My Chat with General Gunther Rall - John Martin Bradley
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- In 2007 I met General Gunther Rall at his home in Bavaria in order to photograph him for my "Then and Now" photographic portraits of WWII pilots project. He was very clear that I had one hour of his time and then I must leave. Four hours later we were drinking Scotch.
The video was made as an afterthought to remind me of what was said, an adjunct to my photographing him. I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.
The very end of the conversation is recorded at • Snippet from my chat w...
I grew up around WWII fighter pilots and later I photographed more than 30 of them, all extraordinary men.
In spite of this, General Rall is the most remarkable and wonderful man I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. A truly extraordinary man.
If you would like a particular print or drawing of General Rall, please message from here or via my website.
Kindest regards
John Martin Bradley
JohnMartinBradley.com
![Video from the Past [09] - Interview with Fritz Boost, a Luftwaffe Pilot](/img/n.gif)
what a nice guy he was :)
So many storys to tell
wo er sich herumtreibt ;D
The respect for our german Knight Cross heroes in other countries is much higher than in Germany itself
They were among the best pilots. I respect them for that. No thoughts about politics.
Since occupation in 1945, Germany and its children has been subject to deliberate and unrelenting Zionist 'reducation' indoctrination and propaganda with a particular associative synonymous with "evil" bias against anything stemming from the 1933-1945 period.
@@JohnMartinBradleyStuff They WERE the best pilots. Of course they didn't get rested/rotated but that only increases your chances to be killed and 50% of the top aces with over 100 victory [which were ALL German] survived the war.
Of course you probably already know this, just thought it would serve useful for others to iterate it.
What an honourable gentleman. A credit to his profession.
I was sat next to him at a conference. One of the most courtly gentlemen I have ever met..
Salute Günter Rall! A great pilot and a great person. Rest in peace, hero.
Thank you. I met Günther Rall in the year 2007 and 2008 to sign his book. He was a extremely friendly man! I was very sad, when he died in 2009.
You're so lucky to have this experience, thank you for sharing.
Mike Hughes It is a pleasure Mike. Chats with other pilots to follow ...
Can't wait, Gunther Rall is one of my favorites. My mother was born in Danzig in 1938 and her brother was in the Luftwaffe. He was not a pilot though.
Mike Hughes The other videos and recordings are of the other pilots I spoke to - here is a shortlist of them www.combatpilots.co/?page_id=720
@@mikehughes5150 My mothers father was in the waffen ss kia in Kursk Battle 7/1943. Her uncle was a fighter pilot in a fw190 and mia in Italy late 3/1945. My mother met my father in Frankfurt Germany in mid 1955 and married in late 1956. I was born in Frankfurt am Main in 3/30/1957.
My fathers grandpa was in the 82nd airborne as a medic with capt.s rank. He was allowed to carry a weapon , which was a 30. Cal. carbine. He was in dday, Market Garden, and wounded in The Battle of The Bulge!
He wasn't too inclined about talking of his experiences. Too many bad things in war he went through in seeing people lose their lives.
Also, my uncle, on dads side, was kia in South Vietnam mid-3/1968 tail end of TET! Happened 10 days before my 11th bday. He was kia in Central Highlands near Pleiku.
My family did pay a price on both sides of the coin!
A pilot before all... A great personality, a great soul on the sky , every time.
He said he broke his back in 3 places and was paralyzed, still got in the cockpit to fly, I’m amazed at how mobile he is at his age getting up and going to his bookshelf you’d think he never had an injury his whole life, quite impressive
He was still skiing in his late 80s. I think, after breaking his back (and getting scalped and breaking his pelvis), he was back in combat within a year, sitting on a cushion to ease the pain when pulling heavy Gs. He attributes his getting through the first night to a male nurse who sat with him and kept him from drifting off. He told me "This fellow was not combat material, if you understand me, but he is the reason my bones are not rotting in Ukrainian soil". Later in Vienna he fell in love with his doctor and they married and had a long and full life together. He had tears in his eyes when he talked about her. A truly extraordinary man and, I believe, a role model for us. Especially in those times when we think things are too hard. When I am in those situations I think of Gunther and tell myself to man-up and be more like him.
@@JohnMartinBradleyStuffbeautiful words. Thank you.
Sir, thank you so much for this wonderful video.
May Gunther Rall fly, forever free, in the boundless heavens.
Thank you.
I totaly agree!
This reminds me of the corresponding szenes of the animated Film "The Wind rises", which where absolutely adequate, touching and beautiful.
Gunther Rall a true Knight in his profession. Not caught up in the horse crap of ideology, but lethally objective in his duty.
I was amazed by how clear his English was like almost no accent at all but you can tell how sharp he is as if he all those years did not effect him all together what a chance of a lifetime to interview him
What an incredible man and interview, thx. The Japanese pilot question and then the Whisky 'hobby' at the end was priceless.
Hehe, thank you for your kind words and yes he was an incredible man. A truly remarkable man.
Thanks for showing your humanity during WW2 to so many people, Gunther! RIP my German friend!
The most sympathetic veteran pilot I’ve ever seen
Gunther Rall, a brilliant fighter pilot and a thoroughly amenable chap. Thanks for sharing this with us!
A real gentleman and hero every schoolboys ideal grandfather the stories he could tell you
Hartmann, Barkhorn, Rall, Steinhoff, Galland,...are the fellows who assisted the USA
in improving the USAF after WW2.
@Uncle Joe Rudel was a consultant on the A-10 project, in fact everyone who participated in developing the plane had to read Rudel's book.
The tecnics teached by Galland were used also in the Falklands War by the argentines
@Uncle Joe The Soviets and Western powers used alot of documents from the Gestapo and Abwehr- Dienst , against each other to gain the upper hand in an arms race during the Cold War!
@ zubb8 Nonsense. They had nothing to do with the USAF. They were trained by the Americans.
The Americans had nothing to do with Galland and advised the Bundesluftwaffe not to appointment him because they thought he was too close to Göring and Hitler during the war
This is a great interview of a great pilot. I'm a pilot and have tremendous respect for General Rall!
Thank you Michael.
Very interesting glad we get to hear the German point of view for a change
An absolutely amazing man. His autobiography is incredible. He always managed to have the best attitude despite the circumstances and believed strongly in putting forth every effort every day to succeed. He is my biggest hero’s in life. God bless you General Rall.
Thanks for sharing his interview, a great pilot and person.
Really good guy. Rip Gunther.
very brave man , respect
Superior training and right attitude do marvels to the man's character. Thank you for posting.
Huge respect for this man, and I do mean a real man unlike what we have nowadays. Rest in peace General Rall, may your soul soar among the clouds as you did in life.
o7
Without doubt the most extraordinary man I have ever met.
You're a lucky man, I envy you.
Bonjour de France. Formidable recording of an already very old but energetic man. He had so much to tell us. Thanks to all who recorded these men and women who experienced the most unbelievable war of all times, wether they were on one side or another.
Thanks for recording and sharing, a true gem of a video showing General Rall in his elements.
Believe me it was my pleasure :D
what a legend of a man !! great post !
What an honor to have talked with him. Yeah he was out enemy once but making amends after is what counts. I'm very fascinated by him always happen since all I can remember being an American
It was indeed a great honour. He was among the best of men.
RIP Her Rall.
A legend, a hero, and a great "man" ... when men were men. One of my favorite interviews (and yours is great, don't get me wrong) is Gunther's successive meet-up with the American Pilot (nicknamed Shorty) who not only shot him down, but shot off his left thumb (watch the video again and you'll see it's missing) in the process. The flight glove Gunther was wearing at the time is displayed in a museum in Germany and is missing the thumb section as a result of the event. This glorious man deserves every accolade we can bestow upon him. GOD SPEED GUNTHER ...
, thank you for sharing. a true hero Gunther rall
Ww2 air combat has been my passion since i remember. By now i think i know a lot about this war and many of the men who fought it... And this guy, this kind and lovely men is the only one i dare to call an IDOL. Not only because his militar achivements but because the kind of man that he was. Allways smiling. Allways friendly. Speaking to him would have been the honor of my life. Thank u 4 share your experience!
I loved that man! I did not agree when he said a invasion of England would of failed in his book.Even Churchill said it probably would of been successful. I meet him, great person!!
Incredible video. Gunther Rall, was a great fighter pilot, and great hero regardless of the government that he fought under. He fought for is buddies, not government as all combat veterans do in the end.
Thank you Gene.
yes you ar right !!!!!!
Great video, and a very interesting man.
Thank you. Yes a very interesting man indeed.
Thank you for sharing this conversation. Very special.
Thank you. It was a truly special time for me too.
Knights of the air , brave man on all sides.
What a fantastic and candid interview. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thank you for your kind words.
Do you have and hobbies ? "Yes - Whisky ! " Hahaha - What a Great Man
I was at a Barnes and Noble in Tustin California when they announced Günther Rall would be there in an hour to talk about his new book. I was getting bored browsing and decided a trip to in-n-out burger was more important. Damn how that bothers me now.
I would have enjoyed watching the rest of your visit! Well done!
Thank you.
One of the last Knights on earth.
good interview well done
Thank you.
An important recording, great to see, sharp as a pin der Mann! I’d have cut out the intro with Günther blowing his nose though, tbh!
Thank you and yes I should have cut out that bit :)
I really enjoyed this interview with this Great german WW2 pilot
Thank you Paul, I'm glad. I enjoyed it too :)
What a man!
A man indeed. In my darkest moments I find myself thinking of him and pick my sorry arse off the floor and carry on. He was a man indeed, a great man and a good man. And one I admire and respect greatly.
A man amongst men. I would have loved to have met.
Thank you for recording this for the next generations. I am in awe
I met him once and he was a very nice gentleman.He was very kind human being and a great pilot!!!He was not affiliated with the nazis just served his country like every soldier should.
There is no such word as "nazi." It is a made-up propaganda slur used to slander the German National Socialist movement. The proper term is National Socialist... National Socialist German Workers' Party, in German, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei NSDAP. The epithet "nazi" is derived from the sound of the first two syllables of the word Nationalsozialistische when spoken in German.
I would have loved to meet and talk with this great man, I find that most of the German soldiers were very intelligent, articulate, honorable, and very disciplined.
Great man he comes across as more down to earth thsn bubi heartman not as arogant pity he wasnt on our side during the war
I agree entirely.
Was hartmann considered arrogant?
@@SA-yn6pg just watch his Interviews he was more up jim self than rall was I've seen both piglets interviewed of the two heartman was more arrogant of the two but I guess that comes with being the best ace in history
This is awesome !!!
You are a legend and lots of your friends they were in WW2 from Germany and American
Good interview, I wish somebody asked pilots like those more specialised questions. Like, airplane behaviour during take off, landing. Stick forces at different speeds etc.
Thank you. I asked him about the difference between the superchargers on the Bf109 and the Spitfire and he chose not to answer the question. Also about the Bf109 wing slots. Having interviewed about 40 WWII veterans, I feel it is best not to pursue a line of questions that make my host uncomfortable for whatever reason.
He talks about this in his autobiography
ЛЕГЕНДАРНИЙ ГЮНТЕР РАЛЛЬ РЕСПЕКТ АВТОРУ 👍👍👍
🙏
Thank you for the video. Salute!!
Wow.
I have to get his book...
I have a signed copy! But I shall never part with it :)
What a man! Thank you for sharing this with us! Would like to see the rest, but there are reasons for not including it I guess ;)
Unfortunately I only had a few hours with him and most of it was spent photographing him. He then invited me to have a Scotch with him and I filmed the few minutes we sat and chatted before I had to head to the airport. I wish I had recorded the conversation while I photographed him. Such a great and interesting man.
Ah whiskey! Awesome.
Thankx for the video.
Respect. God bless you
I would of loved to hear his own thoughts on his approach to taking down the enemy in the air, ie his preferred method of attack and manoeuvres
Thank you, it is my pleasure.
The only guy that liked the Starfighter; they fell from the sky like unpeeled potatoes.
What a wonderful interview. It was interesting that he seemed to dance around his relationship with Gen. Yeager; Yeager's rep among other WWII pilots is not exactly "sterling". .:)
Ein wahrer Herr und Mensch…Einer der wahren EXPERTE!
Ein wirklich fuhrer!
@@hugbug4408 ?
@@hugbug4408 Ein Autofahrer???? 🤨
@@gomezgomez6299 Trying to brush up on my rusty German.
@@hugbug4408 Es ist sehr gut!
It took me a while to realise he was referring to flaps when he said slots
It took me a while to get my head around this too. Unbeknown to me at the time, the 109 had slots on the leading edge of the wings that extended on, eg, landing to reduce the stall speed (at least I think that was the purpose). This meant the aircraft could be flown from less than ideal airfields without ripping off or damaging the undercarriage, when hitting potholes etc etc.
Apparently these slots had a habit of extending unexpectedly in tight turns, occasionally putting the plane into a spin.
Dude, the word you're looking for is "slats". Neither "slots" nor "flaps" make any sense in that context.
Thx for sharing, but I wish you would have asked him what he thought Luftwaffe should have done differently in the Defence of Reich and on the Eastern front
well, it was all about beeing outnumbered and outressourced, they were actually real good
@@danbarb9728 Nazi- German pilots had to do with the cards that were handed to them! Fighting on 3 fronts; western europe, Soviet Union, and North Africa, was a strain on a blitzkrieg economy with maybe, 1 tenth the resources of the allies. Considering, Nazi- Germany did a damn great job in fighting the allies, but it was inevitable that time wasn't favoring Nazi- Germany!
very amazing man i wish i could of meet him and asking him a few questions
I wish the reporter would ask for more detailed questions regarding dogfighting tactics against the P-51, Spitfire, and P-47. How did the ME-109 stack up dogfighting against these types?
Or, how the fw190 and me109 would of stacked up against the Amrican Corsair and Hellcats?
Thank you so much, for this interview. From all i've seen with this gentleman, he seemed like such a nice person to chat with. Do you have recordings of the interview with the Czechoslovakian pilot you've talked about in this video? I would love to hear that as well.
Thank you for your kind words, Jonas. Yes he was a remarkable man to chat with and kind too. In due course I shall be posting the Czech pilot, whom I also liked very much. A different man completely, but also an extraordinary man. General Miroslav Standerer from Pilzen. We also drank Scotch, except we drank an entire bottle. When his wife came home from work she was furious with me and kicked me out of the apartment :)
@@JohnMartinBradleyStuff That sounds, like a pleasant kind of interview. Maybe it will become something like "your thing" to chat with the pilots with a bottle of Scotch next to you. You might get more information from them haha.
I really look forward for that interview. Keep up the good work John!
Greeting from Czech Republic. :)
@@jonascerny9499 haha Jonas, that is a brilliant idea, I wish I had thought of that sooner! And thank you again. I shall tell you a little story about Miroslav. There was something Kafkaesque about his life, including his time flying. He was involved in several dogfights with the Luftwaffe, but never shot down a single aircraft (a very common thing among fighter pilots, BTW). But the point I want to make is that while people like Gunther Rall were extraordinary and indisputably brave, for me, the most brave of all the dozens of combat pilots I interviewed was Miroslav. Why? Because he told me that after his initial taste of combat, he was terrified every time he climbed into the cockpit. He was sure that "this is it, this is my last flight, I am going to die now". But he went up again, again and again. That is the sign of a truly brave man, in my opinion. I liked him very much and I admire him greatly. A truly brave and humble man, with a great deprecating sense of humour and a big heart.
@@JohnMartinBradleyStuff Thank you for this brief part of the interview! I belive that Miroslav fought for the RAF, correct? If so, i wonder what he told you about his return to (then) Czechoslovakia. It's crazy, what the communist did to these heroes who came back. That's one of the things from our history, for what i'am as a Czech citizen really ashamed of.
Anyway like i've said, really looking forward for that interview John, cheers!
@@jonascerny9499 Jonas, one of the reasons I have been so tardy in dong General Standerer's interview is because I want to "do him justice". There are several extraordinary stories here. Firstly, Miroslav escaping Czechoslovakia (with many other Czechs and Moravians etc. and not just pilots) to join the French air force with whom they fought against the Germans. And then a large number of them made their way to England after the fall of France, in Miroslav's case, over the Pyrenees and eventually to Lisbon and Liverpool. Where we (the British) were slow to appreciate this gift from the universe and later shamefully poor at acknowledging and respecting (e.g. Battle of Britain celebrations not including Czechs and Poles so as not to offend Uncle Joseph). The second story is that when these Czech heroes returned to their home country, many were later imprisoned by the communists and quite a few put to death. Miroslav escaped Czechoslovakia a second time and made his way back to Britain to re- rejoin the RAF after the war. In addition to a fine bottle of Scotch I sent him as a present after meeting him, I sent him a DVD of the outstanding film DARK BLUE WORLD.
The book is out of print; it shouldn`t be,
Hätte er mal auf Hartmann gehört, da würden einige Starfighter Piloten heute noch leben….!
Как бы там не было. Но он был Сильным летчиком!! это ФАКТ. Противник достойный Уважения!
And the Czech pilots were treated like traitors as they came back to their country after the war; not a fine streak.
RIP heiliges Deutschland
GOTT MIT UNS
God, what a missed opportunity of an interview. Rall says something really interesting then a big silence from the interviewer before he asks about something completely different and mundane.
Be grateful for what we got.
To answer the question. German U boat service suffered highest casualties of any command during the War. 80%.
This man flew everyting from Me 262 to British Harriers, and at the same time is so humble and kind in the interview. 🤯 "He was very clear that I had one hour of his time and then I must leave. Four hours later we were drinking Scotch." LOL🤣
Left thumb shot off in a dogfight with a P47😬
War needs to be avoided and opposed by all, but that’ll never happen.
The Luftwaffe pilots fought until they were killed or crippled...
And Gunther Rall credits getting his thumb shot off for his survival; he is certain that, had he not been seconded out as a casualty, he would have kept flying until he was shot down and killed.
Anyone knows the title of the book he was using as reference?
Hi, the book is called My Logbook.
Thank you.
my dad was in the us army in ww2 as a tanker and was in the battle of the bulge among others.
My grandpa was a paratrooper 82nd airborne div. . A medic with capt.rank and allowed to carry a weapon which was a 30cal.carbine.
Grandpa parachuted into Normandy(dday) 6/6/1944, WENT into Holland 9/1944 operation Market Garden, and wounded in the ardennes( Battle of The Bulge) ; battle took place from mid-12/1944 to late 1/1945.
He didn't like talking about it. Too many bad memories!
German planes fidnt have the high octane gas; and not able to pull manifold pressure like our planes could; this did make a difference in performance...
It sure did, in the Battle of Britain luckily it kept the Spit on par with the 109 compared with the Battle of France. Illegal of course, the USA was neutral at the time.
John Martin question for you. Why were the Russians allowed to keep the German POWs for years after the war ended?
Because... Bolshevism, because Stalin, because totalitarianism!
Hi Glenn. I am not an historian, but it is my personal opinion they kept them for so long for two simple reasons. Firstly because they could. And secondly because Stalin wanted to punish them. Most of them died in captivity.
John Martin Bradley
Yes i Think you har right sad the u’s and the british siden du notting Thea Werge not nazi ther was LUFTWAFFE PILOTS,and Wat a grelt man
He was rip
Jan thomsen
Did they? Yes. Were the allowed to? Not according to the rules followed by the Western allies. The Soviets followed their own rules.
@@GWulf47 Right in all counts!
Stalin sent innocent soldiers who were filmed shaking hands with allied soldiers, to siberian gulags as traitors. Some were evan executed! Stalin was a rotten , evil person!
Gott mit uns
I believe most Luftwaffe fighters at the time did not believe in(nor care about) the Nazi political ideology. What they cared about are their planes, honing their skills and how not to get killed either in combat or in accidents. People like Galland, Hartmann, Rall etc are no different. They are true professionals.
LMAO yes I have hobby its called whiskey
What was the problem with p51? In his opinion
USAAF pilots weren't limited to 50 missions. Some flew over 100 missions...after D-Day no pilot was going to rotate home with just 50 missions except under exceptional circumstances such as the pilot was no longer flight-capable & combat-ready. Didn't you ever read Catch-22?
Movie was good!
Any other videos/interviews?
To date I have photographed and interviewed 32 WWII pilots and six women partisans / resistance fighters in ten countries. I have many more videos and recordings, but unfortunately I am very short of time, so it will be a while before I can collate them and post them. Also I am trying to find and photograph / interview as many of the surviving combatants as I can before it is too late - so this is my priority at the moment (July 2017). it is expensive time consuming work and this is not my day job ... and I am a also single father widower raising two kids ... excuses excuses I know :D so watch this space and in time there will be more.
John Martin Bradley Understood. I wanted to do this style interview with my Grandfather who was a Stuka pilot but sadly I didn't get a chance ☹️
Your interview was most entertaining, thank you John. Capturing history in this way is invaluable, listening to first hand accounts that are not altered by bias. I was in an unpopular war and have to shrug with some despair at inaccuracies and blatant distortions of some events. An acquaintance of mine (Tinus le Roux) has also done some interviews that may be of interest you - czcams.com/video/R1X21-pUQsw/video.html
Keep up the great work. Small suggestion if I may, is to use an extended microphone for improved audio quality :-)
@TopSecretVid You may enjoy this - czcams.com/video/R1X21-pUQsw/video.html
It's a shame. They had great courage.
Here he is, the number 3 man and you can't even properly mic the convo!!!
I was there to photograph him, not video him. The recording was just an aside to go back to later to make notes.
Is the man still among us?
2eme_Voltigeur Sadly he passed away in 2009. Born 1918.
It is unfortunate to hear that, even more so because he looks so full of life in the video. Moving about, making jokes. A generation of heroes is fading away :(.
2eme_Voltigeur He was intellectually sharp and had been skiing every year until a short time before before I met him. A remarkable man in so many ways. I liked him very much.
I have seen and heard him in cable WWII documentaries for years, and I was always impressed by his professionalism, intellect, wit, civility and humor. A dignified and courageous man... RIP, General Rall!
Evidence what we lost !
Did he ever met Soviet pilots after ww2? hes never been speaking about this
I asked him about this. I beleive he did not.
I asked him if he knew any former Soviet contemporaries from WWII, but he said he did not. He expressed an interest in learning the fate of a Soviet major he shot down and spent a few hours with - this tells me he was unsuccessful in finding the guy.
are there any known luftwaffe pilots still alive today?
Kenneth Johannessen Almost certainly. But as far as I know the most famous ones are all gone. Sadly.
Erich Rudorffer died last year. Heinz Rökker is still alive but not as famous as other pilots. But he wears the knightcross with oak leaves
I respect Gen. Rall. I believe he was an honorable man. However, some crap did happen......go to the 27:30 mark in the video czcams.com/video/LTgUILzhRdw/video.html
5:00 ???
You mean "???" about the slots
@@opoxious1592 this comment was 4 years ago but yes I think I was confused about the word sl**s :)