to organize a questions & answers -meeting at the Finnish Aviation Museum on Saturday, 20.5., at 14.00 o´clock.

Since I believe this meeting will be a very popular one, it is highly recommended to make a reservation in advance. The auditorium of the Finnish Aviation Museum has a limited number of seats.
The instructions are here: http://www.imy.fi/ajankohtaista/rall_vierailu_2006.html

I recently spoke with Mr Rall on the phone, and he is eager to visit Finland for the second time. 88 years, and still as sharp as ever. A truly amazing man!

Welcome and best regards,

Raimo Malkamäki
Treasurer
The Finnish Aviation Museum Society

Re: Günther Rall in Finland, again
 

Hi Raimo,

Even if certainly not the most interesting part from his career, I got some questions about his late fate with JG 300...

From J.Y.Lorant books, it seems that he took command from JG 300 around 18 April 1945.

At this time the Geschwader was equiped with Fw 190A-8, A-9, perhaps some Bf 109G-14 according to http://jg300.motag.de/index.php?stab_jg300 and finally got some Fw 190D-9 on 21th of April.

So:

- Did he flew some war missions or not with JG 300?

- If yes did he convert to Fw 190 or did he stay with Bf 109 as according to this paint: http://www.vectorfineart.com/Prints/..._encounter.htm

- Furthermore and especially if his last flugbush survive the war, it would be nice to know if he kept the usual JG 300 Geschwader marking which was green digits white outlined or did he prefered to use double chevron markings as on the paint?

Thanks,
Olivier

Note: if possible, any help from this forum will be also appreciated :)

Re: Günther Rall in Finland, again
 

Rall also signed this print edition of a painting by Robert Taylor depicting his last combat mission flown in a Dora.

http://www.aceshighgallery.co.uk/pinfo/138

Re: Günther Rall in Finland, again
 

I asked Rall that same question quite some time ago, and he was very explicit: He never flew any missions with JG 300.

Re: Günther Rall in Finland, again
 

I have not read his book yet, But did he fly missions after he lost his thumb during battle with P-47's of the 56th fighter group? I saw him speak at DC and I remember him sayinging that he got a severe infection from his wound and was out of commision for a while. Bob

Re: Günther Rall in Finland, again
 

Thanks Christer!

Re: Günther Rall in Finland, again
 

Hi,

and sorry for the delay, I was away for the weekend.

When Rall was here in 2003, somebody asked him about the last months of the war and JG 300. He was clearly not very eager to talk about it.
Here is what he answered (the whole lecture at our museum can be read at the above mentioned website www.virtualpilots.fi)

"What was important was the German Air Force had a formation of captured aircraft restored. They came for training to my fighter leader school. Certainly, I only flew the P-51, P-47, P-38 as a target for my students. So I learned these planes and I learned the advantages and disadvantages compared with the Focke-Wulf 190 and the 109. And I still consider that altogether with all these factors that the P-51 was most likely one of the best fighter planes. This was maneuverable. When I got in, the first thing, I got in the cockpit and I saw electric starting system. I remember wank, wank in Russia (refers to the manual starter by mechanics). Her (P-51) press button, prrrd, then we go (electrical starter, easy engine starter). Fantastic. Beautiful sight (visibility). We never had this sight to the back.. Very stable undercarriage. Very good weapons set. So I think this was a very good airplane. I flew it a few times, then I flew the P-47, then I discovered the speed difference, down, perfect. P-38. And I flew the Spitfire. The Spitfire was a fantastic airplane, but with a limited endurance like all the continental aircraft. So this was a good lecture for me. After that I became a wing commander of the Wing 300 (JG300). This was at the end of the war in February 1945. It was chaos. I don't talk about that anymore."

Not very happy times, I guess.

Best regards,

Raimo

Re: Günther Rall in Finland, again
 

Bonsoir Olivier

Günther Rall n'a jamais effectué de missions de guerre au Stab./JG 300 - ses ailiers Werner Bohnenkamp et Günther Ritzka l'ont confirmé. Prétendre le contraire ferait de nous des auteurs aussi peu sérieux que le néanmoins distrayant Bobo...
The painting by Robert Taylor you quoted is a pure artist impression, nothing more.
cheers

Jean-Yves