Erich Rudorffer

Erich Rudorffer
Erich Rudorffer in 1944
Nickname(s)	Fighter of Libau
Born	1 November 1917 Zwochau, Saxony, German Empire
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1939–45
Rank	Major
Unit	JG 2, JG 7 and JG 54
Commands held	6. JG 2, II./JG 2, I./JG 7 and II.JG 54
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of France Battle of Britain Eastern Front Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Major Erich Rudorffer (born 1 November 1917) is a German former Luftwaffe fighter ace, one of a handful who served with the Luftwaffe through the whole of World War II. He is the 7th most successful fighter pilot in the history of air warfare and, since 2014, both the oldest jet fighter ace and the most successful ace still living, as well as the only living fighter pilot with more than 100 victories since the death of Walter Schuck in March 2015. Rudorffer claimed a total of 222 victories, fighting in all the major German theaters of war, including the European and Mediterranean Theatre of Operations and the Eastern Front. During the war he flew more than 1000 combat missions, was engaged in aerial combat over 300 times, was shot down by flak and enemy fighters 16 times and had to take to his parachute 9 times. He distinguished himself by shooting down 13 enemy planes in 17 minutes. His 222 aerial victories include 58 heavily armoured Il-2 Sturmovik ground attack aircraft. He also claimed that he sank a British submarine on 19 May 1941 off the Isle of Portland but Royal Navy losses do not corroborate this claim and the Luftwaffe only credited him with damaging the submarine. Rudorffer is the last living recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Early life

Rudorffer was born on 1 November 1917 in Zwochau, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony of the German Empire. After graduation from school, he received a vocational education as an automobile metalsmith. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe with Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 61 (Flier Replacement Unit 61) in Oschatz on 16 April 1936. From 2 September to 15 October 1936, he served with Kampfgeschwader 253 (KG 253—253rd Bomber Wing) and from 16 October 1936 to 24 February 1937 was trained as an aircraft engine mechanic at the Technische Schule Adlershof, the technical school at Adlershof in Berlin.^{[Note 1]} On 14 March 1937, Rudorffer was posted to Kampfgeschwader 153 (KG 153—153rd Bomber Wing), there he served as a mechanic until end October 1938. He was then transferred to Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 51 (Flier Replacement Unit 51) based at Liegnitz in Silesia, present-day Legnica in Poland, for flight training. There he was first trained as a bomber pilot and then as a Zerstörer, a heavy fighter or destroyer, pilot.^[1]

On 1 October 1939, Rudorffer was transferred to the Jagdwaffe (fighter force) and was posted to the Jagdfliegerschule 2 (fighter pilot school) at Schleißheim. Following this conversion training, he was transferred to the Jagdergänzungsstaffel Döberitz, the supplementary fighter squadron based at Döberitz, on 6 December 1939.^[1] On 28 December 1939, he was transferred to the Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg, another supplementary training unit stationed at Merseburg, where newly trained fighter pilots received instruction from pilots with combat experience. He stayed there until 7 January 1940, one day later, Rudorffer, now a Oberfeldwebel (staff sergeant), was posted to the 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) , named after the World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen.^[2]

World War II

Rudorffer got his first victory over a Curtiss Hawk 75, on 14 May 1940. He scored eight more times before the capitulation of France. He flew throughout the Battle of Britain, and legend has him being pursued down Croydon High Street below rooftop level by a Hurricane.^[3] He achieved his nineteenth victory on 1 May 1941; he was then awarded the Ritterkreuz of the Iron Cross and appointed Staffelkapitän of 6./Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen" the following month. On 19 May 1941, Rudorffer and his wingman attacked a diving submarine off the Isle of Portland. It was observed that both bombs struck close and that the submarine went down vertically.^[4] By the end of December 1941 he had claimed 40 kills.

In 1942 Rudorffer participated in Operation Cerberus (Channel Dash) and flew over the Allied landings at Dieppe in August 1942. After 45 victories in November 1942 his unit was transferred south to Sicily and later Tunisia. On 9 February 1943 Rudorffer claimed to have defeated 8 British pilots during a 32-minute aerial battle, and collected his first multiple victories. Again on 15 February he was victorious over 7 allied aircraft. Among his victories over North Africa are 10 Allied bombers.

Rudorffer on 21 June 1944. In the background is his wingman, Unteroffizier Kurt Tangermann

In July 1943 Rudorffer was appointed to command II./Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) on the Eastern Front. He claimed his first victory in that theater on 7 August. Due to the experience gained by fighting the RAF he achieved incredible success. During his first sortie on 24 August 1943, 5 Soviet aircraft were downed in 4 minutes. On 11 October 1943 Rudorffer made history when during 17 minutes he claimed 13 kills. That day, Rudorffer was also credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 55th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.^[5]

Rudorffer earned his nickname Fighter of Libau on 28 October 1944 near the Latvian city of Libau. While preparing to land he spotted a Soviet task force of about 60 close air support aircraft on its way to attack Libau airfields. He broke off the landing and engaged the enemy without any backup. He drove off the attackers, shooting down nine enemy aircraft within 10 minutes. In the winter of 1944 Rudorffer was trained on the Messerschmitt Me 262 Jet fighter. In February 1945 he was recalled to command I./Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7). Between December 1944 and beginning of April 1945 the I./JG 7 operated from the then newly built Luftwaffe Airbase in Kaltenkirchen north of Hamburg. So he seems to have been Group Commander more or less for the one month of March 1945. Rudorffer claimed 12 victories with the Me 262,^{[Note 2]} to bring his total to 222. His tally included 136 on the Eastern Front, 26 in North Africa and 60 on the Western Front including 10 heavy bombers.

After the war

Fw 190 A8/N reproduction by Flug Werk GmbH Germany in the colors (minus the Swastika) and markings of Major Erich Rudorffer's mount of JG 54 when stationed at Immola, Finland.

Rudorffer started out flying DC-2s and DC-3s in Australia. Later on he worked for Pan Am and the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, Germany's civil aviation authority. He is the last living recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Rudorffer was one of the characters in the 2007 Finnish war movie Tali-Ihantala 1944. A Fw 190 participated, painted in the same markings as Rudorffer's aircraft in 1944.^[6] The aircraft, now based at Omaka Aerodrome in New Zealand, still wears the colours of Rudorffer's machine.

Awards

• Verwundetenabzeichen in Black
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (20 October 1940)
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant "1000"
• Combined Pilots-Observation Badge
• Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty (2nd class)
• German Cross in Gold on 9 December 1941 as Leutnant in the 2./JG 2^[7]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (22 May 1940)^[8]
  • 1st Class (28 June 1940)^[8]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 1 May 1941 as Leutnant and pilot in the 6./JG 2 "Richthofen"^[9][10]
  • 447th Oak Leaves on 11 April 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./JG 54^{[11][Note 3]}
  • 126th Swords on 26 January 1945 as Major (war officer) and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./JG 54^[9][12]
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
30 October 1944 (addendum)	Bei den gestern gemeldeten Abschußerfolgen in Kurland errang der mit dem Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes ausgezeichnete Major Rudorffer durch Abschuß von elf Flugzeugen seinen 206. Luftsieg.[13]	Among those aerial victories in Courland that had been reported yesterday are eleven aircraft shot down by the recipient of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Major Rudorffer bringing his total to 206 aerial victories.

Notes

1. For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations, see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II.
2. For a list of Luftwaffe Jet aces see List of German World War II jet aces
3. According to Scherzer as Hauptmann (war officer) and not Major.^[9]

References

Citations

1. Stockert 2007, p. 101.
2. Stockert 2007, p. 102.
3. Spick 1996, p. 221.
4. Goss, Cornwell & Rauchbach 2010, p. 64.
5. Obermaier 1989, p. 243.
6. Flug Werk's homepage with replica
7. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 389.
8. Thomas 1998, p. 230.
9. Scherzer 2007, p. 643.
10. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 367.
11. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 81.
12. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 47.
13. Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Volume 3, p. 573.

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
• Boehme, Manfred (1992). JG 7 The World's First Jet Fighter Unit 1944/1945. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-395-8.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Goss, Chris; Cornwell, Peter; Rauchbach, Bernd (2010). Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers Over Britain: The Tip and Run Campaign, 1942–43. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-0691-9.
• Morgan, Hugh; Weal, John (1998). German Jet Aces of World War 2. London; New York: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-634-7.
• Musciano, Walter A. (1995). Die berühmten Me 109 und ihre Piloten [The Famous Me 109 and its Pilots] (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-01236-3.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2005). Eichenlaubträger 1940 – 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe III Radusch – Zwernemann [Oak Leaves Bearers 1940 – 1945 Contemporary History in Color III Radusch – Zwernemann] (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 978-3-932381-22-5.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
• Stockert, Peter (2007). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 5 [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 5] (in German). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. OCLC 76072662.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
• Williamson, Gordon (2006). Knight's Cross, Oak-Leaves and Swords Recipients 1941–45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-643-0.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 3, 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.

External links

• Jagdgeschwader 54
• Erich Rudorffer @ Aces of the Luftwaffe