Valkyrie 20 juli 1944 fake

[Shadwellarmy]

Definitely. If we only go by the number of recipients (which, of course, differs from the number of pieces manufactured), the rarest birds would be:

• 1 recipient: Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
• 1 recipient: Golden Oakleaves with Swords and Diamonds to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
• 2 (known) recipients: Golden Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross
• 9 recipients: German National Prize for Art and Sciences (including 1 posthumous award)
• 11 recipients: German Order (all grades combined) (including 7 posthumous awards and 2 awards "on paper")
• 24 recipients: Wound Badge of 20 July 1944 (all grades combined) (including 4 posthumous awards)

(Unless I forgot something.)

Interesting thread!

I know who got the first one (The Grand Cross) but its hard to see how Göring ever deserved this?

I just looked up who got the "Golden Oakleaves with Swords and Diamonds to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross", anyone who knows the details of the mission who earned Hans-Ulrich Rudel this award?

The Golden Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross was given to a SA-Brigadeführer named Franz Xaver Dorsch, but whats the story behind it? and wasnt this award reserved for foreigners in German service?

Hope someone have the answers

Thanks in advance

Cheers, Mads

[DrPMC]

I have just hurriedly glanced through the relevant pages of Rudel’s Stuka Pilot which shows that the award was made after he was forced to make an emergency landing, whilst flying with his leg in plaster. In a previous mission he had destroyed five Russian tanks, and when he was circling to investigate one of these (it was a US tank that he hadn’t seen before) he was hit by ground fire, with a 13mm round wounding his leg. However, I suppose the golden oak leaves might be best seen as being intended to crown his extraordinary career. I’ve included a page of text describing the occasion of the award. Incidentally, Stuka Pilot was first published in English by Eurphorian Press (in 1952), which was set after the war by Sir Oswald Mosley, the British fascist leader. Its most enjoyable book and has a foreword by Douglas Bader.

[Shadwellarmy]

Nice info Thanks alot

[greimers]

Rudel's extraordinary military achievements are well documented in "Stuka Pilot" and elsewhere. It was in fact hoped that he would be Post-war Germany's Chancellor.

[big ned]

Rudel's extraordinary military achievements are well documented in "Stuka Pilot" and elsewhere. It was in fact hoped that he would be Post-war Germany's Chancellor.

That was never really going to happen, or rather be allowed to happen. Rudel was an ardent nazi, and vociferous supporter of the Socialist Reich Party, who were basically the first ever incarnation of todays neo-nazi's. The party was banned in 1952.

You can read about them and their beliefs here:

Socialist Reich Party - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some people never learn.

Ned.