Rudi Zwesken

German fighter pilot during World War II (1919–1946) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rudolf Zwesken (13 August 1919 – 22 February 1946) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. During his career Zwesken was credited with 30 victories on Eastern Front and roughly 15 victories in Defense of the Reich, mostly four-engined bombers.

Born13 August 1919

Marschendorf, Sudetenland

Died22 February 1946 (aged 26)

Bitterfeld, Germany

Allegiance

Nazi Germany

Branch

Luftwaffe

Quick facts Born, Died ...

Rudi Zwesken
Born	13 August 1919 Marschendorf, Sudetenland
Died	22 February 1946(1946-02-22) (aged 26) Bitterfeld, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Service years	1941–1945
Rank	Oberfeldwebel
Unit	JG 52, JG 300
Conflicts	World War II Eastern Front Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Controversy over death

Zwesken committed suicide following the death of his fiancée and child she was carrying.^[1] In alternative account by Dixon based on rumor, Zwesken, after he was released from captivity, went to bar full of American and British soldiers. When Zweskens was identified as a German, a fight broke out and Zwesken was shot. To avoid a scandal, the cause of death was reported as suicide.^[2]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Zwesken was credited with 52 aerial victories.^[3] Obermaier lists him with 40 aerial victories.^[4] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and state that he was credited with more than 23 aerial victory claims, including at least 14 four-engine bombers, all of which claimed over the Western Allies.^[5]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 14 Ost N/ED-3". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[6]

More information Chronicle of aerial victories, Claim ...

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Zwesken did not receive credit. This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Lorant, Goyat, Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Balke, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 300 "Wilde Sau" – Defense of the Reich — June – July 1944
1	21 June 1944	10:27	B-17	Oranienburg^[7]^[8]	2	7 July 1944	09:40	B-24	Magdeburg^[7]^[9]
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 300 "Wilde Sau" – Defense of the Reich — July – 31 December 1944
3	19 July 1944	11:35	P-38	PQ 14 Ost N/ED-3,^[10] 15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Bad Aibling^[9]	10	12 September 1944	11:31	B-17	PQ 15 Ost S/EH-5,^[11] Finow^[12]
4	22 August 1944	10:04	P-38	PQ 14 Ost N/HP-HQ^[11]	—	13 September 1944	—	P-51	west of Eisenach^[13]
5	22 August 1944	10:05	P-38	PQ 14 Ost N/HQ^[11]	11	17 December 1944	11:53	B-24	PQ 15 Ost S/TP,^[13] Prerau^[14]
6	22 August 1944	10:09	P-38	PQ 14 Ost N/GR-8^[11]	12	17 December 1944	11:56	B-24	PQ 15 Ost S/RP-8,^[13] 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Sternberg^[14]
7	22 August 1944	13:25	B-24	PQ 14 Ost N/LP-5^[11]	13	24 December 1944	14:58	P-51	PQ 05 Ost S/NT/NU,^[15] Schwalmstadt-Ziegenhain/Bad Hersfeld^[14]
8	22 August 1944	12:45	B-24	Neuhaus/Protectorate^[11]	14	31 December 1944	12:12?^{[Note 1]}	B-17	Rotenburg an der Wümme^[15]^[16]
9	29 August 1944	11:02	B-17	PQ 05 Ost S/UR^[11]	15	31 December 1944	12:13	B-17	Rotenburg an der Wümme^[15]^[16]

Awards

Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
Eastern Front Medal
West Wall Medal
Pilot/Observer Badge
Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class^[17]
- 1st Class (22 July 1944)^[17]
German Cross in Gold in 1945 as Oberfeldwebel in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 52^[18]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 March 1945 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 300^[19]^[20]

Notes

[1]
According to Lorant and Goyat claimed at 12:05.^[16]

References

Citations

[1]
Lorant & Goyat 2007, p. 256.
[2]
Dixon 2023, pp. 210–211.
[3]
Zabecki 2014, p. 1619.
[4]
Obermaier 1989, p. 229.
[5]
Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1474–1475.
[6]
Planquadrat.
[7]
Prien et al. 2020, p. 116.
[8]
Lorant & Goyat 2005, p. 374.
[9]
Lorant & Goyat 2005, p. 376.
[10]
Prien et al. 2020, p. 117.
[11]
Prien et al. 2020, p. 118.
[12]
Lorant & Goyat 2005, p. 385.
[13]
Prien et al. 2020, p. 119.
[14]
Lorant & Goyat 2007, p. 355.
[15]
Prien et al. 2020, p. 120.
[16]
Lorant & Goyat 2007, p. 356.
[17]
Dixon 2023, p. 210.
[18]
Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 534.
[19]
Fellgiebel 2000, p. 460.
[20]
Scherzer 2007, p. 810.

Bibliography

Bergström, Christer [in Swedish]. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
Dixon, Jeremy (2023). Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe: Knight's Cross Holders 1943–1945. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-39903-073-1.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (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.
Lorant, Jean Yves; Goyat, Richard (2005). Jagdgeschwader 300 "Wilde Sau" - Volume One: June 1943 – September 1944. Hamilton, MT: Eagle Edition. ISBN 978-0-9761034-0-0.
Lorant, Jean Yves; Goyat, Richard (2007). Jagdgeschwader 300 "Wilde Sau" - Volume Two: September 1944 – May 1945. Hamilton, MT: Eagle Edition. ISBN 978-9761034-2-71.
Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims – Volume 4 S–Z. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-21-9.
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.
Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Bock, Winfried; Balke, Ulf (2020). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 13/VI—Einsatz im Reichsverteidigung und im Westen—1.1. bis 31.12.1944 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 13/VI—Action in the Defense of the Reich and in the West—1 January to 31 December 1944] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-942943-22-2.
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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Zabecki, David T., ed. (2014). Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-59884-981-3.

Aerial victory claims

Awards

Citations

Bibliography

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