Full name: Erich Rudorffer
Nickname: Fighter of Libau
Date of Birth: 1 November 1917 at Zwochau, Sachsen (German Empire)
Date of Death: 8 April 2016 at Bad Schwartau, Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)
Battles and Operations: Battle of France, Battle of Britain, North African Campaign (Tunisia), Eastern Front (including Courland), Western Front and Defense of the Reich 1944-1945, jet operations with Me 262
NSDAP Number: unknown
SS Number: unknown
Academic Title: unknown
Family Member: unknown
Physical Feature: unknown
Beförderungen (Promotion):
Oberfeldwebel (by December 1939)
Leutnant (28 October 1940, effective 1 November 1940)
Oberleutnant (20 November 1941, rank age dated 1 October 1941)
Hauptmann (1 January 1943)
Major (1 January 1944, rank age dated 1 May 1944)
Karriere (Career):
16.04.1936 Joined the Luftwaffe with Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 61.
02.09.1936 - 15.10.1936 Served with Kampfgeschwader 253.
16.10.1936 - 24.02.1937 Trained as an aircraft engine mechanic at the Technische Schule Adlershof in Berlin.
14.03.1937 Posted as a mechanic to Kampfgeschwader 153 where he served as a mechanic until end October 1938. He was then transferred to Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 51 based at Liegnitz in Silesia for flight training. There he was first trained as a bomber pilot and then as a Zerstörer, a heavy fighter or destroyer, pilot.
01.10.1939 Transferred to the Jagdwaffe and was posted to the Jagdfliegerschule 2 at Schleißheim.
06.12.1939 Following the conversion training, Rudorffer was transferred to the Jagdergänzungsstaffel Döberitz, the supplementary fighter squadron based at Döberitz.
28.12.1939 - 07.01.1940 Transferred to the Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg, another supplementary training unit stationed at Merseburg, where newly trained fighter pilots received instruction from pilots with combat experience.
08.01.1940 Posted to 2. Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen".
00.00.19__ Flugzeugführer in 6.Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen".
11.11.1941 Staffelkapitän 6.Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen".
17.04.1943 Führer II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen".
30.06.1943 Gruppenkommandeur IV.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 54
00.07-08.1943 Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 54
15.01.1945 Gruppenkommandeur I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 7
00.00.19__ Kraftfahrbundesamt (BRD)
Post-war service as airline pilot for Deutsche Lufthansa, later DC-2/DC-3 operations in Australia, Pan Am, and Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (German civil aviation authority)
Orden und Ehrenzeichen (Medals and Decorations):
00.00.19__ Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938
00.00.19__ Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Schwarz
00.00.19__ Gemeinsames Flugzeugfuhrer-Beobachter Abzeichen (ohne brillianten)
22.05.1940 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
28.06.1940 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
20.10.1940 Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg
00.00.194_ Vapaudenristin 2.luokka (Finland)
01.05.1941 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Leutnant and Flugzeugführer in 6.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen". Awarded after his 19th confirmed aerial victory (all against fighters), following 145 combat missions. Rudorffer's early successes came during the Battle of France (May–June 1940) and the Battle of Britain/English Channel offensive (1940–early 1941), flying the Bf 109E/F with JG 2. His first victory was on 14 May 1940: a French Curtiss Hawk 75 southwest of Les Sees-la-Gresn at 15:08. He followed with claims against LeO 451 bombers, Morane 406s, Blenheims, and Spitfires in rapid succession during the chaotic air battles supporting the Ardennes breakthrough and Dunkirk evacuation.
A particularly vivid early dogfight occurred in August 1940 over southern England. Rudorffer pursued and damaged a Hawker Hurricane, escorting the crippled RAF fighter across the Channel at low level as it struggled to reach home. Fate reversed weeks later when he was damaged and found himself escorted by an RAF fighter. One harrowing incident saw him pursued by a Hurricane down Croydon High Street at rooftop level—skimming rooftops in a high-speed chase through the London suburbs, evading ground fire and the pursuer before breaking free.
By late 1940 into spring 1941 (defending against RAF "Non-Stop Offensive" raids on the Channel coast from Abbeville-Drucat), he added more Spitfires and Hurricanes. His 19th victory on or around 1 May 1941 pushed him over the threshold. These were not single "heroic" missions but relentless daily scrambles against superior numbers of RAF fighters, where Rudorffer's aggressive deflection shooting and energy management in the Bf 109 proved decisive. The award recognized his reliability and accumulating score in the West before JG 2's partial shift to other duties.
09.12.1941 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
00.00.194_ Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold
00.00.194_ Frontflugspange für Zerstörer in Gold mit Anhänger und Einzatszahl
00.00.1943 Ärmelband "AFRIKA"
11.04.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #447, as Major and Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) "Grünherz". Awarded after reaching approximately 130–134 confirmed victories (sources cite 130 or 134; the award followed immediately after a standout multi-kill day). After North Africa (where he racked up 26 victories, including an "ace-in-a-day" of 8 in 32 minutes on 9 February 1943—six P-40 Warhawks and two P-38 Lightnings south of Ousseltia in a frantic 13:59–14:06 melee—and another 7 in ~20 minutes six days later), Rudorffer transferred east in mid-1943 to command II./JG 54. He switched exclusively to the Fw 190, excelling in low- and medium-altitude brawls against Soviet VVS formations (Yaks, LaGGs, Il-2 Sturmoviks, and Pe-2s).
His Eastern Front tally climbed rapidly with multiple-victory sorties: 5 in 4 minutes on 24 August 1943 (DB-3s, Il-2, La-5s); 7 in 7 minutes on 11 October 1943 (reaching his 100th); and a stunning 13 in 17 minutes on 4 November 1943 during the Battle of Kiev (eight Yak-7s and five Yak-9s from 13:00–13:17, bringing him to 122). These were typically head-on or diving attacks into massed Soviet close-support formations, leveraging the Fw 190's ruggedness and firepower against armored Il-2s (he eventually claimed 58 Sturmoviks).
The decisive action for the Eichenlaub was on 7 April 1944, when Rudorffer claimed six victories in one sortie (his 129th–134th), primarily Il-2 Sturmoviks and P-39 Airacobras in the air battles over the Eastern Front (map references around PQ 25 Ost, near areas like southwest of Libau/Selo in later Courland operations). In the Fw 190, he dived into the Soviet formation, exploiting deflection shots and rapid passes to shred multiple attackers amid intense flak and escort fighters—classic multi-kill "rat scramble" tactics that defined his reputation as a master of successive victories. This pushed his total over the award threshold; he received the Oak Leaves days later (presentation by Hitler on 5 May 1944 at the Berghof).
30.10.1944 Mentioned in Wehrmachtbericht: "Among those aerial victories in Kurland that had been reported yesterday are eleven aircraft shot down by the recipient of the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes Major Rudorffer, bringing his total to 206 aerial victories."
26.01.1945 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #126, as
Major and Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54)
"Grünherz". Awarded after 210–212 confirmed victories (award followed continued high scoring, including a massive multi-kill in late 1944).
By late 1944, II./JG 54 was defending the Courland Pocket (Latvia) amid the Soviet Riga offensive. Rudorffer's unit operated from Grobin airfield near Libau (Liepāja). On 28 October 1944, he earned the nickname "Fighter of Libau" in one of the war's most dramatic solo exploits. While preparing to land after a mission, Rudorffer spotted a large Soviet formation of ~60 close air support aircraft (primarily heavily armored Il-2 Sturmoviks with escorts) bearing down on German airfields. Without support or hesitation, he aborted his landing, climbed, and single-handedly tore into the formation.
In under 10 minutes he shot down nine Il-2s through aggressive, high-speed passes—exploiting the Fw 190's cannon and machine-gun armament to hammer the Sturmoviks' armored cockpits and wings amid a storm of defensive fire from the formation's gunners and escorts. The rest scattered in disarray. Later that day he added two more victories (total 11 for the sortie, including his 200th overall). The action was so decisive it was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 30 October 1944: "Among those aerial victories in Courland... eleven aircraft shot down by... Major Rudorffer bringing his total to 206." Soviet pilots came to fear the "Fighter of Libau."
This (and subsequent scoring to 210+) directly preceded the Schwerter. Rudorffer continued flying until war's end, later commanding I./JG 7 on the Me 262 jet (adding 12 victories, including 10 heavy bombers).
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Erich Rudorffer was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace who served continuously from the outbreak of World War II until its end in 1945 and claimed 222 confirmed aerial victories over more than 1,000 combat missions while engaging in over 300 aerial combats. One of only a handful of pilots to fight in every major theater including the Battle of France the Battle of Britain North Africa and the Eastern Front he flew primarily with Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen and later Jagdgeschwader 54 Grünherz before finishing the war with Jagdgeschwader 7 on the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Rudorffer was shot down 16 times by flak or enemy aircraft and forced to bail out nine times yet he survived the conflict and rose to the rank of major while commanding various fighter groups. His extraordinary record of multiple victory sorties in a single engagement earned him a reputation as a master of rapid successive kills particularly in the rugged Focke-Wulf Fw 190 which became his signature mount on the Eastern Front. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords one of the highest decorations for bravery in the German armed forces and at the time of his death he remained the last surviving recipient of that distinction.
Born on 1 November 1917 in Zwochau Saxony in the German Empire Rudorffer completed vocational training as an automobile metalsmith specializing in coachbuilding before enlisting in the Luftwaffe on 16 April 1936 with Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 61 in Oschatz. He began his service as a mechanic with bomber units including Kampfgeschwader 253 and Kampfgeschwader 153 while undergoing technical training at the Technische Schule Adlershof in Berlin and later transferred to flight school with Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 51 in Liegnitz where he trained first as a bomber pilot and then as a heavy fighter or Zerstörer pilot. During this period he also gained experience as an airline pilot with Deutsche Luft Hansa flying civilian routes. By late 1939 after completing advanced fighter training at Jagdfliegerschule 2 in Schleißheim and postings to supplementary fighter groups he was assigned as an Oberfeldwebel to 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen at Frankfurt-Rebstock airfield just in time for the opening campaigns of the war.
Rudorffer's combat debut came during the Battle of France in May 1940 when his group supported the rapid advance of Army Group A through the Ardennes. On 14 May he claimed his first victory a French Curtiss Hawk 75 southwest of Les Sees-la-Gresn at 15:08 after diving on the enemy fighter during a low-level attack near the Maas bridges. Over the next weeks he added claims against LeO 451 bombers Morane 406 fighters and Blenheims while operating from forward fields such as Bastogne scoring nine victories before the French armistice on 22 June. Transitioning into the Battle of Britain and the ongoing Channel Front offensive he flew relentless sorties against the Royal Air Force claiming Spitfires and Hurricanes in dogfights over southern England and the Thames Estuary. One particularly harrowing incident occurred when a Hawker Hurricane pursued him at rooftop level down Croydon High Street in a high-speed chase through the London suburbs forcing him to weave between buildings and evade ground fire before breaking free and escaping across the Channel. By 1 May 1941 after 145 combat missions and 19 confirmed victories he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross becoming the 184th Luftwaffe recipient of the decoration.
In November 1942 Rudorffer's unit II./JG 2 was withdrawn from the Channel coast and redeployed to Sicily and later Tunisia to counter Operation Torch equipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Operating from bases such as Bizerte and Kairouan he adapted quickly to the harsh desert conditions and the new fighter's rugged firepower. On 9 February 1943 during a chaotic 32-minute battle south of Ousseltia he achieved his first ace-in-a-day downing six P-40 Warhawks and two P-38 Lightnings in rapid succession through aggressive diving passes and precise deflection shooting as the American formation attempted to protect B-17 bombers. Six days later on 15 February he claimed seven more Allied fighters including four P-38s and three Spitfires in another frenzied low-altitude melee near Pichon and Sbeitla. Promoted to Hauptmann and appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 2 on 17 April he amassed 26 victories in the Mediterranean theater before the Axis withdrawal demonstrating exceptional skill in outnumbered defensive scrambles.
Transferred east in July 1943 to command II./JG 54 on the Eastern Front Rudorffer switched exclusively to the Fw 190 and immediately excelled in the low- and medium-altitude brawls against massed Soviet formations of Yaks LaGGs Il-2 Sturmoviks and Pe-2 bombers. His first sortie on 24 August 1943 yielded five Soviet aircraft downed in just four minutes including DB-3 bombers an Il-2 and La-5 fighters during a head-on attack near Karachev. On 11 October he reached his 100th victory with a burst of seven kills in quick succession near Teremky and Glychow. The pinnacle of his multi-victory exploits came on 6 November 1943 when he tore into a large formation near Vitebsk claiming 13 Soviet fighters eight Yak-7s and five Yak-9s in only 17 minutes through successive high-speed passes that shredded the enemy amid intense defensive fire. These actions along with consistent scoring that included dozens of heavily armored Il-2 Sturmoviks pushed his total past 130 by early 1944. On 7 April 1944 he added six more victories in a single sortie primarily Il-2s and P-39 Airacobras earning the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross days later as the 447th recipient.
By late 1944 with II./JG 54 defending the Courland Pocket in Latvia Rudorffer earned the nickname Fighter of Libau during a dramatic solo action on 28 October. Spotting a formation of approximately 60 Soviet close-support aircraft approaching German airfields near Grobin while preparing to land he aborted his approach climbed rapidly and single-handedly engaged the enemy. In under 10 minutes he shot down nine heavily armored Il-2 Sturmoviks with cannon and machine-gun fire in aggressive passes exploiting the Fw 190's toughness against the storm of return fire from gunners and escorts before the surviving aircraft scattered in disarray. He added two more victories later that day for 11 total bringing his score to 206 and prompting a mention in the Wehrmachtbericht. This and subsequent scoring to over 210 victories led to the award of the Swords on 26 January 1945 as the 126th presentation. In the final months of the war he trained on the Me 262 and commanded I./JG 7 claiming 12 additional victories including 10 heavy bombers while defending the Reich from northern bases such as Kaltenkirchen.
After Germany's surrender Rudorffer briefly emigrated to Australia where he flew commercial routes before returning to civilian life in Germany. He worked for Pan American World Airways and later joined the German civil aviation authority contributing his expertise to postwar aviation. He lived quietly until his death on 8 April 2016 in Bad Schwartau at the age of 98 having outlived all other recipients of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. His career exemplified not only remarkable marksmanship and tactical aggression in outnumbered fights but also extraordinary resilience having survived the full span of the air war across four continents.
Source :
https://www.alexautographs.com/auction-lot/erich-rudorffer_EFB4D768A9
https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?yearfrom=&yearto=&query=rudorffer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Rudorffer
https://www.luftwaffe.cz/rudorffer.html
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/26122/Rudorffer-Erich.htm
https://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2022/02/bio-of-luftwaffe-ace-erich-rudorffer.html
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