Fighter Pilots Conspiracy

The Fighter Pilots Conspiracy Legend refers to the poorly documented oral rebellion of the leading officers of the Luftwaffe against the incompetence of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht.

Background
By 1944, the Luftwaffe had lost the air war over Europe. Hermann Göring, Reich Marshal and Chief of the German Air Force, accused and blamed the fighter pilots for the bombing of Germany and the losing of the war. All of the senior Luftwaffe Commodores (Kommodores) brought their concerns to Adolf Galland, Commander of Germany's Fighter Force (General der Jagdflieger).

Meeting with Göring
Galland arranged for a meeting with Göring. However, Galland was not invited to this meeting. Instead, he was kept informed of the proceedings by Hannes Trautloft. The group of the most decorated and valiant Luftwaffe leaders, led by spokesman Günther Lützow, confronted Göring with a list of demands for the survival of their service. Their main concern was the Reichsmarschall's lack of understanding and unwillingness to support his pilots against accusations of cowardice and treason, which existed since the Battle of Britain.

Outcome
The outcome was devastating. In 1945, blamed by German dictator Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring for the collapse of Germany's air defense against Anglo-American bombing raids, Adolf Galland was relieved of his command. Johannes Steinhoff was threatened with court-martial and sent to Italy, and Göring told Günther Lützow that he was going to be shot for high treason. Similar penalties were imposed upon others in the so-called "mutiny". Subsequently Gordon Gollob was appointed General der Jagdflieger.

Adolf Galland who was under investigation by the Gestapo for violating the subversion act had finally decided to end his life. His girlfriend went to Adolf Hitler to plead with him to spare Galland from "forced suicide". Hitler fearing the loss of morale Galland's death would cause among the Luftwaffe late in the war demanded Goering to do something about it. Goering feeling he would rather Galland die in combat gave him the opportunity to form his own elite JV 44 flying the Messerschmitt Me 262. Galland was wounded in combat and Steinhoff severely burned in a takeoff accident before the end of the war. Günther Lützow was killed in action on 24 April 1945.

Participants

 * Günther Lützow
 * Josef Priller
 * Hermann Graf
 * Gustav Rödel
 * Johannes Steinhoff
 * Hannes Trautloft
 * Eduard Neumann
 * Gerhard Michalski
 * Helmut Bennemann