Hans Ulrich Rudel

[Steve Hoog]

I think you mean corroborate rather than calibrate

Yes sir you are correct; I'm on some strong pain pills right now for my tumor and it has me a little on the loopy side.

I am giong to look a around a bit for a source of this outside his own book.

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi Steve,

I've put together a list of Rudel's tank claims, and from that it seems clear that he continued making official claims throughout the war.

The closest he seems to have come to being grounded came in April 1945. The Karl Koller war diary, published by Monogram in 1990, includes several entries about Rudel receiving new assignments in April 1945. For example, on 17 April 1945 Hitler told General Koller: "All the jet fighter-bombers are to be given to Rudel who is to concentrate them under his command. Has Rudel already taken over his new duties? I have ordered that he should take command of all jet fighters." Rudel was ordered to Berlin and arrived the next day, but after several days returned to Schlachtgeschwader 2. On 21 April Hitler ordered Rudel to deploy Schlachtgeschwader 2 in the Cottbus gap. On 27 April Oberst Rudel arrived at Rechlin, with the intention of flying in to Berlin to see Hitler, but soon decided against that idea and returned to Schlachtgeschwader 2 again.

So to answer your question, it seems that there were no 'unofficial' tank claims made by Rudel and attributed to others.

All the best,
Andrew A.

Air War Publications - www.airwarpublications.com

[Steve Hoog]

Andrew

Have you read the book Stuka Pilot?

Steve

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi Steve,

Yes, I own a copy of Rudel's autobiography, and also the biography written about him by former Luftwaffe ground-attack pilot Guenther Just.

Rudel mentions being banned from flying in November 1944, but he continued to make official claims for tanks destroyed in November and December 1944.

Just mentions that Rudel was 'banned' from flying in 1945, and that the tanks he claimed in that time were credited to 'Geschwader 601'. However, the reality seems to be that these claims were all credited to Rudel as part of his 519 official claims. In fact, the Wehrmacht communique of 10 February 1945 mentions Rudel's eleven tank victories, so he was obviously not hiding the fact that he was flying and claiming victories!

Also, Rudel relates the story of Hitler ordering him to stop flying on 1 January 1945, which Rudel protests, and Hitler replied: "All right, you may go on flying."

Given the evidence, I have strong doubts about the 'banned from flying' story.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

Air War Publications - www.airwarpublications.com

[Steve Hoog]

Andrew

Yes there seems to have been a sporty tug of war between Rudel and AH.

Just out of curiosity I am going to inquire to Frau Scharfenberg to see if he ever managed to stay there post war and what she might say.

A very interesting man no matter how you add the numbers.

Steve

[Marcus]

An opinion post by TWV88 containing no relevant information was removed.

/Marcus

[TWV88]

An opinion post by TWV88 containing no relevant information was removed.

/Marcus

Why?

[Marcus]

This is a research forum and opinion posts are not welcome so please add facts to your posts to avoid removal.

/Marcus

[TWV88]

Is the book Stuka Pilot still available?

[Marcus]

An off-topic post by TWV88 was removed.

/Marcus

[Marcus]

Is the book Stuka Pilot still available?

Yes. For example at http://www.amazon.com/Stuka-Pilot-Hans- ... ords=rudel

/Marcus

[Mauser K98k]

As a matter of fact, Stuka Pilot is available for viewing as a pdf file. Check it out.

http://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/ ... 0Rudel.pdf