Rudi Linz

Linz was buried at Bergen and posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 12 March. He was replaced by Oberleutnant Fritz Kohrt as commander of 12. Staffel. The Fw 190 A-8 flown by Linz in his last combat still exists, and is displayed in the Cottbus Hangar of the Military Aviation Museum in Pungo, Virginia, USA as of 2014.

Following completion at the Verbandsführerschule in November 1944, Linz was appointed Staffelkapitän of 12. Staffel of JG 5 on 30 November. He succeeded Leutnant Werner Gayko in this capacity. At the time, the Staffel was based at Herdla Airfield on the island of Herdla in Askøy, Western Norway. III. Gruppe to which 12. Staffel was subordinated was commanded by Hauptmann Franz Dörr. His 12. Staffel had just been converted from the Messerschmitt Bf 109 to the Focke Wulf Fw 190 A at Bardufoss Airfield. On 1 January 1945, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold).

On 9 February 1945, Linz was shot down and killed in action flying Fw 190 A-8 (Werknummer 732183—factory number) in defense of the German destroyer Z33 in an operation which was later called Black Friday by the Allied aircrews due to their heavy unit losses. The Narvik-class destroyer Z33 was the last German destroyer to leave northern Norway and sailed for Germany on 5 February 1945. It was intended that Z31, which had completed initial repairs at Bergen after being heavily damaged in the Action of 28 January 1945, would join her to make a joint passage to the Baltic. Z33 ran aground in Brufjord on 7 February, damaging her port shaft and propeller and causing both engines to fail. She was taken under tow to be repaired in Trondheim. Z33 and the two tugboats with her chose to shelter in Førde Fjord during daylight on 9 February while en route to Trondheim.

On 17 June, III. Gruppe was busy flying convoy escort missions. At 07:30, III. Gruppe took off to its largest aerial battle. That day, the Soviet Air Forces attacked with 227 aircraft. In two separate engagements, German pilots claimed 66 aerial victories. On the morning mission, the Germans claimed 36 Soviet aircraft shot down. That evening, they claimed 30 further aerial victories. These 66 claims are offset by twelve documented Soviet losses. On these two missions, Linz claimed nine aerial victories. As part of the group expansion from three Staffeln per Gruppe to four Staffeln per Gruppe, Linz's 8. Staffel was re-designated and became the 11. Staffel of JG 5 on 15 August 1944. On 17 August, eight P-40 fighter aircraft of the 6 IAD, accompanied by fourteen P-39 fighter aircraft, attacked the Luostari/Pechenga airfield. In parallel, further Soviet aircraft, including a number of Boston bombers, attacked the harbor at Kirkenes. First elements of III. Gruppe were scambled at 09:25, resulting in various aerial encounters. In this combat, Linz claimed three victories. Linz claimed his last aerial victory with 11. Staffel on 3 September, a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber shot down near Murmansk. Linz was then transferred to the Verbandsführerschule of the General der Jagdflieger (Training School for Unit Leaders) which prepared him to become a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader).

In 1943, Linz served as a fighter pilot instructor Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe West, a supplementary training unit based in Cazaux, France. Back from his tour as an instructor, Linz claimed two Lend-Lease Curtiss P-40 Warhawk on a mission to Murmashi and Warlamowo on 23 September 1943. By then, 8. Staffel was led by Oberleutnant Horst Berger and Scholz had been replaced by Hauptmann Heinrich Ehrler as commander of III. Gruppe of JG 5. The following day, 8. Staffel was scrambled at 08:25 and ordered to intercept a Soviet formation. During this encounter, Linz claimed a P-40 and a Lend-Lease Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter aircraft shot down. These where his last claims in 1943. Linz claimed his next aerial victory on 24 February 1944 over a P-39 fighter. However, prevailing Soviet records do not reveal any matching losses. Linz claimed another P-39 fighter shot down on 8 March. The aircraft shot down may have been a misidentified Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter from the 324 IAD (Istrebitel'naya Aviatsionnaya Diviziya—Fighter Aviation Division) which lost two aircraft in that area of operations that day.

Rudolf "Rudi" Linz (14 February 1917 – 9 February 1945) was a Luftwaffe (German air force) fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 70 aerial victories achieved in an unknown number of combat missions, becoming an "ace-in-a-day" on four separate occasions. All but two of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front. On 9 February 1945, he was shot down and killed in action in defense of the German destroyer Z33 and posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 12 March.

Linz was born on 14 February 1917 in Ilmenau, at the time in the Grand Duchy of Saxony of the German Empire. On 10 March 1942, he was posted to the 8. Staffel (8th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5–5th Fighter Wing), at the time holding the rank of Unteroffizier. The Staffel was headed by Oberleutnant Hermann Segatz while III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 5 to which the squadron was subordinated was commanded by Hauptmann Günther Scholz.