Hans Ulrich Rudel, Tank Destroyer... (1 Viewer)

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Although this guy has been touted as a political pawn and a poster child for the Nazi government and whatnot, this guy was truly amazing, all the Bull Shizit aside....

Hers just some info and stories....

Top German Tank Killers...

1 Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel 519+ tanks 11 Air to air Kills
2 Ofw. Anton Hübsch 120+ 8 kills
3 Hptm. Gerhard Stüdemann 117
4 Ofw. Alois Wosnitza 104 2 kills
5 Lt. Jacob Jenster 100+
6 Hptm. Hendrik Stahl 100+
7 Lt. Anton Korol 99
8 Oblt. Wilhelm Joswig 88
9 Oblt. Max Diepold 87
10 Lt. Wilhelm Noller 86

Hans Rudel would make good use of the Stuka throughout World War 2 and in it, become the most highly decorated Combat Aviator of all time... Rudel flew 2530 combat missions and destroyed 519+ Tanks, 800+ other Military Vehicles, 150+ Gun Emplacements, 4 Armored Trains, 70 Landing Craft, 1 Battleship (the 'Marat'), 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, and (while flying a FW190) managed to shoot down 11 enemy planes as well...

He was shot down more than 30 times by enemy forces, and innumerable aircraft were brought back to base that were later written off, due to heavy combat damage... He was directly involved in 6 rescue missions to save members of his own squadron from imprisonment... His official medal, the highest in all of Germany, was officially designated as: Golden Oak Wreaths with Swords and Diamonds top the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross...

He was the most highly decorated soldier of the 3rd Reich, and still remains the most highly decorated wartime aviator in the world...


Unlike the situation with the Soviets, German decorations were awarded without regard to rank. And in contrast to the Western Allies, they were never awarded for single acts of conspicuous bravery, but rather for a consistent record of personal gallantry and success in combat.

15 Jan 42: Knight's Cross...
Equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor or Britain's Victoria Cross....

14 Apr 43: Knight's Cross with Oakleaves....
Higher level of above, awarded rarely...

25 Nov 44: Knight's Cross with Oakleaves Swords ....
Won by those who had performed the most extreme acts of personal gallantry on a daily basis.... Awarded very rarely: most often posthumously...

29 Mar 44: Knight's Cross with Oakleaves, Swords Diamonds...
Extraordinarily prestigious award... Like winning four Congressional Medals of Honor or Victoria Crosses... Back-dated to the time of his escape across the Dnjester when conferred on 25 Nov.....

1 Jan 45: Knight's Cross with Golden Oakleaves, Swords Diamonds...
Note that the Golden Oakleaves were awarded once during the entire war, the decoration being instituted in answer to Rudel's continuing feats of unprecedented heroism....

It was on the Eastern Front in 1941 that Rudel began to show the world the legend that he would become... In September 1941, Rudel engaged the Russian fleet at Kronstadt, destroying a Russian Cruiser and the Battleship Marat on two separate missions... On September 23rd of 1941, Rudel's Group (1st and 2nd Wing) attacked elements of the Soviet Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt harbor (Leningrad area)... During the attack, Rudel sunk Soviet Battleship "Marat" with 1000kg bomb hitting its ammunition store and breaking the ship in half...

"We've got her ... you must have hit her ammunition store...She is blowing up !" (Rudel's rear gunner Scharnovski over the intercom)...

On Christmas Day, December 24th of 1941, Rudel flew his 500th mission and on December 30th, was decorated with Deutsches Kreuz (German Cross) in Gold by General Freiherr Wolfram von Richthofen himself (Manfred von Richthofen's cousin)... By early 1942, he had flown more than 400 missions; receiving the Luftwaffe Goblet of Honor and upgrading his Iron Cross to an Iron Cross in Gold, and then again to Ritterkreuztrager... It was during 1942 that he defied his commanding officers twice by forcibly reassigning himself back to the Eastern Front, once after being removed to become a training instructor, the other time after being hospitalized for Jaundice...

In 1943, he as sent away yet again to try to investigate a new anti-tank weapon for aircraft... So impressed with this weapon, his Ju-87 Junker was equipped with this new tank-buster cannon, and he quickly reassigned himself to the Eastern Front... On February 10th of 1943, Hans Rudel flew his 1000th mission and became a national hero to the German public.... Rudel was then posted to the new special "Panzerjagdkommando Weiss" unit formed at Briansk to test newly developed tank-busting version of Ju-87 D-3.... Modified Stukas armed with two Rheinmetall-Borsig 37mm (BK) Flak 18 guns were developed at the Luftwaffe's experimental station at Rechlin, Germany... Prototypes were used at first against Soviet landing crafts in the Black Sea and in the space of three weeks, Rudel destroyed 70 such boats... In March of 1943, during a tank battle around Belgorod, Rudel knocked out his first tank with his new tank-busting Stuka...

"... my rear gunner who said that the tank exploded like a bomb and he had seen bits of it crashing down behind us."

On April 14th of 1943, Hans Rudel was awarded Oakleaves to his Knights Cross... This award and presentation by Hitler came with a stipulation added by Rudel himself; that he would not accept it if he was not allowed to continue to fly missions... Captain Hans Rudel's squadron of nine tank-busting Ju-87 G-1 was assigned to support of the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf.... On the first day of the Operation Citadel, during his first mission, Rudel knocked out four Soviet tanks and by the evening, his score grew to twelve....

"We are all seized with a kind of passion for the chase from the glorious feeling of having saved much German bloodshed with every tank destroyed."

At the same time, because of Rudel's squadron's success, Panzerstaffels (Tank Destroyer Squadrons) were formed... Based on his experiences, Rudel developed new tactics for Panzerstaffels... He found that the best way to knock out tanks was to hit them in the back (T-34's rear mounted engine and its cooling system did not permit the installation of heavier armor plating) or the side.... Interesting fact is that attacking the back of the tank meant that the plane had to come from the rear flying towards friendly territory - a huge advantage if the plane got damaged during the attack... Later on, more Ju-87 D-3s were converted to tank-busters and were designated as Ju-87 G-1 (often nicknamed Panzerknacker - Tank Buster or Kanonenvogel - Cannon Bird) and started arriving on the Eastern Front in October of 1943...

By September of 1943, he had destroyed his 100th tank after excessive battles on the Russian front... His Knights Cross was again upgraded to include Swords, which again came with a stipulation: that his rear gunner received an upgrade to his Knights cross, personally, by Luftwaffe Field Marshall Goring himself...

By March of 1944, he had been promoted to Major... In early March of 1944, he flew his 1500th mission and was promoted to the rank of Major.... In late March, during a mission, Rudel's squadron was attacked by a squadron of Soviet Lavochkin La-5 fighters.... One Stuka was shot down and crash landed with its crew unharmed... Hans Rudel decided to land and rescue his comrades stuck in the enemy territory.... He landed and rescued his friends but could not take off because of the soft ground.... They were forced to escape on foot towards German lines being chased by the Russians.... Rudel and his comrades reached the river Dniestr and swam 600m in the ice cold water and just before reaching the other side, Rudel's rear gunner drowned.... Eventually, wounded Rudel was the only one who managed to escape and reached German lines.... He then returned to his unit, where he was cheerfully welcomed by his comrades....

Another Version:

March 44: Disaster struck when Rudel landed behind Soviet lines to retrieve a downed German aircrew.... Snow and mud bogged down the airplane, making it impossible to take off..... Approaching Soviet troops forced everyone to flee on foot, but barring their escape was the 900 foot wide river Dnjestr.... The Germans stripped to their longjohns, and swam across the ice-clogged river.... Rudel's close friend and crewman, Erwin Henstchel, drowned a few feet from the far shore.... They had flown 1490 missions together at the time of Hentschel's death.... His body was never recovered....

Rudel was pursued by hundreds of Soviet troops who were intent on collecting the 100,000 ruble bounty which Stalin had placed on his head, and he was shot in the shoulder while they chased him with dogs and on horseback..... Through incredible ingenuity, audacity, and raw determination, Rudel escaped and made his way, alone and unarmed, back home, despite being more than 30 miles behind Soviet lines when he began his 24 hour trek.... He was barefoot and almost naked in the sub-freezing winter weather, without food, compass, or medical attention.... His escape stands as the single most legendary example of personal bravery and luck during the Second World War, but he never fully recovered emotionally from Hentschel's death, for which he blamed himself throughout the remainder of his life.....

On March 29th of 1944, for his bravery, Major Hans-Ulrich Rudel was awarded Diamonds to his Knights Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, the highest German military award..... In November of 1944, while flying near Budapest, he was shot in the thigh but returned to service few days later with his leg in a plaster cast.... On January 1st of 1945, Rudel was awarded the Knights Cross with Golden Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds, being the only recipient of this award specially created for him... ....Hitler presented this to Rudel on January 1st of 1945, again. Rudel agreed to take the award, yet again with the insistence that he be allowed to continue to fly missions. Hitler was doubtful; he did not want his favorite soldier to be lost against the overwhelming odds. Amazed by Rudels stubbornness in front of an increasingly unstable Hitler, and in awe of a pilot who refused to be grounded during a time of extreme danger, even more surprising to the inner circle of the 3rd Reich hierarchy was that Hitler agreed to the demand. But Hitler later revoked his decision, and ordered Rudel to quit flying. Rudel flew on the sly with his unit, accrediting his kills to the unit, was discovered, reprimanded, removed from flying missions, and naturally, then found a way back into the air.... He also had racked up a total of 460 destroyed enemy tanks....

In February of 1945, Rudel was seriously wounded and his right thigh was shattered by anti-aircraft fire near Lebus.... He managed to land in German held territory and was quickly taken to the field hospital, where his leg was amputated..... Rudel was then taken to the hospital in Berlin, where he had an artificial limb fitted and then returned to his squadron, but then was promptly back up in the air again with an artificial leg... Eventually, Rudel destroyed 23 tanks while using this prosthetic limb....

In the last days of the war, Colonel Rudel commanded the oldest and the best known close assault / support Stuka group - Schlachtgeschwader 2 Immelmann.... He was still operating with his unit in last days of war on the Eastern Front.... At the end of the war, Rudel wanted to fly a suicide attack with his squadron but his superior ordered him not to take off because "he might be needed later", which might have been the only reason why he didn't do so.... He also volunteered to fly his Stuka into Berlin in May of 1945 to rescue Hitler from the Red Army....

On his last mission, Rudel ordered his squadron to crash-land so that the Allied Forces would not be able to use the planes for their own purposes.... He was captured by American troops, who were so impressed by his wartime feats, absolute defiance and courage, even when captured, that the American guards befriended him.... Regardless of this short-lived companionship, Rudel successfully managed to escape from a P.O.W. camp shortly after the war....

Rudel was extremely fortunate to avoid capture by the Soviets, who had put a 100,000 ruble bounty on his head, payable dead or alive... Many other pilots who had the misfortune of being captured by the Soviets, or who were handed over to them by the Americans later, during the Summer of 45, suffered up to 11 years of forced labor in the Siberian gulags after the war... Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers, from generals to privates, died in post-war captivity behind the Iron Curtain.... There has never been a complete accounting, and many are still listed by the modern German government as MIAs....

For some time, he resided in Argentina, where he became associates of other German exiles and established some degree of influence with the quasi-fascist President Juan Peron....
 

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one of the leading propaganda tools of the Thrid Reich especially from mid 1944 onward. Feel that many of his kills should of been given to his squadron mates as the SG 2 history seems to feel that he was a one man tank killer soley responsible for defeating the Soviet tank armies.........ah hmmmmmmmmmmm
 
He found that the best way to knock out tanks was to hit them in the back (T-34's rear mounted engine and its cooling system did not permit the installation of heavier armor plating) or the side....

:shocked!: :laughing6:

Rudel was pursued by hundreds of Soviet troops who were intent on collecting the 100,000 ruble bounty which Stalin had placed on his head, and he was shot in the shoulder while they chased him with dogs and on horseback.....

:onlyamother: :laughing3:

LOL, LOL, LOL

Rudel was extremely fortunate to avoid capture by the Soviets, who had put a 100,000 ruble bounty on his head, payable dead or alive...

:toothy10:


Rudel flew 2530 combat missions and destroyed 519+ Tanks, 800+ other Military Vehicles, 150+ Gun Emplacements, 4 Armored Trains, 70 Landing Craft, 1 Battleship (the 'Marat'), 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, and (while flying a FW190) managed to shoot down 11 enemy planes as well...


:read2:

:tard:

Finish.
 
Pudel - RULEZZZ...
cry.gif



Target:
~1x0.5 meter (T-34 cooling system grating)

T34_57.jpg


On the picture - this grating opened.

Aircraft:
Ju-87 speed in attack ~ 380-420 km\h

Distance - 400-500 meters (MIN.)

You believe in Rudel`s tales?

I -
no.gif


About 100.000 roubles - simple... It`s D E L I R I U MMMM.
In Red Army, nobody know about Rudel. Nobody.
yes.gif
 
In Red Army, nobody know about Rudel. Nobody.
Thats not true.... Many ground commanders, tankers, and anti-air personnel were well aware of Germanys Leading Ground Attack pilot.... Genanies Propaganda Machine was very efficient, to say the least....The 100k Rubles was a fact.. I have ssen Russian propoganda posters stating this fact...

Are u denying the fact that Rudel, or any other # of pilots, could destroy a tank with a 37mm cannon, or aim for a certain area of a tank???? I certainly hope not, cause u just made urself out to be a big idiot...
 
suggest our Soviet friend do some serious research on the Stuka Panzerstaffeln............. at least 5 equipped with a minumum of 10 kanonvogel's. whether you believe in Rudel or not he was not the only tank buster flying the machine. the gun cam films prove the qualities of the a/c in lfiht as it could almost stall out and fire taking on large numbers of soviet tanks from above. The upper armor of the T-34 and the lighter tanks even lend-lease Chruchills were no match for the Stuka and Hs 129's.
 
He found that the best way to knock out tanks was to hit them in the back (T-34's rear mounted engine and its cooling system did not permit the installation of heavier armor plating) or the side....

R2.jpg


In scale...
Any question?


The 100k Rubles was a fact.. I have ssen Russian propoganda posters stating this fact...

smotri.gif

Show me, please...
yes.gif


p.s. All tank`s casualties of Red Army from enemy aviation in 1941-1945 ~ 3.500 tank`s and SU`s...
 
Ju-87-G armed with two 37mm cannons.
It's purpose was to approach very low and shoot Soviet tanks from the rear, where they were weak.


ju87g4cr.jpg
 

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