In the Battle of Britain, the RAF were up against an extremely able and professional group of experienced German fighter pilots flying a very formidable plane, the Me109. To give some feeling for what they were up against, we offer short biographies of two of the most famous Adolf Galland and Werner Mölders.

Galland was born in 1912, a member of what was originally a Huguenot family. From an early age, he was deeply interested in everything aeronautical. Having received early experience on gliders, he undertook his pilot’s training in 1932 as part of Germany’s secret military training programme. In 1933 he joined the Luftwaffe.. He was twice injured in early flying accidents, but emerged in 1937 as an extremely competent fighter pilot, flying as part of the Condor Legion in Spain, of course on Franco’s side.

When war started, he took part in the Polish campaign. In the Battle of Britain he flew numerous successful missions against Fighter Command. Like all fighter pilots who survived, he had a number of narrow escapes. But from all of them, he emerged to live on and continue the fight. When Goering decided to promote certain operational pilots to senior commands, he was a beneficiary, and late in August he was promoted major and took over a senior command.

He was both a hugely successful operational pilot and a very independent minded critic of Higher Command. He was a hero to his pilots and a thorn in the side of the Nazi dominated command structure. In the Battle, he shot down in the region of 40 British aircraft.

He was a great character and after the war, formed several notable friendships with air aces Stanford Tuck, Bader and Johnnie Johnson. He was an inveterate cigar smoker.