Walther Dahl

Walther Dahl (27 March 1916 – 25 November 1985) was a German Oberst Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. Dahl claimed some 128 enemy aircraft shot down in 678 missions, including about 300 ground-attack missions.

Military career
Walther Dahl was born in Lug near Bad Bergzabern, son of a teacher who was killed in action in 1918 on the Western Front of World War I. He joined the army in 1935, initially serving in Infantry Regiment 119 in Stuttgart, before transferring to the Luftwaffe and becoming a fighter pilot.

By May 1941 Dahl was part of the Geschwaderstab of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) and claimed his first victory on 22 June during the first day of the invasion of Russia. In July Dahl transferred to II. Gruppe of JG 3. By the end of October Dahl had 17 claims. He was then transferred to 4 staffel, JG 3 in December 1941 before the unit was posted to the Mediterranean theatre. He claimed a Spitfire over Malta on 1 April 1942 and on 10 April 1942 Dahl was made Staffelkapitän, Ergänzungsgruppe, JG 3.

In April 1943, Dahl was transferred to the staff of the General der Jagdflieger. In August, Dahl was next appointed Geschwaderadjutant, JG 3 on the Eastern front where he had raised his total to 51, being awarded the German Cross in Gold in December 1942

On 20 July 1943, Dahl was posted as Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 3 and relocated to Münster from Kursk on the Russian Front. He claimed 2 four-engined bombers on 6 September and 2 more four-engined bombers (and a P-38) on 23 February 1944.

Dahl led a III./JG 3 formation against the Schweinfurt and Regensburg raid of 17 August 1943 but was intercepted by Spitfires of No. 222 Squadron. III./JG 3 lost 5 Bf 109s shot down including Dahl who had to make a belly landing in his Bf 109 G-6.

Major Dahl was awarded the Ritterkreuz in March 1944 for 67 victories. In May 1944, Dahl was appointed Kommodore of JG z.b.V. He led the unit until 6 June, then taking command of Jagdgeschwader 300 (JG 300—300th Fighter Wing) on 27 June. JG 300 was to become famous for flying the heavily armed and armored Focke Wulf FW 190A-8 "Sturmbock" in close formation, driving in their attacks to point-blank range. As a last resort, after depletion of all ammunition, the pilots had to ram enemy bombers.

On 7 July 1944 a force of 1,129 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force set out from England to bomb aircraft factories in the Leipzig area and the synthetic oil plants at Boehlen, Leuna-Merseburg and Lützkendorf. This formation was intercepted by a German Gefechtsverband consisting of IV.(Sturm) Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 3 escorted by two Gruppen of Bf 109s from JG 300 led by Major Dahl. Dahl drove the attack to point-blank range behind the Liberators of the 492nd Bomb Group before opening fire. 492nd Bomb Group was temporarily without fighter cover. Within about a minute the entire squadron of twelve B-24s had been annihilated. The Germans claimed 28 USAAF 2nd Air Division B-24s that day and were credited with at least 21. The majority to the Sturmgruppe attack. IV./JG 3 lost nine fighters shot down and three more suffered damage and made crash landings; five of the unit's pilots were killed.

On 13 September, Dahl apparently brought down a B-17 four-engined bomber by ramming according to his own account. The historians of JG 300 (Lorant/Goyat) found no evidence of a corresponding loss in US archives. For his personal exploits and that of his unit, Dahl was dubbed Rammdahl again according to his own account. On the morning of 30 November 1944, Dahl was informed that Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was coming to visit the troops and to present Dahl with the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. At 12:20 pm Göring and Generaloberst Bruno Loerzer arrived and Dahl made a formal report. Soon the discussion came to the question of whether Dahl believed that given these bad weather conditions the Geschwader could not engage in combat. Dahl explained that in only good conditions would they stand a chance against the overwhelming odds, as they were outnumbered 20:1. He also referred to the inexperience and inadequate training of his young pilots. Into this situation came the news of an approaching bomber formation. Göring ordered Dahl to take off and engage the enemy. Dahl stood his ground and continuously refused to obey. Göring became furious and threatened Dahl with court martial and execution. Only the arriving General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland, who confirmed Dahl's opinion, saved Dahl from severe punishment. Nevertheless Dahl was immediately relieved from his command and sent on sick leave. Subsequently Dahl was not presented with the Oak Leaves that day.

On 26 January 1945, Hermann Göring appointed him Inspekteur der Tagjäger (Inspector of the day fighter). Despite his promotion, Dahl continued to fly operationally.

Oberst Dahl ended the war flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter with III./Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader 2 (a supplementary fighter unit). On 27 March 1945, Dahl claimed two P-47 fighter kills. His 128th and last victory was a USAAF P-51 Mustang near Dillingen on 26 April 1945.

Post World War II
Walther Dahl survived the war and became a member of the Deutsche Reichspartei (DRP—German Reich Party). In the West German federal election of 1961 he unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the DRP. His 128 aerial victory claimed during World War II were challenged by the historians of JG 300 (Lorant/Goyat) who identified no more than 100 Dahl claims. Any other figures are likely to have been based on his 'memoir' entitled Rammjäger. Dahl died on 25 November 1985 in Heidelberg at the age of 69.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
 * Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (23 December 1941)
 * German Cross in Gold on 2 December 1942 as Oberleutnant in the Stab/JG 3
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
 * Knight's Cross on 11 March 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./JG 3 "Udet"
 * 724th Oak Leaves on 1 February 1945 as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of JG 300
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 8 July 1944