Hans-Ulrich Rudel
German World War II Stuka pilot / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hans-Ulrich Rudel (2 July 1916 – 18 December 1982) was a German ground-attack pilot during World War II and a post-war neo-Nazi activist.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Eagle of the Eastern Front |
Born | (1916-07-02)2 July 1916 Konradswaldau, German Empire |
Died | 18 December 1982(1982-12-18) (aged 66) Rosenheim, West Germany |
Buried | |
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Service/ | Luftwaffe |
Years of service | 1936–1945 |
Rank | Oberst (colonel) |
Unit | StG 3, StG 2 |
Commands held | SG 2 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds |
Other work | Founder of relief organization for Nazi war criminals Neo-Nazi activist Election candidate from the extremist German Reich Party |
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. He claimed nine aerial victories and the destruction of more than 800 vehicles.[1][2] He flew 2,530 ground-attack missions exclusively on the Eastern Front, usually flying the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bomber. He was known as the "Eagle of the Eastern Front".[3]
Rudel surrendered to US forces in 1945 and emigrated to Argentina. An unrepentant Nazi, he helped fugitives escape to Latin America and the Middle East, and sheltered Josef Mengele, the former SS doctor at Auschwitz. He 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.
In the West German federal election of 1953, Rudel was the top candidate for the far-right German Reich Party but was not elected. Following the fall of Perón, Rudel moved to Paraguay, where he acted as a foreign representative for several German companies.
In 1976, Rudel attended a conference in the United States with various members of the United States military and defense industry as part of the development of the A-10 Thunderbolt II; 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.[4]