Friedrich Rudenberg was born in 1892 in Hanover - he was the fourth child of a middle class factory owner in Hanover (Georg Rudenberg-father/Elsbeth Herzfeld-mother) As a young man he studied to become an electrical engineer, and he had just finished his courses and was preparing to take his state exams when the war started. Rudenberg postponed his education and volunteered for duty. There was nothing extraordinary about his volunteering for the fatherland. Like many young men of his time at the outbreak of the "Great War", he displayed true patriotism and presented himself to the German military for service. At the beginning of the war, he had just concluded his ninth semester in electrical engineering at his hometown technical college. He was preparing for state exams but, with the onset of a world committing to war, his personal education was placed on hiatus. On August 18, 1914 he applied to the Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 5 (an Aviation Replacement Detachment) which was combined with a military flight school, and by September 15, 1914 he had begun his basic training (Infantry) From this point of his military career he served in various posts/duties while finishing his education/exams. By the wars end he had earned the "Iron Cross-Second Class", received his Graduate Degree in Electrical Engineering, and gave a Swedish military committee a tour/manuscript of fighter plane development. Apparently after the war he also volunteered for the "Freikorps", which helped the disoriented new "Republic of Germany" during the months after the war (There were several rebellions and riots which the Freikorps helped maintain civil order). From 1919-1936 he taught and directed studies at several universities and eventually made "Technical Director of AEG"-General Electric Company-Istanbul, Turkey. By 1936 the Nazi anti-Semitism was strong enough to cause him dismissal from his job. He decided not to return to Germany, and instead left for Palestine and found work with the "Palestine Electric Company" (later to become the "Israel Electric Company"). He stayed with this company until his retirement in 1959. Friedrich was an accomplished and decorated pilot of the German Empire. He did not have a single "victory" in combatant flight, but his recon missions provided valuable data that aided the Germans with troop movement, fire direction, and he provided Sperre as well. In his twilight years of his career as an engineer he returned to Cologne, Germany to work with German government/industry to assist with the modern electrification of Israel. He died in 1977 in Haifa
This lineup of Pfalz D.III aircraft of Jasta 10 is actually a close up of the more famous view seen in the lead article. In this view we see left to right: Ltn.d.R. Rüdenberg's aircraft with the diagonal fuselage stripe followed by Hecht's, unknown, and Bellen's. The oval inset shows a smiling Friedrich Rudenberg. Also shown is a roster of available Jasta 75 aircraft and a pilot's badge. http://www.overthefront.com/issues/16_2.html
