Born in 1915, Rudolf Sinner got educated at the University of Innsbruck and the University of Vienna. At the age of 21, he was drafted into the Austrian Federal Army and trained in the mountain artillery. During the
Polish campaign, he served in a horse-drawn flak unit before being transferred to fighter pilot duty in 1940. He absolved his pilot training in Vienna. Following his training he flew with
JG3 on the western front and was then transferred to
Jagdgeschwader 27 in North Africa. He was assigned to 2./JG27. On 12 October 1941 he scored his first victory. On 4 June 1942, Sinner was appointed
Staffelkapitän of 6.
Staffel of JG 27. He succeeded
Oberleutnant Emmerich Fluder who had been
killed in action on 31 May. He claimed his 30th victory on 3 September 1942.
Group commander On 1 June 1943, Sinner was appointed as
Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of newly formed IV.
Gruppe of JG 27 based at Kalamaki, Greece. In consequence, command of 6.
Staffel of JG 27 was passed on to
Oberleutnant Willy Kientsch. On 14 September 1943, Sinner was transferred to take command of IV.
Gruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which was based on the
Eastern Front. He succeeded
Hauptmann Erich Rudorffer who had been transferred on 1 August. Intermittently, the
Gruppe had been led by
Oberleutnant Alfred Teumer and
Oberleutnant Siguurd Hala. On 11 February 1944, Sinner and
Hauptmann Siegfried Schnell, the commander of III.
Gruppe of JG 54, exchanged roles with Sinner taking command of III.
Gruppe on the Western Front and Schnell leading IV.
Gruppe in the east. On 6 March, Sinner managed to shoot down a B-17 bomber, but got wounded in the process and had to bail out near Bassum, southerly of Bremen. After his recovery, on 12 June 1944 he got assigned to I./JG27 to the invasion front in France. With his current total victories at 36, Sinner was transferred to
III./JG7, on 1 January 1945. He would add four more victories to his total, including two B-24 bomber. On 4 April 1945, Sinner led a formation of seven
ME-262s off from Rechlin. Shortly after emerging from the clouds the aircraft were attacked by
P-51 Mustangs of the USAAF's 339th Fighter Group. In the ensuing combat, Sinner's aircraft was hit. He bailed out at low altitude, with badly burned face and hands. His parachute deployed only partially and he struck the ground heavily before getting dragged into a barbed-wire fence. Sinner later reported that the P-51s attempted to strafe him, but he feigned death till they withdrew. His injuries were severe enough to keep him out of the rest of the war. == Later life ==