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Erich Rudorffer saw continuous active service from France in 1940 then Africa, Russia and finally the defence of the Reich in 1945. He achieved 222 Victories, including 12 in the Messerschmitt Me 262 becoming one of the first and few Jet Aces.
Born in Zwochau, Sachsen (near Leipzig) Germany, Erich was a pilot with Lufthansa at the outbreak of war. All pilots were thereafter transferred to the Luftwaffe and in early 1940 he was transferred to JG 2 ‘Richthofen’ based initially in West Germany and then, as the front line moved west, in France.
He claimed his first victory on 14th May 1940, a French Curtiss 75 Hawk, and had increased this to eight victories before the fall of France.
Rudorffer flew throughout the Battle of Britain and by the end of 1941 had achieved 40 kills. During 1942 his unit was based in Occupied France operating from the Cherbourg area. In November 1942 elements of JG 2 were transferred to Sicily and then Tunisia to participate in the North African theatre where two pilots of the unit, Rudorffer and Kurt Bühligen, would account for one half the units 150 victories during this time. On 9th February while based at Kairouan (Tunisia) and operating the Focke Wulf Fw190, the unit received warning of an attack by a USAAF force. The Germans fighters attacked the B-17 Bombers as the escorting P-40s and P-38s came to defend them. In the ensuing dogfights Rudorffer shot down six P-40s, then at the end of the engagement a further two P-38s - eight aircraft downed in the space of 38 minutes! He followed up with a further seven kills on 15th February.
In July 1943 Major Rudorffer was transferred to command II./JG 52 on the Eastern Front, scoring his first victory in the war with Russia on 7th August. The already multi - Ace was to accumulate incredible success in this theatre, which for many German pilots, initially at least, was a ‘Turkey Shoot.’
However by the time the Fw 190 reached the Russian Front in late 1942 large numbers of American supplied P-39 and P-40s were operating alongside Yak-9s, Lavochkin La-5s and by 1943 the excellent Yak-3 appeared. Nevertheless superior tactics saw the Luftwaffe retain the initiative during this period. During a sortie on 24th August 1943 Erich downed five Soviet aircraft in four minutes and on 11th October created aviation history by claiming 13 kills in the space of 17 minutes. On the 28th October while based in Latvia he earned his nickname “Fighter of Libau”. While preparing to land a fleet of 60 Soviet aircraft was observed en route to bomb airfields in the area and although short on fuel, Rudorffer, single handily, engaged the enemy - forced a retreat and bagged nine aircraft in 10 minutes.
In December 1944 Erich was trained onto the new Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter and in February 1945 was appointed to command I./JG7 based north of Hamburg - the mission ‘Defence of the Reich’, or Home Defence. Despite the overwhelming odds faced by the Luftwaffe pilots in the closing months of the war, Rudorffer claimed 12 kills in the 262, including several heavy bombers.
Following the war Rudorffer found returned to civil flying before a period with Pan American Airways. As late as 1960 he was involved with flight instruction in Germany.
This remarkable pilot flew over 1,000 combat missions and engaged in aerial combat over 300 times. He was shot down by ground fire or enemy aircraft 16 times and had to parachute from his aircraft nine times. His score sheet of 222 victories includes 1 x Hawker Tempest (Me 262) 2 x Hawk 75, 6 x P-40, 7x Hurricane, 7 x P-38, 15 x Yak 7/9, 40 x Spitfire, 58 x Il-2 Shturmovik, and 10 x B-17 Bombers (Me 262). He was awarded the “Knights Cross” on 1st May 1941 (19 Victories), “Oak Leaves” on 11th April 1944 (113 Victories) and “Swords” 26th January 1945 (210 Victories). Now aged 98, he is the highest scoring fighter pilot still living.
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