Hans-Ulrich Rudel on 8th (not 9th) February 1945 - what is known about the mission in which he lost his leg?

[Leo Etgen]

Hi guys

The only thing that I can add is that according to the QM 6:

8 February 1945 - Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Geschwaderkommodore of SG 2, shot down by Flak and injured in Ju 87 G-2 (W.Nr. 494 220), crashed, 50%

I too have his memoirs and by all accounts he was a brave and determined man with political views that were outside of the norm, to put it mildly. Nevertheless, the foreword of his book was written by none other than Douglas Bader, a fellow whom I have recently read also had his character hang-ups. As Dan History put it, people are complicated.

Horrido!

Leo

[knusel]

Good evening Gentlemen,

I'm quite astonished that there are so few threads about Rudel in this forum.
Why is this so ?

Cheers,
Michael

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hello Michael,

I think it's because it's difficult to say anything new about him.
His memoirs contain fairly accurate facts of what he did, where, and when. He probably used some of his own notes. The problems begin when he describes the details and results of his actions. It feels like he couldn't control his imagination while writing the book
I have already written on this forum about the results of my analysis of the events of 8.Feb.45 in the Lebus area, when he lost his leg and allegedly destroyed 13 tanks. The reality contrasts sharply with the content of his memoirs. This is one of the few events in his memoirs where the place and date are specified, i.e., it is possible to analyze it.

The article is currently unavailable online, but the revised author's version is published in Technika Wojskowa Historia 2020-02 (in Polish). I added info found after the release of the first version of the article, including the factory numbers of all 3 tanks, the destruction/damage of which (all or some of them) Rudel could theoretically have been involved in.
There are questions even about such a well-known event as the hit on the battleship Marat on 23.Sep.41, in Kronstadt. I wrote a long article about the raids on Kronstadt in Sep.41, of which I have so far published only the part devoted to 23.Sep.41. You can read it here:

https://tacticmedia.ru/articles/cher...-gibel-marata/

The article is in Russian, but online translators now convey the content more or less accurately. I think the best translator right now is deepl.com.
The article is devoted to the events of 23.Sep.41 near Leningrad in general, but the raids on ships in Kronstadt are described in sufficient detail.
Regarding the battleship, according to the German report, VIII.Fl.Korps scored three hits on it, but according to Soviet data, 2 bombs hit it almost simultaneously—in front of and behind the foremast. Lt Stahl also saw that there were 2 hits. I have not yet found any documented evidence of who, according to the Germans, scored the hits other than Rudel. I have read that Oblt Lau was also credited with a hit, but I don’t know on what this claim is based. Considering that there were 2 actual hits, not 3, one of the 3 pilots missed. Moreover, it is unknown which of the 2 actual hits caused the fatal explosion.
Apparently, Staka Steen was right when he reported (according to Rudel's memoirs) that the damage to the battleship was the merit of the entire Staffel.
Rudel's claim to have sunk a cruiser in the same month is definitely not confirmed.

Overall, there is no doubt that Rudel was an outstanding pilot, but we will probably never know how great his actual successes were, as there is no data available for analysis. It is only clear that they are less than his official tally.

Best regards,
Andrey

[knusel]

Good afternoon Andrey,

thanks for your explanations and assessments.
I have read the book written by him about his wartime career and the book about his mountaineering. They are entertaining to read and provide a colorful impression about his deeds. However, data for statitics fans like me is rather scarce. For example, has it ever been recorded how many missions he flew as an oberserver in the Polish campaign ?

Have a fine 1st Advent, sincerely,

Michael