Friedrich Rumpelhardt

Friedrich "Fritz" Rumpelhardt
Nickname(s)	"Fritz"
Born	19 June 1920 Nordhalden
Died	20 January 2011(2011-01-20) (aged 90) Kehl
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1940–45
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	NJG 1
Battles/wars	World War II Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Friedrich "Fritz" Rumpelhardt (19 June 1920 – 20 January 2011) was a highly decorated Leutnant in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

During his career he participated in 130 missions as a Bordfunker (radio/radar operator) with Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 and Nachtjagdgeschwader 4, and participated in 100 aerial victories as a crewman with Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer from October 1942 (as a Unteroffizier) until the end of the war. He was the most successful radar operator—in terms of aerial victories claimed—in the Luftwaffe night fighter force.

Career

Lichtenstein cathode-ray tubes:
 • The left tube indicated other aircraft ahead as bumps.
 • The centre tube indicated range to a specific target and whether they were higher or lower.
 • The right tube indicated whether the target was to left or right.

Rumpelhardt was born 19 June 1920 in Nordhalden near Konstanz, at the time in the Republic of Baden of the German Reich during the Weimar Republic. He was one of three sons of the teacher Emil Rumpelhardt and his wife Rosa. Both his twin brothers were killed in action as Luftwaffe pilots during the war.

As a Leutnant he was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in July 1944 and was nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 8 March 1945.

In the late nineties Rumpelhardt self-published an 119-page account of his wartime experiences, "Meine Geschichte und die meiner Familie: Die Zeit des Kriegsdienstes".

Awards and decorations

• Fliegerschützenabzeichen für Bordfunker und Bordschützen (Radio Operator Badge) (5 February 1942)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (5 June 1942)
  • 1st Class (1 October 1942)
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
  • in Bronze (31 August 1942)
  • in Silver (18 February 1944)
  • in Gold (4 February 1945)
• German Cross in Gold on 16 April 1944 as Feldwebel in the 12./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 17 April 1944 as Feldwebel and Bordfunker (radio operator)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 July 1944 as Oberfeldwebel and Bordfunker in IV./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Hinchliffe, Peter (1999). Schnaufer: Ace of Diamonds. Brimscombe Port, UK: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-1690-8.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

External links

• Friedrich Rumpelhardt in the German National Library catalogue
• "Friedrich Rumpelhardt". World War 2 Awards.com. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
• "Friedrich Rumpelhardt". Lexikon der Wehrmacht (in German). Retrieved 31 August 2014.