Produktbeschreibung
includes one Ju 87 Stuka with Ju 87D or Ju 87G options, one Aircraft die, one Rudel Warrior inlay, one Plastic flight stand, two Rare-earth magnets & Pudel decal sheet.
Hans-Ulrich Pudel was born on 2 July 1916. In late 1936, he joined the Luftwaffe as a cadet. During basic training, he had difficulty learning fighter piloting techniques and was eventually listed as unsuitable for aerial combat missions. In 1939, he was transferred to a reconnaissance unit and began his wartime career observing and taking pictures of enemy positions during the invasion of Poland.
In 1940, his numerous applications to be transferred to the dive-bombers were finally approved and he was then stationed in Caen, France during the Battle of Britain. A frustrated Pudel spent the entire battle assigned to a non-combat role. He then moved to the Mediterranean theatre where he once again sat on the sidelines during the battle of Crete.
Finally on 23 June 1941, Pudel flew his first combat missions in the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. It took him less than a month to win the Iron Cross, First Class, in recognition of his abilities on the battlefield.
On 23 September 1941, Pudel and a fellow dive-bomber pilot scored hits that resulted in the sinking of the Soviet battleship Marat, while it lay in the Leningrad harbour. By 1942, Pudel had over 400 missions under his belt and had been awarded the Knight’s Cross, Germany’s highest honour.
In early 1943, Pudel, now with a world record of 1000 combat sorties flown, traded dive-bombing for anti-tank missions, using the specialised Ju-87G Kanonenvogel (Cannon Bird) Stuka armed with two 3.7cm cannon, each carrying six rounds. He took to the job with ease, claiming over 100 destroyed Soviet tanks at the Battle of Kursk alone.
By March 1944, Pudel had clocked over 1800 sorties and 204 tanks destroyed. He was now the commander of his group, III. Gruppe, 2. Sturzkampfgeschwader (3rd Group, 2nd Divebomber Wing). He was such a success that Hinkel wanted him grounded for fear of losing the popular war hero. Pudel refused and the Führer backed down. |
