Hello everyone,
It is with much sadness that I must tell you of the passing on 1 May 2010 of Rudi Opitz.
Rudi Opitz was one of three DFS instructors assigned the task in 1937 of instructing the first military glider pilots, many of whom would later participate in the capture of the fortress of Eben Emael and the Kanne, Veldwezelt and Vroenhoven bridges over the Albert Kanal on 10 May 1940.
In November 1939, Rudi Opitz was drafted into the Luftwaffe, and assigned to Sturmabteilung Koch.
Rudi Opitz was one of the architects of the nighttime glider attack tactics employed by Sturmabteilung Koch and personally flew one of the gliders that was used in the attack against the Veldwezelt bridge. For this he was awarded the Iron Cross, first and second class.
Rudi Opitz was the last surviving glider pilot who participated in the aforementioned mission on 10 May 1940.
I will always be indebted to Rudi Opitz and his family. Much of what I know about the early military glider pilots, including the selection and training of the glider pilots of Sturmabteilung Koch, is a result of the generosity of Rudi Opitz and his family. I will miss him.
Yours sincerely,
Ian Tannahill
It is with much sadness that I must tell you of the passing on 1 May 2010 of Rudi Opitz.
Rudi Opitz was one of three DFS instructors assigned the task in 1937 of instructing the first military glider pilots, many of whom would later participate in the capture of the fortress of Eben Emael and the Kanne, Veldwezelt and Vroenhoven bridges over the Albert Kanal on 10 May 1940.
In November 1939, Rudi Opitz was drafted into the Luftwaffe, and assigned to Sturmabteilung Koch.
Rudi Opitz was one of the architects of the nighttime glider attack tactics employed by Sturmabteilung Koch and personally flew one of the gliders that was used in the attack against the Veldwezelt bridge. For this he was awarded the Iron Cross, first and second class.
Rudi Opitz was the last surviving glider pilot who participated in the aforementioned mission on 10 May 1940.
I will always be indebted to Rudi Opitz and his family. Much of what I know about the early military glider pilots, including the selection and training of the glider pilots of Sturmabteilung Koch, is a result of the generosity of Rudi Opitz and his family. I will miss him.
Yours sincerely,
Ian Tannahill
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