Horst Rudat

Horst Rudat
Born	3 May 1920 Wirtkallen, district Insterburg, East Prussia
Died	31 August 1982 (aged 62) Laaber, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (to 1945)  West Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe  German Air Force
Years of service	–1945, 1956–1980
Rank	Hauptmann (Wehrmacht) Generalmajor (Bundeswehr)
Unit	KG 55, KG 200
Commands held	II./KG 200 LTG 63
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Horst Rudat (born 3 May 1920 in Wirtkallen, district Insterburg, East Prussia; died 31 August 1982 in Laaber/Waldelzerberg) was a German World War II Luftwaffe bomber pilot. After the war he joined the Bundeswehr and attained the rank of Generalmajor.

In the weeks following Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France, Hauptmann Rudat was tasked with the leadership of a task force in 2./Kampfgeschwader 101. The task force was experimenting with the Mistel, a Luftwaffe aircraft bombing system, based broadly on the parasite aircraft concept. Rudat led a formation of 4 Mistel aircraft against the invasion fleet of off Normandy in the night of 24/25 June 1944. The HMS Nith, a British "River Class" frigate, was damaged killing nine of her crew.^[1]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (9 August 1941)^[2]
  • 1st Class (7 September 1941)^[2]
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (27 May 1942)^[2]
• German Cross in Gold on 27 July 1942 as Oberleutnant in the 3./KG 55^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 March 1943 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 2./KG 55^[4][5]

References

Citations

1. Ford 2000, pp. 50–51.
2. Kaiser 2011, p. 90.
3. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 389.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 366.
5. Scherzer 2007, p. 643.

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 [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Ford, Roger (2000). Germany's Secret Weapons in World War II. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 0-7603-0847-0.
• Forsyth, Robert (2001). Mistel - German Composite Aircraft and Operations 1942-1945. Classic Publications Limited. ISBN 1-903223-09-1.
• Kaiser, Jochen (2011). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger—Band 2 (in German and English). Bad Zwischenahn, Germany: Luftfahrtverlag-Start. ISBN 978-3-941437-09-8.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.