Rudolf Frank
| Rudolf Frank | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 August 1920 Karlsruhe |
| Died | 27 April 1944 (aged 23) near Eindhoven, Netherlands |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch |  Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1941–1944 |
| Rank | Leutnant (Posthumously) |
| Unit | NJG 3 |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Rudolf Frank (19 August 1920 – 27 April 1944) was a German Luftwaffe night fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Frank claimed 45 aerial victories, all of them at night.[Notes 1]
Contents |
Career [edit]
Rudolf Frank was born on 19 August 1920 in Karlsruhe-Grünwinkel. After pilot training he was assigned to 2. /NJG 3 as a Gefreiter in early 1941. During the night of 3/4 July he claimed his first aerial victory. By the end of 1942 he had seven confirmed victories.
On the night of 16/17 June 1943 he claimed three bombers. Eighteen bombers were claimed during 1943, and on 6 April 1944 Frank was awarded the Knight's Cross.
On 27 April 1944, his aircraft (a Messerschmitt Bf 110G-4 W.Nr 720074) was hit from debris from a damaged Lancaster that he had attacked. His crew members were able to bale out and both Oberfeldwebel Schierholz and Oberfeldwebel Schneider survived, but Frank died in the crash near Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He was posthumously promoted to Leutnant and awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 20 July 1944.
Frank had flown 183 combat missions and shot down 45 enemy aircraft, all at night.
Awards and decorations [edit]
- Flugzeugführerabzeichen
- Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (9 August 1943)
- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
- Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
- German Cross in Gold (17 October 1943)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 6 April 1944 as Feldwebel and Flugzeugführer in the 2./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3[1]
- 531st Oak Leaves on 20 July 1944 as Oberfeldwebel and Flugzeugführer in the 2./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 [2]
Notes [edit]
- ^ For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see List of German World War II night fighter aces.
References [edit]
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
- Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 - 1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 3-87341-065-6.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
External links [edit]
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