Gundula Rall

Gundula Rall
Kanji Name	グンドュラ・ラル
Age	18 (end of 1944)
Birth Date	10 March 1926
Height	169 cm
Affiliation(s)	Karlsland Air Force 52nd Fighter Wing 8th Flying Corps (8./JG52) Karlsland Air Force 52nd Fighter Wing 3rd Flying Corps (Commander) (III./JG52) (end of 1944)
Team	502nd Joint Fighter Wing
Rank	Flying officer (JG52) Flight Lieutenant (end of 1944) Squadron Leader (502nd JFW)
Striker Unit(s)	Messerscharf Bf109G-2 (Black No. 13) Messerscharf Bf109K-4 (Black No. 13)
Weapon(s)	MG42
Familiar	Wolf
Seiyuu (Japanese)	Satō Rina
Seiyuu (English)	Rachel Robinson

Gundula Rall is a veteran witch of the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing, originating from Karlsland, who behind Barkhorn and Hartmann, is Karlsland Airforce's (and, therefore humanity's) 3rd greatest ace. She achieved 250 kills before Hartmann and Barkhorn, but was later surpassed.

Background

An expert at Deflection Shooting, with a certain artistic flair for dogfighting; during the evacuation of Karlsland, however, she was injured by an unlucky shot when her field of view was blocked by a piece of Neuroi debris, resulting in a severely broken back.

Although she was told that it will be impossible to fly again, after pouring her determination into extensive medical treatment with the help of a Viennese healing witch and nine months of rehabilitation she eventually returned to the front. During her hospitalization she was placed adjacent to the future Africa Corps commander Katou Keiko, with whom she gave a popular interview.

To keep her old injuries from flaring up while dogfighting she wears a special corset made of magically woven fibers that reduce G force. It was made by the witch that healed her when she was at the hospital.

Upon her return, the squadron participated in Operation Barbarossa and continued fighting in the direction of Petersburg, where she continued to sortie to not lose to other aces, rapidly increasing the number of kills.

After the operation was abandoned, she was appointed commander of the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing, where she demonstrated excellent commanding skills when it was established. When in formation with the 502nd her favored tactic is for her to fly with the so-called "Crusher Trio" and leave the practical command decision-making to Flight Lieutenant Pokryshkin. This seems to be the best way to handle the diverse group of oddballs.

Within the setting of the Strike Witches' world, she is one of the seven best witches in terms of kill count (the other six being Wilcke, Barkhorn, Schnaufer, Hartmann, Marseille and Rudel).

Personality

Strong and confident, Rall takes to her role as commander with relish, acting as more of a brash, frankly-spoken older sister than the more motherly nagging of Pokryshkin and nurturing of Shimohara. Unlike many in her position, however, she doesn't let herself get too serious, and is laid back and good-humored on a personal level. She has the courage to reassure her surroundings without forgetting to smile, no matter how severe the situation is. She seems to be able to take criticism well, even encouraging in an act of mock masochism from Wilcke when the latter began berating her morals.

She has a sharp human eye. She quickly saw Marseille's talent despite being treated as a problem child and vouched for her to be taken more seriously as a pilot. She scouted Waltrud Krupinski, Kanno Naoe and Nikka Katajainen, the "Crusher Trio" to form the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing.

This sharp eye also gives her a reputation for stealing away witches, something both Wilcke and von Bonin criticize her for (despite von Bonin doing it herself). Rall is even the reason for the Helsinki-based audio drama, in which she, Wilcke, and von Bonin discuss rules for Joint Fighter Wing recruitment, due to Rall's tendency to use underhanded methods to obtain witches. Rall's cleverness is put to good use within the drama as she predicts the arrival of Erica Hartmann alongside Wilcke, and attempts to use Waltrud Krupinski, who taught Hartmann how to have fun, to recruit her to the 502nd, though this ultimately fails.

Abilities

Her inherent magic is called Deflection Shooting (偏差射撃, Hensa Shageki). It's the same as Marseille's skill. There's a possibility that it's a combination of three different magics - Future Sight, Three Dimensional Space Understanding and Magic Bullet - but there are no definite conclusions. This skill allows her to anticipate the target trajectory and shoot where it will go.

Appearances

Anime

• Strike Witches Movie, unnamed cameo
• Brave Witches
• Strike witches Road to Berlin, cameo in episode 11
• World Witches: Hasshin Shimasu!!

Manga

• Strike witches: Chii Sanya, cameo in chapter α-8
• Brave Witches: Dai 502 Butai Hasshin shimasu!
• World Witches: Contrail of Witches
• Brave Witches: 502nd Joint Fighter Wing
• Brave Witches Prequel: The Vast Land of Orussia

Light Novel

• Der Stern von Afrika, mentioned by Katou Keiko
• Brave Witches Prequel

Audio Media

• Brave Witches Prequel Vol.2 limited edition audio drama CD

Video Games

• Strike Witches: Kiseki no Rondo, in a group card
• World Witches United Front

Other

• 502nd Twitter Story

Trivia

• Her Ace Archetype is Günther Rall. Like Gundula, he was World War II's third highest-scoring ace, with 274 victory claims and one more unconfirmed claim. This number includes one French P-36, one US P-38, and 272 Soviet aircraft on the Eastern Front.
• The Viennese healing witch who treated her is a reference to Hertha Schon, who the real life Rall later married.

Gallery

Gundula in her early years.

Cover of Brave Witches Himeuta Collection Volume 4

Cover of Brave Witches OST

502nd JFW - 02