Rudolf Ehrenberger

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Rudolf Ehrenberger (25 August 1915 – 8 March 1944) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Ehrenberger was killed on 8 March 1944 near Wittenberge, Nazi Germany. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 6 April 1944. During his career he was credited with 49 aerial victories.

Born25 August 1915

Arbesthal

Died8 March 1944 (aged 28)

Causeof death

Killed in action

Allegiance

Nazi Germany

Quick facts Born, Died ...

Rudolf Ehrenberger
Born	25 August 1915 Arbesthal
Died	8 March 1944(1944-03-08) (aged 28)
Cause of death	Killed in action
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Oberfeldwebel
Unit	JG 53
Conflicts	World War II Operation Barbarossa Siege of Malta Defence of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Early life and career

Ehrenberger was born on 25 August 1915 in Arbesthal in the district of Bruck an der Leitha in Lower Austria.^[1]

World War II

The bulk of the Geschwader's air elements were moved via Jever, in northern Germany, to Mannheim-Sandhofen on 8 June 1941. There the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul prior to moving east. The II. Gruppe was transferred to Neusiedel in East Prussia, present-day Malomožaiskojė in Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia, between 12–14 June.^[2]

On 5 October 1941, II. Gruppe of JG 53 was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and ordered to Insterburg, present-day Chernyakhovsk.^[3] The Gruppe was then sent to Leeuwarden Airfield in the Netherlands where they arrived on 12. October.^[4]

On 8 March 1944, Ehrenberger was killed in action near Wittenberge in aerial combat with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and escorting Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters. He had managed to bail out of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 440111—factory number) but was then shot in his parachute.^[5] Posthumously, Ehrenberger was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 6 April 1944 for his 49 aerial victories claimed.^[6]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 47 aerial victory claims. This figure includes ten aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 37 over the Western Allies, including three four-engined bombers.^[7]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 13 Ost 1849". 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.^[8]

More information Chronicle of aerial victories, Claim ...

Chronicle of aerial victories
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
This and the # (hash mark) indicates those aerial victories listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock without an explicit sequence number. This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews, and Foreman.
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[9] At the Channel and over England — 26 June 1940 – 21 June 1941
1	27 September 1940	13:20?^{[Note 1]}	Spitfire	south of Dover^[10] north of London
– 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[9] Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 8 October 1941
#	4 July 1941	16:46	SB-3^[11]		#	8 July 1941	05:55	SB-3	Ostrov^[12]
According to Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock, Ehrenberger claimed four undocumented aerial victories in the July 1941.^[13] These four undocumented claims are not listed by Mathews and Foreman.^[9]
8	27 August 1941	13:45	I-153^[12]		12	16 September 1941	11:30	I-16^[14]
9	27 August 1941	13:46	I-153^[12]		13	17 September 1941	18:02	I-16^[14]?^{[Note 2]}
10	29 August 1941	18:40?^{[Note 3]}	I-16^[15]		14	26 September 1941	16:11	I-18 (MiG-1)^[14]
11	10 September 1941	18:10	I-16^[15]		15	28 September 1941	16:13	Pe-2^[13]
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[7] Mediterranean Theater — 15 December 1941 – 31 December 1942
16	29 December 1941	10:07	Hurricane^[16]		25	22 April 1942	18:06	Spitfire^[17]
17	24 March 1942	15:03	Spitfire^[18]		26	6 May 1942	10:03	Spitfire^[17]
18	26 March 1942	12:50?^{[Note 4]}	Hurricane^[18]		27	17 May 1942	08:29	Spitfire	20 km (12 mi) north-northeast of La Valetta^[20]
19	31 March 1942	10:28	Hampden^[18]		28	18 May 1942	11:03	Spitfire^[20]
20	5 April 1942	14:40	Spitfire^[18]		29	10 June 1942	10:10	Spitfire	8 km (5.0 mi) east of Marsa Scirocco^[20]
21	10 April 1942	18:03	Hurricane^[18]	Luqa	30	10 June 1942	13:30	Spitfire^[20]
22	10 April 1942	18:05	Hurricane^[18]		31	14 July 1942	10:26	Spitfire^[21]
23	10 April 1942	18:11	Hurricane	Luqa^[18]	32	16 October 1942	11:23	Spitfire	2 km (1.2 mi) east of Filfla^[22]
24	21 April 1942	09:22?^{[Note 5]}	P-40^[17]
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[19] Mediterranean Theater — 1 January – 15 October 1943
33	20 March 1943	11:56	P-38	PQ 13 Ost 1849^[23]	41	8 July 1943	16:14	P-40	10 km (6.2 mi) south of Sciacca^[24]
34	20 March 1943	12:04	P-38	PQ 13 Ost 1849^[23]	42	12 August 1943	13:13	P-38	7 km (4.3 mi) southwest of Ventotene^[24]
35	7 April 1943	19:06	Spitfire	Majaz al Bab^[23]	43	19 August 1943	12:25	B-17	15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Salerno^[24]
36	19 April 1943	15:59	P-40	10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of Zembra^[23]	44	20 August 1943	12:44	P-38	5 km (3.1 mi) south of Lago Patria^[24]
37	21 April 1943	09:32	Spitfire	15 km (9.3 mi) west of Majaz al Bab^[23]	?^{[Note 6]}	22 August 1943	12:23	B-26	105 km (65 mi) southwest of Capri^[19]
?^{[Note 6]}	7 May 1943	19:06	Spitfire^[19]		45	22 August 1943	12:25?^{[Note 7]}	P-51	110 km (68 mi) southwest of Capri^[24]
38	21 May 1943	06:42?^{[Note 8]}	Spitfire	10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of La Valetta^[23]	46	29 August 1943	13:50	P-38?^{[Note 9]}	100 km (62 mi) southwest of Capri^[24]
39	21 May 1943	06:43?^{[Note 10]}	Spitfire	15 km (9.3 mi) north of Marsa Loxx^[23] 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Marsa Scala	47	2 September 1943	13:37	P-38	south of Ischia^[25] 6 km (3.7 mi) southwest of Ventone
40	9 June 1943	14:03	P-38	southwest of Pantelleria^[23]
– 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53 –^[19] Defense of the Reich — 1 January – 8 March 1944
48	30 January 1944	12:31?^{[Note 11]}	B-24	south of Udine^[26]	49	24 February 1944	13:08	B-17	10 km (6.2 mi) south of Wels^[26]

Awards

Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[27]
Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 19 October 1941 as Feldwebel and pilot^[28]
German Cross in Gold on 9 September 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the I./Jagdgeschwader 53^[29]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1944 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 6./Jagdgeschwader 53^[30]^[31]

Notes

[1]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 13:35.^[9]
[2]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed as a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1.^[9]
[3]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 18:46.^[9]
[4]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 12:30.^[19]
[5]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 09:02.^[19]
[6]
This claim is not listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.^[23]
[7]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 12:26.^[19]
[8]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 06:32.^[19]
[9]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed as a Supermarine Spitfire.^[19]
[10]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 06:42.^[19]
[11]
According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 12:32.^[19]

References

Citations

[1]
Obermaier 1989, p. 106.
[2]
Prien 1997, p. 252.
[3]
Prien et al. 2003b, p. 127.
[4]
Prien et al. 2003a, p. 104.
[5]
Prien et al. 2019, p. 389.
[6]
Weal 2007, p. 122.
[7]
Mathews & Foreman 2014, pp. 266–267.
[8]
Planquadrat.
[9]
Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 266.
[10]
Prien et al. 2002, p. 228.
[11]
Prien et al. 2003b, p. 131.
[12]
Prien et al. 2003b, p. 133.
[13]
Prien et al. 2003b, p. 137.
[14]
Prien et al. 2003b, p. 135.
[15]
Prien et al. 2003b, p. 134.
[16]
Prien et al. 2004, p. 142.
[17]
Prien et al. 2004, p. 144.
[18]
Prien et al. 2004, p. 143.
[19]
Mathews & Foreman 2014, p. 267.
[20]
Prien et al. 2004, p. 146.
[21]
Prien et al. 2004, p. 148.
[22]
Prien et al. 2004, p. 149.
[23]
Prien et al. 2011, p. 123.
[24]
Prien et al. 2011, p. 124.
[25]
Prien et al. 2011, p. 125.
[26]
Prien et al. 2019, p. 385.
[27]
Dixon 2023, p. 94.
[28]
Patzwall 2008, p. 71.
[29]
Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 99.
[30]
Fellgiebel 2000, p. 170.
[31]
Scherzer 2007, p. 290.

Bibliography

Bergström, Christer [in Swedish]. "Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website". Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
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.
Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2014). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 1 A–F. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-18-9.
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.
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.
Prien, Jochen (1997). Jagdgeschwader 53 A History of the "Pik As" Geschwader March 1937 – May 1942. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-0175-9.
Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2002). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 4/II—Einsatz am Kanal und über England—26.6.1940 bis 21.6.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 4/II—Action at the Channel and over England—26 June 1940 to 21 June 1941] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-64-9.
Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2003a). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 5—Heimatverteidigung—10. Mai 1940 bis 31 Dezember 1941—Einsatz im Mittelmeerraum—Oktober 1940 bis November 1941—Einsatz im Westen—22. Juni bis 31. Dezember 1941—Die Ergänzungsjagdgruppen—Einsatz 1941 bis zur Auflösung Anfang 1942 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 5—Defense of the Reich—10 May 1940 to 31 December 1941—Action in the Mediterranean Theater—October 1940 to November 1941—Action in the West—22 June to 31 December 1941—The Supplementary Fighter Groups—Action from 1941 until their Breakup in Early 1942] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-68-7.
Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2003b). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 6/II—Unternehmen "BARBAROSSA"—Einsatz im Osten—22.6. bis 5.12.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 6/II—Operation "BARBAROSSA"—Action in the East—22 June to 5 December 1941] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-70-0.
Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2004). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 8/II—Einsatz im Mittelmeerraum—November 1941 bis Dezember 1942 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 8/II—Action in the Mediterranean Theater—November 1941 to December 1942] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-74-8.
Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2011). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 11/II—Einsatz im Mittelmeerraum—1.1 bis 31 December 1943 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 11/II—Action in the Mediterranean Theater—1 January to 31 December 1943] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-942943-00-0.
Prien, Jochen; Balke, Ulf; Stemmer, Gerhard; Bock, Winfried (2019). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 13/V—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/V—Action in the Defense of the Reich and in the West—1 January to 31 December 1944] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-942943-21-5.
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.
Weal, John (2007). Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik-As". Aviation Elite Units. Vol. 25. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-204-2.

Rudolf Ehrenberger

Early life and career

World War II

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Awards

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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