Stuka-Pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel: His Life Story in Words in Photographs (Schiffer Military History)

Rating:
Summary: L'Audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace
Review: Considered on purely military grounds, the heroes of Nazi Germany's armed forces were as remarkable as the best fighting men anywhere. Fighter aces such as Adolf Galland, panzer commanders such as Michael Wittmann, generals such as Erwin Rommell, all enjoyed the unfeigned respect of friend and foe alike. The soldierly virtues of boldness, duty, martial skill, and dash transcended national and ideological boundaries.

The most highly decorated man on the German side during World War II was Hans-Ulrich Rudel, stuka pilot, and this picture biography is a 277 page long valentine to him. He comes across as quite an alpha male in these pages. His lust for life brought him success in his military career, and his postwar mountaineering and sporting competitions.

Now, if you're here, you probably already know the background of Rudel's weapon of choice, the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka divebomber. By the time the war started it was already obsolescent, beginning to be outclassed by fighters entering service with the Western allies. But in the early going it was the very outward and visible sign of Nazi hyper-aggression. The black crooked-wing craft even looked somewhat like a flying swastika. The whine of its propeller and the screech of its dive siren triggered terror in its victims. Though the Stuka was soon driven from the skies of the Western front, it served in the East as a most capable ground attack airplane right up to the very end of the war. Rudel's Stuka was equipped with 3.7 cm flak cannons, to make it a feared _panzerknacker_, or tank buster.

This book relates in minute detail Rudel's many accomplishments. He and his squadron single-handedly beat back a Soviet armored assault. He rescued the crew of a downed Stuka from under the noses of the advancing Red Army. He was himself downed behind enemy lines and got back to his base in a masterpiece of evasion and escape. He even lost part of a leg and kept flying, was officially grounded and kept flying clandestinely. He finished the war with upwards of 2,500 combat missions, 500 tank kills, and one sunk battleship to his credit--an amazing feat given that he flew a slow, out-of-date aircraft in a theater where the enemy enjoyed air superiority from about 1944 onwards. Thank God his side lost, but the man deserved all the praise he got.

The latter third of the book deals with his postwar career as an adventurer masquerading as an industrial salesman. While "alive and well and living in Argentina" he schmoozed with the Perons, climbed the world's highest volcano three times, and got in some high-diving--all this with one leg, remember. Curiously, the book makes no mention and includes no pictures of Rudel's funeral, though the German edition of this translation was published four years after his death. It also does not discuss his continued Nazi sympathies, and his recurring embarrassment of the West German government with his right-wing activities after the war. But be charitable: he was the greatest combat pilot ever, and should be respected as such

Rating:
Summary: L'Audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace
Review: Considered on purely military grounds, the heroes of Nazi Germany's armed forces were as remarkable as the best fighting men anywhere. Fighter aces such as Adolf Galland, panzer commanders such as Michael Wittmann, generals such as Erwin Rommell, all enjoyed the unfeigned respect of friend and foe alike. The soldierly virtues of boldness, duty, martial skill, and dash transcended national and ideological boundaries.

The most highly decorated man on the German side during World War II was Hans-Ulrich Rudel, stuka pilot, and this picture biography is a 277 page long valentine to him. He comes across as quite an alpha male in these pages. His lust for life brought him success in his military career, and his postwar mountaineering and sporting competitions.

Now, if you're here, you probably already know the background of Rudel's weapon of choice, the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka divebomber. By the time the war started it was already obsolescent, beginning to be outclassed by fighters entering service with the Western allies. But in the early going it was the very outward and visible sign of Nazi hyper-aggression. The black crooked-wing craft even looked somewhat like a flying swastika. The whine of its propeller and the screech of its dive siren triggered terror in its victims. Though the Stuka was soon driven from the skies of the Western front, it served in the East as a most capable ground attack airplane right up to the very end of the war. Rudel's Stuka was equipped with 3.7 cm flak cannons, to make it a feared _panzerknacker_, or tank buster.

This book relates in minute detail Rudel's many accomplishments. He and his squadron single-handedly beat back a Soviet armored assault. He rescued the crew of a downed Stuka from under the noses of the advancing Red Army. He was himself downed behind enemy lines and got back to his base in a masterpiece of evasion and escape. He even lost part of a leg and kept flying, was officially grounded and kept flying clandestinely. He finished the war with upwards of 2,500 combat missions, 500 tank kills, and one sunk battleship to his credit--an amazing feat given that he flew a slow, out-of-date aircraft in a theater where the enemy enjoyed air superiority from about 1944 onwards. Thank God his side lost, but the man deserved all the praise he got.

The latter third of the book deals with his postwar career as an adventurer masquerading as an industrial salesman. While "alive and well and living in Argentina" he schmoozed with the Perons, climbed the world's highest volcano three times, and got in some high-diving--all this with one leg, remember. Curiously, the book makes no mention and includes no pictures of Rudel's funeral, though the German edition of this translation was published four years after his death. It also does not discuss his continued Nazi sympathies, and his recurring embarrassment of the West German government with his right-wing activities after the war. But be charitable: he was the greatest combat pilot ever, and should be respected as such

Rating:
Summary: The autobiography of the greatest soldier
Review: Despite his post-war political activities, Rudel still stands out as the most noteworthy soldier of the war, arguably the greatest combat pilot (Marseille was probably the best fighter pilot) in history and possibly the greatest pilot. He was apparently known to some as arrogant and unpleasant. He was the only soldier in the German armed forces to receive the Knight's Cross with golden oakleaves swords and diamonds, and was by far the most successful dive bomber. He destroyed, among other things, 519 tanks, over 1000 other vehicle, 70 landing craft etc. He flew 2530 sorties, was shot down 32 times but never by an enemy aircraft and survived the war less a leg. Many of his incredible exploits are in this book. His story is good reading on the war and is a compelling story. One can only imagine how much his signature would cost had he been killed in action. Book is well-written & translated, and the pictures are good. Well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK OF HEROISM
Review: I HAVE A PAPERBACK OF THIS BOOK WHICH PUBLISHED BY BALLANTINE BOOKS N.Y. IT IS A GREAT HISTORY OF NOT ONLY HANS RUDEL BUT ALSO WW2 EASTERN FRONT.

Rating:
Summary: One man who never gave up
Review: This book details Hans Ulric Rudels personal views and experiences as a stuka pilot during World War II. It is based on his recollections as he had his Pilot Log stolen from him by Americans after he surrendered.

An exceptional man, who never gave up under the direst of circumstances. During the war he sunk a Battleship, destroyed around 500 tanks, shot down around 20 fighter planes and evaded capture behind enemy lines.

He shows us how one man can always make a difference.