Horst Rudat
Horst Rudat | |
---|---|
Born | Wirtkallen, district Insterburg, East Prussia | 3 May 1920
Died | 31 August 1982 Laaber, Germany | (aged 62)
Allegiance | Nazi Germany West Germany |
Service/ | Luftwaffe German Air Force |
Years of service | 1945 1956–1980 |
Rank | Generalmajor |
Unit | KG 55, KG 200 |
Commands held | LTG 63 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Horst Rudat (3 May 1920 − 31 August 1982) was a general in the German Air Force. During World War II, he served in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany as a bomber pilot.
In the weeks following Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France, Rudat was tasked with the leadership of a task force in 2./. The task force was experimenting with the Mistel, a Luftwaffe aircraft bombing system, based broadly on the parasite aircraft concept. Rudat led a formation of 4 Mistel aircraft against the invasion fleet of off Normandy in the night of 24/25 June 1944. HMS Nith, a British River-class frigate, was damaged killing nine of her crew.[1]
Awards[]
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (9 August 1941) & 1st Class (7 September 1941)[2]
- Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (27 May 1942)[2]
- German Cross in Gold on 27 July 1942 as Oberleutnant in the 3./KG 55[3]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 March 1943 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 2./KG 55[4]
References[]
Citations[]
- ^ Ford 2000, pp. 50–51.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Kaiser 2011, p. 90.
- ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 389.
- ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 643.
Bibliography[]
- Ford, Roger (2000). Germany's Secret Weapons in World War II. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 0-7603-0847-0.
- Forsyth, Robert (2001). Mistel - German Composite Aircraft and Operations 1942-1945. Classic Publications Limited. ISBN 1-903223-09-1.
- Kaiser, Jochen (2011). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger—Band 2 (in German and English). Bad Zwischenahn, Germany: Luftfahrtverlag-Start. ISBN 978-3-941437-09-8.
- 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.
- 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 Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Categories:
- 1920 births
- 1982 deaths
- People from East Prussia
- Luftwaffe pilots
- Recipients of the Gold German Cross
- Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Bundeswehr generals
- German Air Force pilots
- Major generals of the German Air Force
- German Air Force personnel stubs
- German World War II stubs