Rudolf Pflanz (1 July 1914 – 31 July 1942) was a German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

fighter pilot and recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Pflanz claimed 52 aerial victories, all of them over the Western Front.

Early life and career

Pflanz was born in July 1914 in Ichenheim, present-day part of Neuried, at the time in

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 and by 1938 was serving with ''Jagdgeschwader'' 131 (JG 131—131st Fighter Wing), which on 1 May 1939 was redesignated ''Jagdgeschwader'' 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing).

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces

invaded Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

. Pflanz claimed his first aerial victory on 30 April 1940 during the early

Phoney War The Phoney War (; ; ) was an eight-month period at the outset of World War II during which there were virtually no Allied military land operations on the Western Front from roughly September 1939 to May 1940. World War II began on 3 Septembe ...

period over a

Potez 63 The Potez 630 and its derivatives were a family of twin-engined, multirole aircraft developed for the French Air Force in the late 1930s. The design was a contemporary of the British Bristol Blenheim (which was larger and designed purely as a ...

northwest of

Merzig Merzig (, , Moselle Franconian language, ''Moselle Franconian:'' ''Meerzisch''/''Miërzësch'') is a town in Saarland, Germany. It is the capital of the district Merzig-Wadern, with about 30,000 inhabitants in 17 municipalities on 108 km². I ...

. At the time, Pflanz was serving with 3. '' Staffel'' (3rd squadron) of JG 2 which was commanded by ''Hauptmann'' Henning Strümpell. The ''Staffel'' was subordinated to I. '' Gruppe'' (1st group) of JG 2, based in

Bassenheim Bassenheim is a municipality in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Weißenthurm. It is situated away from Koblenz. The municipal council consists of 20 peop ...

and headed by ''Hauptmann'' Jürgen Roth. During the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

, Pflanz was wingman to Major

Helmut Wick Helmut Paul Emil Wick (5 August 1915 – 28 November 1940) was a German flying ace of World War II. He was a wing commander (rank), wing commander in the Luftwaffe (air force) of Nazi Germany, and the fourth recipient of the Knight's Cross of th ...

in the ''Stab'' (headquarters unit) of I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 2 and later with the ''Geschwaderstab'' of JG 2. On 28 November 1940, Pflanz probably shot down

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) ace Flight Lieutenant John Dundas of No. 609 Squadron just after Dundas had shot down and killed Wick. By the end of 1940 Pflanz had eight victories. On 23 July 1941 Pflanz claimed five

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

fighters and a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

shot down, and consequently claimed " ace-in-a-day" status. JG 2 claimed 29 RAF fighters that day with a further 10 credited to JG 26. Actual RAF losses amounted to 15 aircraft suggesting a high degree of over-claiming. After recording his 20th victory he was awarded the

() on 1 August 1941. He received the award from ''

Feldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several List of states in the Holy Roman Empire, German states and the Holy ...

'' (Field Marschal)

Hugo Sperrle Hugo Wilhelm Sperrle (7 February 1885 – 2 April 1953) was a Nazi Germany, German military aviator in World War I and a ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field marshal, Field Marshal) in the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Sperrle joined the German ...

with fellow JG 2 "Richthofen" pilots ''Leutnant''

Egon Mayer Egon Mayer (19 August 1917 – 2 March 1944) was a Luftwaffe wing commander and fighter ace of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was credited with 102 enemy aircraft shot down in over 353 combat missions. His victories were all clai ...

and ''Oberleutnant'' Erich Leie on that day. The triple award presentation was recorded by the '' Deutsche Wochenschau'' (German Weekly Review), a

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...

series released in the cinemas. On 5 October 1941, ''Oberleutnant'' Ulrich Adrian, the ''

Staffelkapitän ''Staffelkapitän'' is a command appointment, rather than a military rank, in the air force units of German-speaking countries. The rank normally held by a ''Staffelkapitän'' has changed over time. In the present-day German ''Luftwaffe'' – p ...

'' (squadron leader) of 1. ''Staffel'' of JG 2 was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

. In consequence, Pflanz was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' of 1. ''Staffel'' in November. Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Bourdon - Rudolf Pflanz

''Oberleutnant'' Pflanz was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' of 11. ''Staffel'' of JG 2 in May 1942, a special high-altitude unit equipped with the Bf 109G-1 fitted with pressurized cockpits. On 5 June he claimed three Spitfires downed over the Somme. On 31 July 1942, Pflanz was shot down and killed in action in his

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

G-1 (''Werknummer'' 10318—factory number) south of Moncheaux. He was succeeded by ''Oberleutnant''

Julius Meimberg Julius Meimberg (11 January 1917 – 17 January 2012) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 53 aerial victories—that is, 53 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy ...

as commander of 11. ''Staffel''. His victor may have been Sergeant William P. Kelly, an American pilot with the No. 121 (Eagle) Squadron. Pflanz is buried in the Bourdon German war cemetery, on the Somme.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the

German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (, lit. "Federal Archive") are the national archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture ...

and found records for 52 aerial victory claimsall of which claimed on the Western Front.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (5 May 1940) ** 1st Class (16 September 1940) *

Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe The ''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'' (Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe) was a Luftwaffe award established on 27 February 1940 by ''Reichsmarschall'' Hermann Göring, the ''Reich'' Minister of Aviation and Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was ...

(24 July 1941) *

on 1 August 1941 as ''

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

'' and pilot 1./''Jagdgeschwader'' 2 *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 16 July 1942 as ''Oberleutnant'' in the I./''Jagdgeschwader'' 2

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pflanz, Rudolf 1914 births 1942 deaths People from Ortenaukreis People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Luftwaffe pilots German World War II flying aces Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed by being shot down Burials at Bourdon German war cemetery Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg