Paul-Hubert Rauh

Paul-Hubert Rauh (15 November 1913 – 30 August 2005) was a Luftwaffe night fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Rauh claimed 31 aerial victories, all of them at night. In the 1956 he joined Bundesheer, and retired 1974 as an Oberst.

Later life Rauh was kept in British custody until his release in February 1946. Initially he worked for the Steyr-Daimler-Puch. In 1956, Rauh joined the military service of the Austrian Air Force (Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte) holding the rank of Hauptmann (captain). He served as flight instructor with Fliegerregiment 1 (1st Flight Regiment). In 1958, he was promoted to Major (major) and in 1961 was transferred to the Kommando der Luftstreitkäfte (Air Force Command) where for the following 13 years he was tasked with procurement. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) in 1967 and to Oberst (colonel) in 1972. His main obligation was equipment and supplies for airfields and fueling. Rauh retired in 1974.

Aerial victory claims Rauh was credited with 31 nocturnal aerial victories, 29 of which were four-engined bombers, claimed in 152 combat missions.

Chronicle of aerial victories Victory Date Time Type Location Serial No./Squadron No. – 4./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – 1 28 April 1942 00:37 Wellington Montplaisir Wellington W5627/No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron – 9./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 2 7 May 1942 00:25 Halifax 3 19 May 1942 23:51 Wellington Wellington X3671/No. 156 Squadron RAF 4 17 September 1942 00:37 Halifax east of Maubeuge Halifax W7770/No. 405 Squadron RCAF – 3./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 5 10 March 1943 01:56 Halifax Wallingen 6 14 July 1943 02:28 Lancaster southwest of Cambrai Lancaster DS660/No. 115 Squadron RAF – 6./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 7 16 July 1943 01:56 Halifax east east Saquenay – 3./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 8 20 December 1943 19:14 Halifax Mannheim 9 20 December 1943 19:20 Halifax west-southwest Koblenz 10 31 March 1944 00:32 four-engined bomber Kehlen-Giessen – Stab III./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 11 1 June 1944 02:05 Lancaster west of Rambouillet 12 3 June 1944 01:01 four-engined bomber Mantes-Rambouillet – Stab II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 13 3 June 1944 01:10 four-engined bomber Dreux area 14 7 June 1944 00:20 four-engined bomber Saint-Lô area 15 7 June 1944 00:31 four-engined bomber Saint-Lô area – II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 16 8 June 1944 02:21 Halifax Rambouillet 17 16 June 1944 00:51 Lancaster Albert 18 8 July 1944 01:32 four-engined bomber SC-99 19 19 July 1944 01:55 four-engined bomber Vitry-le-François 20 25 July 1944 00:17 Lancaster Orléans Lancaster PB265/No. 576 Squadron RAF 21 29 July 1944 01:07 four-engined bomber Coulommiers Lancaster PB198/No. 90 Squadron RAF 22 7 August 1944 23:50 four-engined bomber Le Havre-Lisieux 23 21 November 1944 18:45 four-engined bomber Ruhr area 24 21 November 1944 19:02 four-engined bomber Ruhr area 25 21 February 1945 01:15 four-engined bomber 26 5 March 1945 20:22 four-engined bomber 27 5 March 1945 20:40 four-engined bomber 28 5 March 1945 20:50 four-engined bomber 29 7 March 1945 20:55 Lancaster Friesenhagen-Altenkirchen 30 7 March 1945 21:42 Lancaster 31 21 March 1945 04:35 Lancaster

Awards Flugzeugführerabzeichen War Merit Cross with Swords 2nd Class (1 August 1940) Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold in Bronze (15 May 1942) in Silver (3 December 1943) in Gold (3 December 1943) Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (10 June 1942) 1st Class (25 September 1942) Wound Badge (1939) in Black (30 November 1944) Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 10 July 1944 German Cross in Gold on 20 August 1944 as Hauptmann in the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 April 1945 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4