Rolf Pingel was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. He is credited with six aerial victories during the Spanish Civil War and further 22 aerial victories on the Western Front of World War II. He flew about 550 combat missions, including approximately 200 in Spain.

The Spanish Cross was an award of Nazi Germany given to German troops who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for nationalist general, later Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco.