Nickname(s) Rudi Rank Leutnant Service/branch Luftwaffe | Allegiance Nazi Germany Name Rudolf Rademacher | |
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Born 19 June 1913
Luneburg ( 1913-06-19 ) Battles/wars World War II
Eastern Front
Western Front Died June 13, 1953, Luneburg, Germany Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Battles and wars Eastern Front, Western Front, World War II Unit Jagdgeschwader 54, Erganzungs-Jagdgeschwader, Jagdgeschwader 7 | ||
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.
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Career
Rademacher was born on 19 June 1913 in Luneburg, 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 Schnorrer, Anton Dobele 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 Luneburg on 13 June 1953.