Junkers Ju 87“A BAD DAY FOR RUDEL” by Aitor Azkue

Rudel was born on July 2, 1916 in Konradswaldau, Prussia. German forces invaded Poland in 1939, starting World War II in Europe. As an air observer, Rudel flew long-range reconnaissance missions over Poland. In early 1941, he trained as a Stuka pilot. He was assigned to 1 Staffel SturzKampfgeschwader 2, Stg2 which was transferred to occupied Poland in preparation for Operation Barbarossa.

Rudel flew 2,530 combat missions on the Eastern Front of World War II. Most of these were achieved while flying the Junkers Ju 87, although 430 were flown in ground attack variants of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. He was credited with destroying 519 tanks, severely damaging the battleship Marat, as well as sinking a cruiser and an oil destroyer, the Leningrad-class destroyer Minsk, and 70 landing craft. Rudel also claimed to have destroyed more than 800 vehicles of all types, more than 150 artillery, anti-tank or anti-aircraft positions, 4 armoured trains, as well as numerous bridges and supply lines. Rudel was also credited with 9 aerial victories, 7 of which were fighter aircraft and 2 Ilyushin Il2s. He was shot down or forced to land 30 times due to anti-aircraft artillery, was wounded five times, and rescued six stranded aircrews from enemy-held territory.

He 111H-16 Heinkel Luftwaffe “Norway-1943″By AITOR AZKUE