Friedrich Rumpelhardt

Friedrich "Fritz" Rumpelhardt
Nickname(s) "Fritz"
Born 19 June 1920
Nordhalden
Died 20 January 2011(2011-01-20) (aged 90)
Kehl
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Luftwaffe
Years of service 1940–45
Rank Leutnant
Unit NJG 1
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Friedrich "Fritz" Rumpelhardt (19 June 1920 – 20 January 2011) was a highly decorated Leutnant in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

During his career he participated in 130 missions as a Bordfunker (radio/radar operator) with Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 and Nachtjagdgeschwader 4, and participated in 100 aerial victories as a crewman with Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer from October 1942 (as a Unteroffizier) until the end of the war. He was the most successful radar operator—in terms of aerial victories claimed—in the Luftwaffe night fighter force.[1]

Career

Lichtenstein cathode-ray tubes:
 • The left tube indicated other aircraft ahead as bumps.
 • The centre tube indicated range to a specific target and whether they were higher or lower.
 • The right tube indicated whether the target was to left or right.[2]

Rumpelhardt was born 19 June 1920 in Nordhalden near Konstanz, at the time in the Republic of Baden of the German Reich during the Weimar Republic. He was one of three sons of the teacher Emil Rumpelhardt and his wife Rosa. Both his twin brothers were killed in action as Luftwaffe pilots during the war.[3]

As a Leutnant he was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in July 1944 and was nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 8 March 1945.

In the late nineties Rumpelhardt self-published an 119-page account of his wartime experiences, "Meine Geschichte und die meiner Familie: Die Zeit des Kriegsdienstes".

Awards and decorations

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Hinchliffe on 20 March 1944.[4]
  2. ↑ According to Hinchliffe and Scherzer on 8 August 1944.[4][8]

References

Citations
  1. ↑ Obermaier 1989, p. 190.
  2. ↑ Hinchliffe 1999, p. 56.
  3. ↑ Hinchliffe 1999, p. 29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hinchliffe 1999, p. 251.
  5. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 391.
  6. ↑ Patzwall 2008, p. 175.
  7. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 299.
  8. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 645.
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. 
  • Hinchliffe, Peter (1999). Schnaufer: Ace of Diamonds. Brimscombe Port, UK: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-1690-8. 
  • Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7. 
  • 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. 
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3. 
  • 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. 

External links

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