On the opposing side of the great conflict stood Adolf Galland, a tactical genius, a celebrated ace, and one of the most outspoken and respected figures in the German Luftwaffe. His machine, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, was the backbone of the German fighter arm throughout the entire war, a testament to its revolutionary design.
The Pilot Who Had to Fight to Fly Fighters
Galland’s story is marked by a refusal to follow the rules. He was one of the key members of the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War, where he flew nearly 300 ground-attack missions in biplanes and developed novel close-air support tactics. However, he strongly preferred fighter combat.
-
The Rheumatism Ruse: After the invasion of Poland, Galland successfully convinced his superiors he suffered from rheumatism and was thus unfit to fly open-cockpit aircraft like the biplanes he was assigned. This fabricated ailment was a clever maneuver that secured his transfer to a closed-cockpit fighter unit, where he immediately began flying the Bf 109.
-
The Mickey Mouse Emblem: Galland was famous for his personal emblem: a Mickey Mouse smoking a cigar and wielding an axe or hatchet. This artwork, painted beneath the cockpit, stemmed from a bottle of celebratory brandy he had smuggled into his luggage when leaving the Condor Legion in Spain. The Disney symbol was a deeply un-official piece of flair.
The Only Messerschmitt with a Cigarette Lighter
The standard Bf 109 was a tight, minimalist fighting machine with no creature comforts—and certainly no equipment for the pilot's vices. However, Galland successfully modified at least one of his aircraft, reportedly a Bf 109E-4/N (WNr 5819), with a piece of equipment that was unique in the entire Luftwaffe fighter arm:
-
A Built-in Cigar Lighter: Galland had a cigar lighter—essentially a car cigarette lighter—installed on the cockpit dashboard of his Messerschmitt. This detail was completely unauthorized and unheard of in a fighter designed for the brutal rigors of air combat.
The Smoking-on-Oxygen Problem
The larger, more controversial challenge was how to smoke at high altitude. Fighter combat often took place well above 15,000 feet, where the cockpit air was too thin for the pilot to breathe without supplemental oxygen.
To solve this, Galland famously devised a work-around for his oxygen mask:
-
The Cigar Holder: He had his personal oxygen mask modified to include a small hole or fitting into which he could insert his lit cigar, allowing him to take puffs while remaining connected to the oxygen supply.
In a later interview, when asked about the cigar lighter and holder, Galland confirmed the story and added: It created quite a controversy, I can tell you.
A Symbol of the Maverick Spirit
The image of the top German ace flying into battle, a puff of cigar smoke escaping the canopy of his fighter emblazoned with the Mickey Mouse emblem (another Galland eccentricity), epitomizes his personality.
-
Defiance against Göring: Galland's smoking habit was in direct opposition to the health-conscious policies of the Nazi regime, which often included bans on smoking. This nonconformity was characteristic of Galland, who was famous for his tense, outspoken exchanges with his nominal superior, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring. While Göring was an ace himself in WWI, he was often seen by frontline pilots like Galland as out of touch.
-
The Image of Confidence: For Galland, the cigar was more than a habit; it was a prop that conveyed his absolute confidence and coolness under pressure. It projected the image of a leader who was utterly relaxed, even when preparing to meet the Royal Air Force over the English Channel.
This story is one of the most quoted moments of World War II, illustrating Galland’s courage and the Luftwaffe’s respect for the enemy aircraft.
The Scene
The meeting took place in September 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the commander of the Luftwaffe, was furious about the mounting losses and the failure of his fighter forces to provide adequate protection for the German bombers.
Göring summoned his top fighter commanders, including Galland and Werner Mölders, to his headquarters in the Pas-de-Calais, France.
The Exchange
Göring, after berating his aces, finally softened his tone and, in a moment of exasperated sincerity, asked them what they needed to decisively win the air war.
-
Werner Mölders (another highly decorated ace) politely requested more powerful engines for the Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Göring granted the request.
-
Göring then turned to Adolf Galland and asked, And you, Galland? What do you need to win?
-
Galland, driven by a simmering rage over Göring’s earlier accusations that his pilots lacked fighting spirit, famously replied:
I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my squadron.
Galland survived the war, credited with 104 aerial victories, all against the Western Allies, and later became a respected consultant and aviation writer, a true testament to the enduring nature of his piloting and leadership skill.
The Bf 109: Designed for Speed and Dive
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a revolutionary aircraft for its time, featuring all-metal construction, an enclosed canopy, and a retractable landing gear. It was built around the powerful Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine.
-
The Fuel Injection Advantage: A critical advantage of the Bf 109 was its fuel-injected engine, which was not affected by negative 'G' forces. Unlike the carbureted Merlin engines of early Spitfires, which would momentarily cut out during negative-G maneuvers (e.g., diving away from a pursuer), the Bf 109 could pull a sudden push-over dive, a tactic Galland used to great effect to escape or gain an advantage.
-
The Youngest General: Galland quickly rose through the ranks due to his success. By the age of 30, he was promoted to General der Jagdflieger (General of Fighters), making him the youngest general in the German armed forces and giving him effective command over all German fighter operations.
-
The Final Mission: The Me 262: Galland constantly fought Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring and Hitler over strategy, advocating for a focus on fighter defense over offensive bomber protection. After being relieved of his command in early 1945, he was given permission to form the elite jet unit, Jagdverband 44 (JV 44), flying the revolutionary Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow), the world's first operational jet fighter. It was in an Me 262 that Galland flew his 705th and final combat mission, being wounded by a P-47 Thunderbolt before crash-landing.
