Erich Rudorffer

Infobox Military Person
name=Erich Rudorffer
born=birth date|1917|11|1|df=yes
placeofbirth=Zwochau
placeofdeath=


caption=Erich Rudorffer
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=Luftwaffe
serviceyears=1939-1945
rank=Major
commands= 6. JG 2, II./JG 2, I./JG 7 and II.JG 54
unit=JG 2, JG 7 and JG 54
battles=
awards="Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub und Schwerten"
laterwork=

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 had a total of 222 victories, fighting in all the major German theaters of war, including ETO, MTO 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. His 222 aerial victories include 58 heavily armoured Il-2 Sturmovik ground attack aircraft. He was also responsible for sinking a British submarine.

Early life

Rudorffer was born in Zwochau, Sachsen. He flew for Lufthansa, until two months after the beginning of World War II all pilots were transferred to the Luftwaffe. In early 1940 Rudorffer was transferred to to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen".

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. He achieved his nineteenth victory on 1 May 1941; he was then awarded the "Ritterkreuz" and appointed "Staffelkapitän" of 6./JG 2 the following month. 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 defeated 8 British pilots during a 32-minute aerial battle, and collected his first with multiple victories. Again on 15 February he was victorious over 7 allied aircraft. Among his victories over North Africa are 10 Allied bombers.

In July 1943 "Hauptmann" Rudorffer was appointed to command II./JG 54 on the Eastern Front. He achieved his first victory here 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 Erich Rudorffer wrote history when during 17 minutes he was victorious 13 times.

In the winter of 1944, Major Rudorffer was trained on the Messerschmitt Me 262 Jet fighter. In February 1945 he was recalled to command I./ 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. He scored twelve victories with the Me 262 [For a list of Luftwaffe Jet aces see "List of German World War II jet aces"] , 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

Erich Rudorffer started out flying DC-2 and DC-3 in Australia. Later on he worked for PAN AM. In the 1980s he returned to fly for LufthansaFact|date=July 2008.

Pilots and flying students remember him as a hired PPL instructor in Lübeck, Germany, at a local flying school in the late 60s for some time, and other people recollect he later later ran an auto gas station in nearby Mölln, well into the 70s. His returning to active aviation later than 1980 seems highly unlikely.

Rudorffer will be one of the characters in the upcoming Finnish war movie Tali-Ihantala 1944, which is scheduled for screening in September 2007. A Fw 190 is also participating, painted in the same markings as Rudorffer's aircraft in 1944. [ [http://www.flugwerk.com/diary.shtm Flug Werk's homepage with replica] ]

Awards

* Verwundetenabzeichen in Black
* Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe
* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant "1000"
* Combined Pilots-Observation Badge
* Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty (2. class)
* German Cross in Gold (9 December 1941)
* Eisernes Kreuz 2. and 1. Klasse (1940)
* Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern [Fellgiebel]
** Ritterkreuz (1 May 1941)
** Eichenlaub (11 April 1944)
** Schwerter (26 January 1945)

References

* Berger, Florian. "Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges". Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006.
* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. "Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II". Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
* Sprick, Mike. "Luftwaffe Fighter Aces: The Jagdflieger and their combat tactics and techniques". Ivy Books, 1996.

External links

* [http://www.jg54greenhearts.com/Rudorffe.htm Jagdgeschwader 54]
* [http://www.luftwaffe.cz/rudorffer.html Erich Rudorffer @ Aces of the Luftwaffe]