Horst Rudat

Horst Rudat (3 May 1920 − 31 August 1982) was a general in the German Air Force. During World War II, he served in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany as a bomber pilot.

In the weeks following Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France, Rudat was tasked with the leadership of a task force in 2./Kampfgeschwader 101. The task force was experimenting with the Mistel, a Luftwaffe aircraft bombing system, based broadly on the parasite aircraft concept. Rudat led a formation of 4 Mistel aircraft against the invasion fleet of off Normandy in the night of 24/25 June 1944. HMS Nith, a British River-class frigate, was damaged killing nine of her crew.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (9 August 1941) & 1st Class (7 September 1941)
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (27 May 1942)
• German Cross in Gold on 27 July 1942 as Oberleutnant in the 3./KG 55
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 March 1943 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 2./KG 55