Rudolf Trenkel (17 January 1918 – 26 April 2001) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II.

Initially serving in the Army, Trenkel transferred to the Luftwaffe (air force) in 1939 as an Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer).

When in early May 1942 Trenkel joined the Geschwaderstab of JG 52, the unit was based at Pilsen, present-day Plzeň in the Czech Republic, where it received new Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft.

[4] In preparation for Operation Fredericus, also known as the second Battle of Kharkov, JG 52 moved to the airfield named Kharkov-Waitschenko on 10 May and to Barvinkove on 19 May.

The Gruppe was based at Bilyi Kolodyaz, approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southeast of Vovchansk, and was fighting in support of Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in southern Russia with the objective to capture the oil fields of Baku, Grozny and Maykop.

[8] To support German forces fighting in the Battle of the Caucasus, I. Gruppe relocated to an airfield at Kerch, in the east of Crimea, on 2 August.

[9] At the time, the Gruppe was moved around as a kind of fire brigade, deployed in areas where the Soviet Air Forces was particular active.

[15] On 1 November, Trenkel made a forced landing in his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 140167—factory number) 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) north of Dzhankoi following combat with Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack and Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter aircraft.

Staffel under the command of Oberleutnant Paul-Heinrich Dähne had been withdrawn from the Eastern Front and transferred west to fight in Defense of the Reich in early June 1944.

[19] On 16 October 1944, JG 52 lost six aircraft in combat with the French Armée de l'Air Normandie-Niemen fighter regiment serving on the Eastern Front.

The soldiers were initially interned at a POW camp at Strakonice where on 14 May, Trenkel married his fiancé Ida Sehnal who was among the civilian refuges.