| Adolf Galland was
born on 19 March 1912 in Westerholt in Westphalia. He began his pilot training with
Lufthansa in 1933 and a year later joined the secret Luftwaffe. By 1935 he was an
instructor at the Fighter Pilots School at Scheissheim. In 1937 he went to Spain as
Staffelkapitn of 3/JGr 88, developing revolutionary new ground attack tactics and earning
the Spanish Cross with Swords and Diamonds. His early war career in JG 27 and JG 26
paralleled that of his close friend Werner Mlders where they engaged in a friendly
competition for the higher grades of the Ritterkreuz. By his 94th kill he had been awarded
the Diamonds to his Ritterkreuz and was named General der Jagdflieger in succession to
Mlders. On his promotion to Generalmajor on 19 November 1942, Adolf Galland, 30 years of
age, was the youngest general officer of the Wehrmacht. The years that followed his
assuming Mlders post were stressful and bitter as Galland saw his fighter force steadily
ground down in the relentless war of attrition that Germany could never hope to win. The
new weapons and tactics that he evolved could however, cause the Allies to suspend their
bombing onslaught and buy time for Germany to fight its world of enemies to a standstill.
Galland soon saw that this was a vain hope as every time the Jagdwaffe was built up to
really effective strength levels it was scattered to other fronts. The last really
powerful fighter force of Luftflotte Reich was soon dissipated in the hopeless struggle to
contain the Allied invasion of Normandy. After a final blow-up with Gring over the waste
of trained airmen in the Ardennes offensive, Galland was sacked and allowed to form, with
other no longer voices such as Gnther Ltzow and Johannes Steinoff, the Me 262 jet-equipped
JV 44, the "Squadron of the Experten". Galland scored 7 kills with the
revolutionary jet before being wounded on 26 April 1945. He ended the war with 104 aerial.
Some
years after his death, many pieces of his estate were sold in auction. Among these pieces
were many books.
During his
work on the Krieghoff Luger, Randall Gibson consulted many people that could help furnish
him precise details. General Adolf Galland was one of these persons.
To
thank General Galland for is assistance, Randall Gibson signed him one copy of his book
out of a special run of 1500 copies. General Galland recieved copy number 243.
This
book was authenticated by his son by a document as he did for all the pieces of his father
offered in auction.
THIS
BOOK IS NOW OFFERED FOR SALE
Book
in very good shape. Limited edition of 1500.
The certification paper accompanies the book.
For the price of $390.00 +
shipping costs (from Belgium)
If
you are interested, please contact email : pro1258@skynet.be
George
Randall Gibson, 72, of Midland, passed away Thursday, June 14, 2007.
He was born April 2, 1935 in Northfield, Minnesota to George Randall Gibson and Orpha
Olsen Gibson. Randall graduated from Midland High School in 1953, from Stanford University
in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics, and in 1959 from the Wharton School
of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania with a Masters Degree in Business
Administration. Upon completion of his education, he was employed by the First National
Bank of Midland for nine years. He then entered the oil and gas business, with which he
was involved until his death.
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