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Erich Rudorffer
| Major Erich Rudorffer (deceased) Erich Rudorffer was born on November 1st 1917 in the town of Zwickau in Saxony. Erich Rudorffer joined the Luftwaffes I./JG2 Richthofen in November 1939, and was soon flying combat patrols in January 1940 and was assigned to I/JG 2 Richthofen with the rank of Oberfeldwebel. He took part in the Battle of France, scoring the first of his many victories over a French Hawk 75 on May 14th, 1940. He went on to score eight additional victories during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. Rudorffer recalled an incident in August 1940 when he escorted a badly damaged Hurricane across the Channel - ditching in the English Channel was greatly feared by pilots on both sides. As fate often does, Rudorffer found the roles reversed two weeks later, when he was escorted by an RAF fighter after receiving battle damage. By May 1st 1941 Rudorffer had achieved 19 victories, which led to the award of the Knights Cross. In June 1941 Rodorffer became an Adjutant of II./JG2. In 1942 Rudorffer participated in Operation Cerberus (known as the Channel Dash) and flew over the Allied landings at Dieppe. Erich Rudorffer along with JG2 was transferred to North Africa in December 1942. It was in North Africa that Rudorffer showed his propensity for multiple-victory sorties. He shot down eight British aircraft in 32 minutes on February 9th 1943 and seven more in 20 minutes six days later. After scoring a total of 26 victories in Tunisia, Rudorffer returned to France in April 1943 and was posted to command II./JG54 in Russia, after Hauptmann Heinrich Jung, its Kommodore, failed to return from a mission on July 30th 1943. On August 24th 1943 he shot down 5 Russian aircraft on the first mission of the day and followed that up with three more victories on the second mission. He scored seven victories in seven minutes on October 11th but his finest achievement occurred on November 6th when in the course of 17 minutes, he shot down thirteen Russian aircraft. Rudorffer became known to Russian pilots as the fighter of Libau. On October 28th 1944 while about to land, Rudorffer spotted a large formation of Il-2 Sturmoviks. He quickly aborted the landing and moved to engage the Russian aircraft. In under ten minutes, nine of the of the II-2 Sturmoviks were shot down causing the rest to disperse. Rudorffer would later that day go on and shoot down a further two Russian aircraft. These victories took his total to 113 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves on April 11th 1944. Rudorffer would on the 26th January 1945 on his 210th victory receive the addition of the Swords. In February 1945 Rudorffer took command of I./JG7 flying the Me262. He was one of the first jet fighter aces of the war, scoring 12 victories in the Me262. He shot down ten 4-engine bombers during the 'Defense of the Reich missions'. He was the master of multiple scoring - achieving more multiple victories than any other pilot. Erich Rudorffer never took leave, was shot down 16 times having to bail out 9 times, and ended the war with 222 victories from over 1000 missions. He was awarded the Knights Cross, with Oak Leaves and Swords. Erich Rudorffer died on 8th April 2016. |
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| Text for the above items : |
Focke Wulf Supremacy by Ivan Berryman. A Focke-Wulf 190 claims another victim, a lone B17 in the skies over the Western front in 1944. |
High Pursuit by Ivan Berryman. Squadron Leader H C Sawyer is depicted here flying his 65 Sqn Spitfire Mk.1a R6799 (YT-D) in the skies above Kent on 31st July 1940 at the height of the Battle of Britain. Chasing him is Major Hans Trubenbach of 1 Gruppe, Lehrgeschwader 2 in his Messerschmitt Vf109E-3 (Red 12) . The encounter lasted eight minutes with both pilots surviving. |
Deadly Pass by David Pentland. Magdeburg, Germany, 10th April 1945. Attacking from behind and above, ObLt.Walter Schuck, Staffelkapitain of 3./JG7, ripped through the massed boxes of 8th Airforce B17s, downing four in a single high speed pass. |
Defenders of the Reich by Graeme Lothian. Major Rudolf Rudi Sinner of STAB.III/JG7 attacking B-17s of 91st Bomb Group during March 1945. Attacking in a Kette of three aircraft from behind and below targeting the tailenders and rising over the B-17s. Avoiding any debris and evading the incoming fighter escort, who are dropping down from their top cover positions. Rudolf Sinner acheived a total of 39 victories, including two in the Me262. |
Alpine Scramble by Nicolas Trudgian. No text for this item |
Battle of Britain - Tribute to the Luftwaffe Aces by Graeme Lothian. (P) No text for this item |
Knight of the Reich by Robert Taylor. On the morning of 15th October 1943, as Bf109G's from III./JG52 dive into attack a group of Russian fighters high over Zaporozhye in south-east Ukraine, their Kommandeur Hauptmann Gunther Rall pounces on a Soviet La-5 to claim his 222nd victory. During this astonishing one month period Rall shot down 40 aircraft and at the end of November 1943 achieved 250 victories - at the time only the second Ace to do so after Walter Nowotny. By the time he was posted back to the West, he was well on the way to his final score of 275 victories, making him the third highest-scoring Ace in history. Had he not been wounded in action numerous times and forced to spend months in hospital, he might well have been the highest-scoring Ace of them all. |
The Long Short Days by Robert Taylor. It was known as the Jagdverbande, the fighter arm of the Luftwaffe, and by June 1940 it boasted some of the world's greatest fighter pilots. With tactics honed to perfection, these battle-seasoned veterans dominated the skies of Europe. But as the war progressed, the Luftwaffe fighter pilots faced another battle, the increasingly desperate war of attrition as the Allied air forces slowly, but inevitably, ground the German war machine into defeat. By early 1945 Allied air supremacy was overwhelming. And yet despite overwhelming odds, from within their ranks came the most successful air Aces ever to fly in combat - names such as Hans-Joachim Marseille, the top-scoring fighter pilot in the West, the legendary Erich Rudorffer who scored more multiple victories than any other pilot and of course the Fighter General, Adolf Galland, who achieved all of his 104 victories in the West. In total more than 100 Luftwaffe fighter pilots are known to have scored 100 or more victories, and 568 Jagdverbande flyers were holders of the Knight's Cross, Germany's highest awarded military honor. Robert Taylor's stunning painting, beautifully captures a group of Bf109Gs from III./JG26, as they return to their forward base after a long fighter sweep along the Channel coast in early 1944. In his unmistakable style, and with inordinate skill, Robert deftly evokes a moment of rare tranquility amidst the carnage of war as the lengthening sun glints across the frozen landscape during the short days of winter. |
Lost Over Dunkirk by Ivan Berryman. Spitfire N3289 of F/O John Wilson was shot down over Dunkirk on 29th May 1940 by a Messerschmitt Bf109. |
Assault on the Capital by Robert Taylor Robert Taylors final painting in his 60th Anniversary trilogy features a scene from the attacks on the afternoon of September 7, 1940. Led by Herbert Ihlefeld, Me109Es of II/LG 2 dive through the bomber formation giving chase to Hurricanes of 242 Squadron as Ju88s of KG30, having unloaded their bombs, head for home. One Ju88 has been hit and is already losing height, and will not return. Following behind He111s of KG53 try to keep formation as they fly through flak. The sky is alive with action. |
Zemke's First Fan by David Pentland. On the 12th of May 1944, Col. Hubert Zemke tried his new fan tactic, designed to engage Luftwaffe fighters. Unfortunately on this occasion his aircraft was bounced by German ace Major Gunther Rall in his ME109 G-6AS, and escaped only by sending his P47-D Thunderbolt into a gut wrenching dive. |
African Expedition by David Pentland. Tunisia, North Africa, 4th January 1943. At 1600 hours, eight Fw190s from JG2 were scrambled from Kairouan airfield to intercept enemy aircraft flying recon over the Sbeitla and Fondouk areas. The Allied formation came from Thelepte airfield and consisted of 6 Spitfires from the US 4th Fighter Squadron, 52 Fighter Group, and 6 Spitfires from the US 5th Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, escorting 5 P-39s. The Fw190s were south of Ousseltia when air combat with the escorting Spitfires began. It was during this engagement that Staffelkapitan Oberleutnant Rudorffer Yellow 1 of 6/JG2 claimed 2 of the American Spitfires. |
Adversaries by Ivan Berryman. No one knows for certain whether the two great fighter aces Douglas Bader and Adolf Galland actually fought each other in a one-on-one combat, but it is thought highly likely that they did as the famous Tangmere Wing led by Bader regularly found itself dueling with the Bf.109s of JG.26 led by Galland. Their great rivalry came to an end in August 1941 when Bader was shot down over St Omer, but these two heroes were to become close friends after the war, each having the utmost respect for the other. |
Against All Odds - Attack on the Scharnhorst by Ivan Berryman. Swordfish of 825 Sqn led by Lt-Cdr Esmonde begin their heroic attack on the battlescruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen as they make their way up the English Channel from Brest during Operation Cerberus on 12th February 1942. Although all the aircraft were lost and no significant damage was done to the German fleet, all the pilots were decorated for their bravery and Lt-Cdr Esmonde received the first Fleet Air Arm VC to be awarded, albeit posthumously. |
Bomber's Bane by David Pentland. Ostrov, Latvia, 6th July 1941. Tasked with supporting the advancing German ground forces through Latvia, the fighters of 9th Staffel JG54 were kept busy keeping the Red Airforce at bay. On this occasion Oblt. Hans-Ekkehard Bob, downed 3 Tupolev SB-2 bombers during a single sortie. His 27th, 28th and 29th victories. |
Fw190A-4, Winter 1944 by Ivan Berryman. The Fw190A-4 was introduced in July 1942, and was equipped with the same engine and basic armament as the A-3. A total of 976 A-4s were built between June 1942 and March 1943. Some of the most successful fighter aces of the Luftwaffe flew the Fw190. Otto Kittel scored 267 vicotries, Erich Rudorffer claimed 222 kills, and Walter Nowotny 258 victories. The majority of their kills were scored while flying the Fw190. |
Adolf Galland / Messerschmitt Bf109 E-4 by Ivan Berryman Germanys primary fighter during World War II, the Daimler-Benz DB601A powered BF109E-4 was much loved by its pilots, combining good speed and manoeuverability with a powerful armament, namely two 7.9mm MG17 machine guns in the top decking, two wing mounted 20mm MGFF/M canon and a further 20mm MGFF/M canon mounted in the engine, firing centrally through the propeller spinner. Nearest aircraft is that of the 109s greatest exponent, Major Adolf Galland, Gruppenkommander III/JG26 Schlageter, Luftflotte 2, depicted during a sortie from Caffiers, France in 1942. |
Messerschmitt versus Messerschmitt by David Pentland. Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 6th April 1941. While escorting Stukas at the start of the German Balkan campaign, the Me109Es of JG54 were engaged by Me109Es of the Yugoslav air force. During the ensuing melee, ObLt. Hans-Ekkehard Bob claimed his 20th victory. |
Clipped Signature - Erich Rudorffer. Fighter pilot who served with JG2 during the Battle of Britain and JG54 on the Eastern Front. Scoring a total of 222 victories, he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He died in 2016. |
Adolf Galland by Ivan Berryman. Adolf Galland hunts down another victim on a raid over the English Channel during the Battle of Britain. |
Assi and Julius by David Pentland. Tournai, France, 19th May 1940. While on an escort mission for He111s, the Me109Es of 4 Staffel JG2 were engaged by the RAF Hurricanes of 87 Squadron. In the ensuing battle Staffelkapitan Hans Assi Hahn and his trusty wingman Julius Meimberg claimed a Hurricane each. |
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