1. Hans-Ulrich Rudel was a German ground-attack pilot during World War II and a post-war neo-Nazi activist.
41 Facts About Hans-Ulrich Rudel
1. 2.
The most decorated German pilot of the war and the only recipient of the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, Rudel was credited with the destruction of 519 tanks, one battleship, one cruiser, 70 landing craft and 150 artillery emplacements.
3.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel claimed nine aerial victories and the destruction of more than 800 vehicles.
4.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel flew 2,530 ground-attack missions exclusively on the Eastern Front, usually flying the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bomber.
5.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel surrendered to US forces in 1945 and immigrated to Argentina.
6.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel worked as an arms dealer to several right-wing regimes in South America, for which he was placed under observation by the US Central Intelligence Agency.
7.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was born on 2 July 1916, in Konradswaldau, in Lower Silesia, Prussia.
8.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the third child of Lutheran minister Johannes Rudel.
9.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was posted to 1 Staffel Sturzkampfgeschwader 2, which was moved to occupied Poland in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, in June 1941.
10.
On 21 September 1941, Hans-Ulrich Rudel took part in an attack on the Soviet battleship Marat of the Baltic Fleet.
11.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel's sinking is commonly credited to Rudel alone, but Rudel dropped only one of the two bombs that sank her.
12.
In early 1942, Hans-Ulrich Rudel got married while home on leave.
13.
From May 1941 to January 1942, Hans-Ulrich Rudel flew 500 missions.
14.
In February 1943, Hans-Ulrich Rudel flew his 1,000th combat mission, which made him into a national hero.
15.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel participated in the Battle of Kursk with the same unit.
16.
In October 1943, Hans-Ulrich Rudel was credited with the destruction of his 100th tank and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 25 November.
17.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 29 March 1944, the tenth member of the Wehrmacht to receive this award.
18.
On 22 December 1944, Hans-Ulrich Rudel completed his 2,400th combat mission, and the next day, he reported his 463rd tank destroyed.
19.
On 29 December 1944, Hans-Ulrich Rudel was promoted to Oberst, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, the only person to receive this decoration.
20.
On 8 February 1945, Hans-Ulrich Rudel was badly wounded in the right foot, and landed inside German lines as his radio operator shouted flight instructions.
21.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel claimed 26 more tanks destroyed by the end of the war.
22.
On 19 April 1945, the day before Hitler's final birthday, Hans-Ulrich Rudel met with Hitler in the Fuhrerbunker at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin.
23.
On 8 May 1945, Hans-Ulrich Rudel fled westward from an airfield near Prague, landing in US controlled territory, and turned himself in.
24.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was released in April 1946 and went into private business.
25.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel authored books on the war, supporting the regime and attacking the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht for "failing Hitler".
26.
Discussion ensued in West Germany on Hans-Ulrich Rudel being allowed to publish the book, because he was a known Nazi.
27.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was in contact with Werner Naumann, formerly a State Secretary in Goebbels' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in Nazi Germany.
28.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel returned to West Germany in 1953 and became a leading member of the Neo-Nazi nationalist political party, the German Reich Party.
29.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel heavily criticized the Western Allies during World War II for not having supported Germany in its war against the Soviet Union.
30.
In October 1976, Hans-Ulrich Rudel inadvertently triggered a chain of events, which were later dubbed the Hans-Ulrich Rudel Scandal.
31.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel attended the meeting, at which he signed his book and gave a few autographs but refrained from making any political statements.
32.
The German media criticized the German Football Association, and viewed Hans-Ulrich Rudel's visit as being sympathetic to the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina following the 1976 Argentine coup d'etat.
33.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel married his second wife, Ursula nee Daemisch, in 1965.
34.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel died following another stroke in Rosenheim on 18 December 1982, and was buried in Dornhausen on 22 December 1982.
35.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel flew 2,530 combat missions on the Eastern Front of World War II.
36.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was credited with the destruction of 519 tanks, severely damaging the battleship Marat, as well as sinking a cruiser, a destroyer and 70 landing craft.
37.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel claimed to have destroyed more than 800 vehicles of all types, over 150 artillery, anti-tank or anti-aircraft positions, 4 armored trains, as well as numerous bridges and supply lines.
38.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was credited with 9 aerial victories, 7 of which were fighter aircraft and 2 Ilyushin Il-2s.
39.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was shot down or forced to land 30 times due to anti-aircraft artillery, was wounded five times and rescued six stranded aircrew from enemy-held territory.
40.
In 1976, Hans-Ulrich Rudel attended a conference in the United States with various members of the United States military and defense industry as part of the continuous development of the A-10 Thunderbolt II; Hans-Ulrich Rudel's status as a highly decorated attack aircraft pilot and particularly his experience at destroying Soviet tanks from the air was considered relevant to a potential conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
41.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel remained popular with the German far-right after his death, especially with the German People's Union, the DVU, and its leader Gerhard Frey.