What an amazing story. Having flown as a commercial pilot on the North Sea for 10 years and a year in Antarctica in extreme weather it's something I can relate to.
An action filled episode this time! I laughed first at the description of the birch branches, but remembered how I caught myself holding my breath seconds before hearing 600ft, 200ft and remembering how our training lieutenant taught us about freefall parachuting : 900ft, you might get lucky trying to get the chute to open, but the terminal velocity being what it is, lower than that it's best to use you last second alive to begin to pay what ever you deem fit...😁I'm glad he made it, otherwise we'd miss the est of the story delivered expertly by Jay - thanks for doing this!!💙💙💙
This is the first time I have ever heard of the suggestion that prior to Barbarossa, German soldiers might have traversed through Russia to attack the near east. I know it was only soldiers speculation about the build-up, but I found it an interesting viewpoint nonetheless. Great episode. 👍
I’m soo grateful, after a tough slough ( work) I came home settled in had dinner and listened to my favorite current episode of “ Trench Diaries “ great one Jay, I love the Stuka, tho she was obsolete by the time the Great War started, I think about what his (Rudel) squadron leader Said,, I will be proven right in time,, of course we know this Man was right as he ( Rudel) was to go on and distinguish himself as one of Germany’s greatest warriors!! Funny how sometimes someone sees that in you which you cannot! Anyways Cheers 🥂 my friend and I will see you on the next episode!! ❤
Ay brother! Sorry for the late reply, you know I'm always happy to provide some entertainment after a rough day for you 🫡 the Stuka will always have a special place in history, that's for sure, and having Rudel tell us about it is even more special. Enjoy!
Can you believe he doesn't even have a drink after the kind of flight he had during that storm!!!?🤯 it also seems that very early starts seem to be a trait that is still evident (having worked on construction sites with a few lads from Germany) they looked at me rolling in at 7.30am as if it were midday!😂 great episode btw it flew by!
@TrenchDiaries that takes some discipline, and definetly no late nights! Wow and i thought being up at 5.30 for a 6.15 train to start at 7.30am was hardcore....and i only had to do that for 6weeks!☺ right i'm off to Russia with your man in his tank, i've been looking forward to this👍🙏
German CAS of the time is _really_ interesting. Maybe I will do a dedicated video at some point. The concept of a forward air controller was pretty well establishing back then 😎
The aircraft that made those nuisance raids during the night was not the Rata. It was the Polikarpov PO 2 being used for that purpose. An old biplane trainer, over 20000 of these were built.
@@TrenchDiaries It may be that at that time he didn't know it was the PO 2 they were using. After all - a string and canvass biplane like something out of WW1 - not surprising they expected it to be something rather more modern. It was night time so they would not be able to see them.
It's interesting that some of these Stukas have the big (30mm?) guns and some don't. A latter addition, perhaps? Presumably all were equipped with sirens?
37mm, they had problem with the recoil on Shnellboote (E-Boats) to begin with and that was a somewhat stable platform. I can only imagine how it was on an aeroplane... I am sure we'll hear about that in the future...
The 37mm guns were mounted on the Ju 78 "G" models. They of course did not have sirens, as did not perform diving attacks. The sirens were mounted on the A and B models, but I have seen some reports that crews would disable or remove them, as they would engage during level flight sometimes and create a subdued but irritating noise for the crew 😅
12:02 ...Who is he? Flt/Lt. Steen... The funny detail that I noticed is: Steen was trained as an aeroplane pilot in Stalin's Soviet Union, at the airfield in Lipetsk, while he was at Reichswehr (before 1933). NSDAP was not necessary for German - Soviet secret love and hatred to Poland.😊 Pre-Hitler Weimarer Republic had secret military bases in Soviet Union after 1923 and trained pilots and tankmen there.
The Stuka did not have an artificial horizon ( now called an ADI attitude deviation indicator). All he had is the basic 3 , needle, ball and airspeed plus VSI ( verical speed indicator, which in those days lagged ) . Many pilots got vertigo and would lose control in clouds and turbulence . Miltary instrument training wasn't that great on either side during WW 2. Rudel was lucky he got control before hitting the ground .
@@jamescherney5874 Even now a massive pitch change would tumble the gyroscopes inside an ordinary (non aerobatic specification) attitude indicator. A turn and slip indicator only senses in the one turn/yaw axis so it is vastly more resistant to tumbling. Pitch can be mentally deduced from changes to airspeed and altitude as well as a sensitive rate of climb instrument. A dive bomber would go through massive pitch changes and an upset attitude indicator would risk disorientation when climbing back up, perhaps through cloud layers.
Another observation. Rudels calm gunner who did not say much, I suspect he may have been autistic in my experience they say very little, work very hard, and don't panic.
Maybe...maybe he was just a garden variety East Prussian. The name suggests it and most of them were like that. Source: my family is from there originally 🫡
Sshhhh you're spoiling the next episode 😅 Steen and Scharnovski were in the very same airplane when it went down into the sea. Steen was awarded the Knights Cross, Scharnovski got nothing 🫤
4:25 "on my very first sortie ... countlessly fortifications along the frontier...fieldworks run deep into Russia..." As Rudel mentioned earlier that he had flown sorties between Grodno and Wołkowysk clearly it could not be "Russia". It was occupied Poland - in this case occupied by Stalin. On 28th September 1939 Ribbentrop and Molotov signed German - Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty. "The border and friendships" between two aggressor states lasted 1 year and 9 months. When two agressors start to kill each other - what do you do? - you celebrate.
You are nit-picking. At the time of Rudel's remembrances, it was Russia, Poland had, deservedly, ceased to exist. If that's the only type of comment you can contribute, you'd serve everyone by being silent.
@@jamestaylor1984 Simply note what he wrote: "On my very first sortie I notice.." not "At the time of my remembrances I think I had noticed " because he wanted readers to believe, that he, the treasure of national-socialist Reich, the golden boy of Luftwaffe, gives real stuff.... You should not treat his writing as true combat diary but as mixture of perceptions and creations. I'm sure we will hear more of them in next chapters. Rudel-the-documentalist funboys stay calm… it is just the way it is.
@@zk1919 you make relevant points, mate. My reply was more geared towards the insistence that what Rudel called Russia, and was properly in his mind Russia, in fact Poland, because Poland had ceased to exist.
What an amazing story. Having flown as a commercial pilot on the North Sea for 10 years and a year in Antarctica in extreme weather it's something I can relate to.
Ooohhh you flew in Antarctica? Nice. I bet you have interesting stories to tell, no?
The engines like the cold but not so good for other equipment and personnel.
An action filled episode this time! I laughed first at the description of the birch branches, but remembered how I caught myself holding my breath seconds before hearing 600ft, 200ft and remembering how our training lieutenant taught us about freefall parachuting : 900ft, you might get lucky trying to get the chute to open, but the terminal velocity being what it is, lower than that it's best to use you last second alive to begin to pay what ever you deem fit...😁I'm glad he made it, otherwise we'd miss the est of the story delivered expertly by Jay - thanks for doing this!!💙💙💙
You're always welcome! I have a few friends who are airborne and the amount of luck they had during training is absurd 😅 cheers my friend!
Rudel is finally in the game. We all know that he is the best in the trade. Gut und spannend zu hören 😊🇩🇰
Dankeschön! Er ist sehr verbissen!
@@TrenchDiaries Jah verbissen schon aber dass can man verstehen wie er behandelt wurde. 😊👍🇩🇰
This is the first time I have ever heard of the suggestion that prior to Barbarossa, German soldiers might have traversed through Russia to attack the near east. I know it was only soldiers speculation about the build-up, but I found it an interesting viewpoint nonetheless. Great episode. 👍
Yes, I have also learned a lot reading this...
I’m soo grateful, after a tough slough ( work) I came home settled in had dinner and listened to my favorite current episode of “ Trench Diaries “ great one Jay, I love the Stuka, tho she was obsolete by the time the Great War started, I think about what his (Rudel) squadron leader Said,, I will be proven right in time,, of course we know this Man was right as he ( Rudel) was to go on and distinguish himself as one of Germany’s greatest warriors!! Funny how sometimes someone sees that in you which you cannot! Anyways Cheers 🥂 my friend and I will see you on the next episode!! ❤
Ay brother! Sorry for the late reply, you know I'm always happy to provide some entertainment after a rough day for you 🫡 the Stuka will always have a special place in history, that's for sure, and having Rudel tell us about it is even more special. Enjoy!
A whole new meaning to: "Tree top level"! Jay, thanks for posting this chapter. (I saved it for the end of the day.)
Can you believe he doesn't even have a drink after the kind of flight he had during that storm!!!?🤯 it also seems that very early starts seem to be a trait that is still evident (having worked on construction sites with a few lads from Germany) they looked at me rolling in at 7.30am as if it were midday!😂 great episode btw it flew by!
Getting up early is common here indeed. My father used to get up at 0430 to catch the train at 0515 to start work at 6. Madness 😅
@TrenchDiaries that takes some discipline, and definetly no late nights! Wow and i thought being up at 5.30 for a 6.15 train to start at 7.30am was hardcore....and i only had to do that for 6weeks!☺ right i'm off to Russia with your man in his tank, i've been looking forward to this👍🙏
Nice post, thanks. I'm especially interested in the inter workings of the ground forces and Luftwaffe for the blitz attacks.
German CAS of the time is _really_ interesting. Maybe I will do a dedicated video at some point. The concept of a forward air controller was pretty well establishing back then 😎
I believe they were called 'Flivos' if I'm not mistaken, @@TrenchDiaries
The aircraft that made those nuisance raids during the night was not the Rata. It was the Polikarpov PO 2 being used for that purpose. An old biplane trainer, over 20000 of these were built.
Night Witches
@@terraflow__bryanburdo4547 As they called them. They had joysticks instead of wands and small bombs instead of spells!
Well, I'm just telling it how the man wrote it. Maybe they used a commen phrase for all of the planes at the time :)
@@TrenchDiaries It may be that at that time he didn't know it was the PO 2 they were using. After all - a string and canvass biplane like something out of WW1 - not surprising they expected it to be something rather more modern. It was night time so they would not be able to see them.
It's interesting that some of these Stukas have the big (30mm?) guns and some don't. A latter addition, perhaps? Presumably all were equipped with sirens?
37mm, they had problem with the recoil on Shnellboote (E-Boats) to begin with and that was a somewhat stable platform. I can only imagine how it was on an aeroplane... I am sure we'll hear about that in the future...
The 37mm guns were mounted on the Ju 78 "G" models. They of course did not have sirens, as did not perform diving attacks. The sirens were mounted on the A and B models, but I have seen some reports that crews would disable or remove them, as they would engage during level flight sometimes and create a subdued but irritating noise for the crew 😅
@@TrenchDiaries Plus the Jericho sirens acted as a beacon for miles around, drawing all of the allied AA attention to their dives.
An action filled ....
indeed!
12:02 ...Who is he? Flt/Lt. Steen... The funny detail that I noticed is: Steen was trained as an aeroplane pilot in Stalin's Soviet Union, at the airfield in Lipetsk, while he was at Reichswehr (before 1933).
NSDAP was not necessary for German - Soviet secret love and hatred to Poland.😊 Pre-Hitler Weimarer Republic had secret military bases in Soviet Union after 1923 and trained pilots and tankmen there.
amazing
Thank you!
I like these books much better with the picture changing. ☺
It is indeed getting very busy for him.
The Stuka did not have an artificial horizon ( now called an ADI attitude deviation indicator). All he had is the basic 3 , needle, ball and airspeed plus VSI ( verical speed indicator, which in those days lagged ) . Many pilots got vertigo and would lose control in clouds and turbulence . Miltary instrument training wasn't that great on either side during WW 2. Rudel was lucky he got control before hitting the ground .
You ever hear of turn and slip?
@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 yeah, same thing as needle and ball
I got vertigo driving in foggy dunes last week. I can’t imagine having another dimension to deal with.
Yes, the rather rudimentary instruments definitely made it harder. We also learned in "Yellow 2" how many accidents there were even during training...
@@jamescherney5874 Even now a massive pitch change would tumble the gyroscopes inside an ordinary (non aerobatic specification) attitude indicator. A turn and slip indicator only senses in the one turn/yaw axis so it is vastly more resistant to tumbling. Pitch can be mentally deduced from changes to airspeed and altitude as well as a sensitive rate of climb instrument. A dive bomber would go through massive pitch changes and an upset attitude indicator would risk disorientation when climbing back up, perhaps through cloud layers.
TY 🙏🙏
😎 for sure!
Long day at work today. Much needed for the drive home into the house full of kids and bird.
Think the army was less stressful at times lol😂
I can imagine that it's stressful 😅 at least in the army you could do PT to discipline the bunch 🫡
@TrenchDiaries I get shouted at for the discipline 😆 keep being reminded I'm not in the army any more lol
Thought it might be something new, but just the book. Think i'll read it again.
Force multiplier
Absolutely!
“Fagged out”? Is that when you are too tired to smoke anymore? Never heard that before.
Correct. It's an older British phrase 😎
Thank you for this. I'm interested in how the altitude is given in feet. Was this the case in all of Europe in the 40s?
It wasn't. In German aircraft at the time, altitude was generally measured and displayed in meters. I think it's a peculiarity of the translation.
I think the narrator is giving imperial measurements for our benefit. No way they would have not been metric.
Another observation. Rudels calm gunner who did not say much, I suspect he may have been autistic in my experience they say very little, work very hard, and don't panic.
Maybe...maybe he was just a garden variety East Prussian. The name suggests it and most of them were like that. Source: my family is from there originally 🫡
Alfred Scharnowski did not have the same luck as Rudel - he was killed on 23 September 1941 and was not awarded any Cross.
Sshhhh you're spoiling the next episode 😅 Steen and Scharnovski were in the very same airplane when it went down into the sea. Steen was awarded the Knights Cross, Scharnovski got nothing 🫤
4:25 "on my very first sortie ... countlessly fortifications along the frontier...fieldworks run deep into Russia..." As Rudel mentioned earlier that he had flown sorties between Grodno and Wołkowysk clearly it could not be "Russia". It was occupied Poland - in this case occupied by Stalin.
On 28th September 1939 Ribbentrop and Molotov signed German - Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty. "The border and friendships" between two aggressor states lasted 1 year and 9 months.
When two agressors start to kill each other - what do you do? - you celebrate.
You are nit-picking. At the time of Rudel's remembrances, it was Russia, Poland had, deservedly, ceased to exist.
If that's the only type of comment you can contribute, you'd serve everyone by being silent.
Nutter.
@@jamestaylor1984 Simply note what he wrote: "On my very first sortie I notice.." not "At the time of my remembrances I think I had noticed " because he wanted readers to believe, that he, the treasure of national-socialist Reich, the golden boy of Luftwaffe, gives real stuff....
You should not treat his writing as true combat diary but as mixture of perceptions and creations. I'm sure we will hear more of them in next chapters. Rudel-the-documentalist funboys stay calm… it is just the way it is.
@@zk1919 you make relevant points, mate.
My reply was more geared towards the insistence that what Rudel called Russia, and was properly in his mind Russia, in fact Poland, because Poland had ceased to exist.
@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 oh look, another insightful comment from a bot-brained knucklehead.
5
Overrated just like Wittman!