Rudolf Rademacher

Rudolf Rademacher
Rudolf Rademacher
Nickname(s)	Rudi
Born	(1913-06-19)19 June 1913 Lüneburg
Died	13 June 1953(1953-06-13) (aged 39) Lüneburg
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Template:Luftwaffe
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	JG 54, EJG 1, JG 7
Battles / wars	World War II Eastern Front Western Front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Rudolf "Rudi" Rademacher (19 June 1913 – 13 June 1953) was a German World War II fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Rademacher was credited with 97, potentially up to 126, aerial victories—that is, 97 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in over 500 combat missions.

Career

Rademacher was born on 19 June 1913 in Lüneburg, Province of Hanover, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in the German Empire. On 1 December 1941, Rademacher, holding the rank of Unteroffizier (Staff Sergeant), was posted to 3. Staffel (squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) on the Eastern Front.

As of 1 February 1943, Walter Nowotny, his wingman Karl Schnörrer, Anton Döbele and Rademacher, formed a team known as the "chain of devils" (Teufelskette) or the Nowotny Schwarm, which during the course of the war was credited with 524 combined kills, making them the most successful team in the Luftwaffe.

He was severely wounded in a Defense of the Reich mission against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 18 September 1944. Following a period of convalescence, he joined 11. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing) on 30 January 1945. There on 1 February 1945, flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 first operational jet fighter, he claimed a Supermarine Spitfire shot down near Braunschweig. The Allies reported a Hawker Tempest lost in the vicinity of the action.

Rademacher was credited with 126 victories in over 500 combat missions. 90 of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, including 21 Il-2 Stormoviks. At least eight of his victories claimed over the Western Front were gained flying the Me 262. Rademacher was killed in a glider crash at Lüneburg on 13 June 1953.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 19 October 1942 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot
• German Cross in Gold on 25 March 1943 as Oberfeldwebel in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 54
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 September 1944 as Leutnant and pilot in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 54

References

Bibliography

• Bergström, Christer; Mikhailov, Andrey (2001). Black Cross / Red Star Air War Over the Eastern Front, Volume II, Resurgence January–June 1942. Pacifica, California: Pacifica Military History. ISBN 978-0-935553-51-2.
• 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)
• Forsyth, Robert (2008). Jagdgeschwader 7 'Nowotny'. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-320-9.
• Held, Werner (1998). Der Jagdflieger Walter Nowotny Bilder und Dokumente (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-979-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• 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)
• Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.
• Weal, John (1998). Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front. London, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-518-7.
• Weal, John (2001). Jagdgeschwader 54 'Grünherz'. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-286-5.