page_title: Rudolf Frank
section_title: Death and posthumous honors
hierarchical_section_title: Rudolf Frank / World War II / Death and posthumous honors
caption_attribution_description: English: Grave of Rudolf Frank Z-6-149
context_page_description: Rudolf Frank was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 45 enemy aircraft shot down in 183 combat missions. All of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in nocturnal Defense of the Reich missions against the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command.
  Born in Karlsruhe-Grünwinkel, Frank volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1939 after finishing school. Following flight training, he was posted to Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 in 1941. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 April 1944 following his 42nd aerial victory. Three weeks later, on 27 April 1944, he and his crew attacked an Avro Lancaster, which exploded and fatally damaged their own aircraft. Frank ordered his crew to bail out but was unable to save himself. He received posthumous promotion to Leutnant and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
context_section_description: Frank was assigned Junkers Ju 88 (Werknummer 751 095—factory number) on 17 April 1944. He never flew this aircraft operationally. Ten days later, on the night of 26/27 April, he and his crew of radio operator Oberfeldwebel Schierholz and air mechanic Feldwebel Heinz Schneider took off in Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4 "D5+CL" (Werknummer 720074) from Vechta. The mission was to intercept incoming bombers heading for the Ruhr Area.
  The crew spotted and attacked an Avro Lancaster bomber over the vicinity of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The bomber, severely hit by cannon fire at 01:58, exploded and became Frank's 45th and last aerial victory. Pilot Officer George Edwin Nicholls and his crew were killed. Debris from the Lancaster tore off the Messerschmitt's right wing and Frank lost control of the aircraft. He gave the order to bail out. Schierholz and Schneider parachuted to safety but Frank failed to get out in time. He was killed when the Bf 110 crashed at Heeze, 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) southeast of Eindhoven.
  Frank was buried at the German War Cemetery Ysselsteyn (Block Z—Row 6—Grave 149) at Venray. The funeral was attended by his parents, his crew Schierholz and Schneider, his Gruppenkommandeur Hauptmann Werner Husemann, the fighter operations leader for the Holland and Ruhr area Generalleutnant Walter Grabmann, and Generalmajor Ernst Exss, the airfield sector commander.
  On 20 July 1944, Frank was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub), the 531st soldier or officer of the Wehrmacht to receive this award. On 27 April Lent submitted a request to the I. Jagdkorps, recommending Frank for a promotion to Leutnant (second lieutenant). The commander of the 2nd Fighter Division Generalmajor Max Ibel as well as Schmid were supportive of the request. Frank was posthumously promoted Leutnant, backdated to 1 April 1944.
caption: His grave at the German war cemetery Ysselsteyn
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