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Rudolf Resch (7 April 1914 – 11 July 1943) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, a fighter ace listed with 94 enemy aircraft shot down. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He was credited with one aerial during the Spanish Civil War and further 93 on the Eastern Front of World War II.
Born in Kamenz, Resch volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War where he was assigned to Jagdgruppe 88 (J/88—88th Fighter Group). Following service in Spain, Resch was posted to Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and became a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader). Serving in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain, he was then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). He claimed his first aerial victory of World War II on 22 June 1941, the day German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. On 6 September 1942, Resch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after 58 aerial victories claimed in World War II.
Resch was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of IV. Gruppe (4th group) of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) on 1 March 1943. He was killed in action on 11 July 1943, when he was shot down near Oryol during the Battle of Kursk.
On 6 October 1940, Resch was transferred and made Staffelkapitän of 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). He replaced Oberleutnant Werner Lederer in this function who was transferred. The Staffel was subordinated to II. Gruppe of JG 52 which was headed by Hauptmann Wilhelm Ensslen. In consequence, command of his former 3. Staffel of JG 77 passed on to Oberleutnant Karl-Gottfried Nordmann. At the time, the Gruppe was based at Peuplingues near the English Channel and fighting the RAF during the Battle of Britain. II. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Channel Front on 2 November and moved to München Gladbach, present-day Mönchengladbach, on 5 November for a period of rest and replenishment. The Gruppe had also lost its commanding officer, Ensslen, who was killed in action on 2 November. Ensslen was replaced by Hauptmann Erich Woitke. On 22 December, II. Gruppe was ordered to Leeuwarden Airfield where they were tasked with flying fighter patrols along the Dutch North Sea coast. On 15 January 1941, the Gruppe moved to Ypenburg Airport where they stayed until 10 February.
On 22 June, the German forces launched the attack on the Soviet Union which opened the Eastern Front. That day, Resch claimed his first aerial victory of World War II. He was credited with shooting down a Tupolev SB-2 bomber in the afternoon. On 25 June, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Varėna in Lithuania which had previously been occupied by the Soviet Air Forces (VVS— Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily). Two days later, the Gruppe moved to Maladzyechna, supporting the advance Panzergruppe 3 near Barysaw. Flying from this airfield, Resch claimed an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber shot down on 2 July. Two days later, the Gruppe moved to Sloboda, east of Minsk, before moving to an airfield named Lepel-West at Lyepyel on 5 July. From this airfield, II. Gruppe flew combat air patrols and fighter escort missions to combat areas near Vitebsk and Haradok, supporting Panzergruppe 2 and 3 in their advance to Vitebsk and Polotsk. Here, Resch claimed the destruction of a SB-3 bomber on 7 July. On 12 July, the Gruppe moved to Kamary, an airfield in the western parts of Vitebsk. Resch shot down a SB-2 bomber on 17 July. On 22 July, II. Gruppe advanced to the airfield Andrejewka near Smolensk where it stayed until 5 August. Operating from Andrejewka, Resch shot down another SB-2 bomber on 27 July.
II. Gruppe was ordered to relocate to Soltsy, west of Lake Ilmen, on 5 August in support of the 16th Army and Army Group North. Here, the Gruppe supported the fighting south of Lake Ilmen, and the German attacks on Shlisselburg, Leningrad and the Soviet fleet at Kronstadt. Operating from Soltsy, Resch claimed one Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter shot down on 16 and 19 August. On 24 August, II. Gruppe was ordered to an airfield at Spasskaya Polist on the river Polist, south of Chudovo and north of Veliky Novgorod on Lake Ilmen, supporting the 18th Army in its advance towards the Neva and Lake Ladoga. Resch claimed three MiG-1 fighters while flying from Spasskaya Polist, one on 25 August and two the following day. Since German forces had reached the proximity of Leningrad, II. Gruppe was ordered to Lyuban, approximately to Leningrad and located on the road to Moscow. The Gruppe stayed at Lyuban until 30 September, flying missions to Shlisselburg, Leningrad and Mga. Fighting in this combat area, Resch claimed six aerial victories in September 1941. On 2 September, he was credited with the destruction of a MiG-1 fighter followed by a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber on 5 September followed by another MiG-1 fighter on 11 September. The following day, he claimed another MiG-1 fighter, followed by two further MiG-1 fighters shot down on 26 and 27 September.
On 2 October, German forces launched Operation Typhoon, the failed strategic offensive to capture Moscow. In support of this offensive, II. Gruppe was moved to Stabna, located just north of Smolensk. Operating from Stabna, Resch shot down a Mig-1 fighter on 3 October and a Polikarpov I-16 fighter south of Rzhev on 8 October. On 12 October, II. Gruppe was ordered to Novodugino where it stayed for four days. The Gruppe then moved to an airfield west of Tver, present-day Tver, on 16 October. The following day, Resch claimed two MiG-1 fighters and two DB-3 bombers on 18 October. These were his last claims in 1941. He was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 20 December 1941.
On 1 June, II. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Grakowo, located approximately halfway between Kharkov and Kupiansk. The main German objectives in that combat area were, breakthrough to the upper Don and capture of Voronezh. Resch claimed the destruction of an Il-2 ground attack aircraft that day. On 10 June, he was credited with two aerial victories, a further Il-2 aircraft, and a MiG-1 fighter. Three days later, he claimed two Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighters destroyed. Flying Bf 109 F-4/R1 ( Werknummer 13358), Resch was wounded in combat on 21 June near Sochorowka. On 26 June, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Bilyi Kolodyaz, approximately southeast of Vovchansk, and to an airfield named Ssowy south of Kursk on 3 July, before returning to Artemovsk on 8 July. On 14 July, II. Gruppe again relocated, this time south to Chatzepetowka, and then on 17 July to Taganrog located on the Sea of Azov. There, Resch shot down a LaGG-3 fighter on 19 July, and two further LaGG-3 fighters the following day. On 22 July, II. Gruppe moved to an airfield named Nowy-Cholan, south of Tatsinskaya, where the Gruppe flew combat air patrols. There, Resch claimed a Sukhoi Su-2 aircraft shot down on 24 July. The next day, he claimed an I-153 fighter, an I-16 fighter and a LaGG-3 fighter. For 40 aerial victories claimed to date, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 27 July 1942.
Following several relocations, II. Gruppe was ordered to Tusov on 20 August. Located approximately southwest of Kalach-na-Donu on the western bank of the Don, the Gruppe operated in the combat area of Stalingrad. Until end of August, Resch claimed ten further aerial victories. He shot down a LaGG-3 fighter on 23 August, the next day he claimed a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter. On 25 August, a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter and LaGG-3 fighter fell to his guns, followed by one LaGG-3 fighter on 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 August, respectively. Resch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 6 September 1942 for 50 aerial victories claimed.
On the afternoon of 11 April, IV. Gruppe escorted 16 Junkers Ju 87 from III. Gruppe of Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (StG 1—1st Dive Bomber Wing) on a bombing mission to various targets near Kursk. On this mission, Resch claimed two LaGG-3 fighters shot down north of Kursk. The Gruppe flew missions to the combat area south and southeast of Oryol on 25 April. That day, Resch claimed a MiG-3 fighter shot down. The following day, the Gruppe was ordered to the airfield named Sjablowo, a satellite airfield near Oryol. On 7 May, large Soviet bomber and ground attack aircraft units attacked Luftwaffe airfields in the area of Oryol and Bryansk. Defending against this attack, Resch was credited with destruction of an Il-2 ground attack aircraft. Resch was then credited with shooting down a Yak-1 fighter east of Verkhovye on 11 May. The following day, he claimed a LaGG-3 shot down south Oryol, the only claim by IV. Gruppe that day. On 2 June, IV. Gruppe flew escort missions and combat air patrols to Kursk. Without loss, IV. Gruppe pilots claimed 13 aerial victories, including two LaGG-3 fighters by Resch. Combat on 8 June, led the Gruppe to an area east and southeast of Oryol. On two separate missions, Resch shot down a LaGG-3 fighter in the morning and a La-5 fighter later that evening.
In the early morning of 6 July, Resch shot down Leytnant Yevgeniy Stepanov from the 157 IAP (Fighter Aviation Regiment— Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk). On 8 July, the Gruppe flew multiple missions in support of the Army near Ponyri as well as escort missions for Ju 87 dive bombers from StG 1. In their defense, Resch shot down a Yak-1 fighter west of Livny and a La-5 fighter west of Maloarkhangelsk. The next day, the 9th Army was fighting near Olkhovatka and Ponyri. The Gruppe claimed 24 aerial victories, including a LaGG-3 fighter and an Il-2 ground attack aircraft by Resch. On 11 July, Resch claimed another Il-2 ground attack aircraft. He was then shot down and killed in action in his Fw 190 A-5 ( Werknummer 7264) near Judinka, the combat area near Maloarkhangelsk. Command of IV. Gruppe was temporarily given to Hauptmann Wilhelm Moritz before Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob took command of the Gruppe on 1 August.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 44243". 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 . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.
| 1 | 17 July 1938 | I-15 | |||||||
| 2 | 22 June 1941 | 16:30 | Tupolev SB | 13 | 5 September 1941 | 18:30 | R-5 | ||
| 3? | 2 July 1941 | 19:27 | DB-3 | Lukamly | 14 | 11 September 1941 | 08:53 | I-18 (MiG-1) | |
| 4 | 7 July 1941 | 05:50 | SB-3 | 15 | 12 September 1941 | 09:15 | I-18 (MiG-1) | east of Szarja | |
| 5 | 17 July 1941 | 13:12 | SB-2 | 16 | 26 September 1941 | 10:19 | I-18 (MiG-1) | ||
| 6 | 27 July 1941 | 11:18 | SB-2 | 17 | 27 September 1941 | 11:40 | I-18 (MiG-1) | ||
| 7 | 16 August 1941 | 05:46 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 18 | 3 October 1941 | 15:50 | I-18 (MiG-1) | ||
| 8 | 19 August 1941 | 06:51 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 19 | 8 October 1941 | 12:10 | I-16 | south of Rzhev | |
| 9 | 25 August 1941 | 12:57 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 20 | 17 October 1941 | 15:45 | I-18 (MiG-1) | ||
| 10 | 26 August 1941 | 16:32 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 21 | 17 October 1941 | 15:55 | I-18 (MiG-1) | ||
| 11 | 26 August 1941 | 16:35 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 22 | 18 October 1941 | 09:45 | DB-3 | ||
| 12 | 2 September 1941 | 12:15 | I-18 (MiG-1) | 23 | 18 October 1941 | 09:50 | DB-3 | ||
| 24 | 8 May 1942 | 12:10 | Il-2 | 50 | 29 August 1942 | 13:14 | LaGG-3 | PQ 44243 northeast of Stalingrad | |
| 25 | 15 May 1942 | 18:40 | I-153 | 51 | 30 August 1942 | 13:15 | LaGG-3 | PQ 49213 northeast of Grebenka | |
| 26 | 20 May 1942 | 13:35 | MiG-1 | southeast of Gussarowka | 52 | 31 August 1942 | 09:38? | LaGG-3 | PQ 49533 south of Stalingrad |
| 27 | 21 May 1942 | 18:30 | MiG-1 | 53 | 7 September 1942 | 06:04 | LaGG-3 | PQ 44453 south of Mozdok | |
| 28 | 22 May 1942 | 07:30 | MiG-1 | 54 | 7 September 1942 | 09:30? | MiG-1 | PQ 44634 | |
| 29 | 26 May 1942 | 14:30 | V-11 (Il-2) | 55 | 8 September 1942 | 13:35? | R-5 | PQ 44634 | |
| 30 | 26 May 1942 | 15:36 | Pe-2 | 56 | 12 September 1942 | 16:45 | LaGG-3 | PQ 44613 | |
| 31 | 1 June 1942 | 09:25 | Il-2 | 57 | 17 September 1942 | 07:00 | MiG-1 | PQ 44633 | |
| 32 | 10 June 1942 | 13:15 | Il-2 | north of Bakejewka | 58 | 17 September 1942 | 11:45 | LaGG-3 | PQ 54374 |
| 33 | 10 June 1942 | 18:25 | MiG-1 | 59 | 23 September 1942 | 12:25 | I-153 | PQ 95551 north of Tuapse | |
| 34 | 13 June 1942 | 10:32 | LaGG-3 | 60 | 5 October 1942 | 14:30? | Yak-1 | PQ 95723 | |
| 35 | 13 June 1942 | 17:15 | LaGG-3 | 61 | 6 October 1942 | 09:42 | Pe-2 | PQ 95693 south-southwest of Maykop | |
| 36 | 19 July 1942 | 11:43 | LaGG-3 | 62 | 10 October 1942 | 15:15 | Yak-1 | PQ 95722 north-northeast of Tuapse | |
| 37 | 20 July 1942 | 08:45 | LaGG-3 | 63 | 11 October 1942 | 13:40 | Yak-1 | PQ 95747 vicinity of Tuapse | |
| 38 | 20 July 1942 | 08:55 | LaGG-3 | 64 | 11 October 1942 | 13:48 | Yak-1 | PQ 95783 southeast of Tuapse | |
| 39 | 24 July 1942 | 07:05 | Su-2 (Seversky) | PQ 18562 | 65 | 16 October 1942 | 12:35 | Yak-1 | PQ 94132 |
| 40 | 25 July 1942 | 08:00 | I-153 | PQ 18842 west-northwest of Mykolaiv | 66 | 29 October 1942 | 15:35 | Yak-1 | PQ 95722 north-northeast of Tuapse |
| 41 | 25 July 1942 | 08:28 | I-16 | PQ 18391 | 67 | 7 January 1943 | 13:45 | La-5 | PQ 28762 |
| 42 | 25 July 1942 | 08:35 | LaGG-3 | PQ 18384 | 68 | 10 January 1943 | 06:20 | La-5 | PQ 27121 east of Mykolaiv |
| 43 | 23 August 1942 | 09:00 | LaGG-3 | PQ 49193 Stalingrad | 69 | 10 January 1943 | 06:21 | La-5 | PQ 27121 east of Mykolaiv |
| 44 | 24 August 1942 | 12:30 | MiG-3 | PQ 44352 northeast of Stalingrad | 70 | 26 January 1943 | 11:30 | La-5 | PQ 0864 |
| 45 | 25 August 1942 | 12:40 | Yak-1 | PQ 59171 | 71 | 30 January 1943 | 07:13 | La-5 | PQ 08681, southwest of Ssaraiski |
| 46 | 25 August 1942 | 17:30 | LaGG-3 | PQ 49112 east of Stalingrad | 72 | 30 January 1943 | 07:55 | La-5 | PQ 08691 |
| 47 | 26 August 1942 | 08:30 | LaGG-3 | PQ 49244 northeast of Stalingrad | 73 | 30 January 1943 | 12:45 | La-5 | PQ 0883 |
| 48 | 27 August 1942 | 12:14 | LaGG-3 | PQ 49273 east of Stalingrad | 74 | 2 February 1943 | 08:10 | Yak-1 | PQ 1867 |
| 49 | 28 August 1942 | 05:15 | LaGG-3 | PQ 49221 northeast of Stalingrad | 75 | 2 February 1943 | 13:30 | Yak-1 | PQ 08732 southeast of Novocherkassk |
| 76 | 23 March 1943 | 14:35 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 44262 northeast of Zhizdra | 85 | 8 June 1943 | 19:40 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 63122 east of Oryol |
| 77 | 11 April 1943 | 14:10 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 62181 north of Kursk | 86 | 5 July 1943 | 18:35 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 63612 northeast of Maloarkhangelsk |
| 78 | 11 April 1943 | 14:12 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 62181 north of Kursk | 87 | 5 July 1943 | 18:59 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 63572 south-southeast of Trosna |
| ? | 25 April 1943 | 10:35 | MiG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 53482 | 88 | 6 July 1943 | 06:25 | Yak-1 | PQ 35 Ost 63563 west of Maloarkhangelsk |
| 79 | 7 May 1943 | 05:15 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 54862 north-northwest of Oryol | 89 | 8 July 1943 | 08:05 | Yak-1 | PQ 35 Ost 73574 west of Livny |
| 80 | 11 May 1943 | 18:05 | Yak-1 | PQ 35 Ost 73163 east of Verkhovye | 90 | 8 July 1943 | 09:55 | La-5 | PQ 35 Ost 63553 west of Maloarkhangelsk |
| 81 | 12 May 1943 | 08:15 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 63592 south-southwest of Maloarkhangelsk | 91 | 9 July 1943 | 08:34 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 63574 south-southeast of Trosna |
| 82 | 2 June 1943 | 03:53 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 62113 north-northwest of Kursk | 92 | 9 July 1943 | 08:36 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 63573 south-southeast of Trosna |
| 83 | 2 June 1943 | 10:43 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 63793 south-southwest of Zolotukhino | 93 | 11 July 1943 | 11:50 | Il-2 | PQ 35 Ost 63393 north-northwest of Maloarkhangelsk |
| 84 | 8 June 1943 | 09:36 | LaGG-3 | PQ 35 Ost 63414 southeast of Zmiyekka |
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