Walter Krupinski award received Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Walter Krupinski (11 November 1920 – 7 October 2000) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace in World War II and a senior West German Air Force officer during the Cold War. He was one of the highest-scoring pilots in the war, credited with 197 victories in 1,100 sorties. He was called by his fellow pilots  Graf Punski  (Count Punski) due to his Prussian origins. Krupinski was one of the first to fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in combat as a member of Jagdverband 44 (JV 44—44th Fighter Detachment) led by Adolf Galland.
Born in the Weimar Republic in 1920, Krupinski joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 and completed his flight training in 1940. Flying with Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52–52nd Fighter Wing), he claimed his first victory in August 1941 and his total rose steadily against Soviet Air Forces. In October 1942, Krupinski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and was appointed squadron leader of 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of JG 52 in March 1943. Krupinski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for 174 aerial victories. He was then transferred, serving with Jagdgeschwader 5  (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing) and was then given command of II. Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 11  (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing) in 1944. Wounded in a flight accident in August, he commanded III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26  "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) following his convalescence in September. He finished the war serving with Jagdverband 44 (JV 44—44th Fighter Detachment), flying the fly the Me 262, and surrendered to the Western Allies in May 1945.
After the war, Krupinski joined the German Air Force of the Bundeswehr, serving until 1976 when he was forced into early retirement. Krupinski died in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid on 7 October 2000.Following a series of relocations, including a short deployment on the Crimea, the Gruppe was then ordered to the airfield named Kharkov-Waitschenko on 14 May and participated in the Second Battle of Kharkov. On 16 May, the Gruppe again relocated moving to Artyomovsk, present-day Bakhmut, where they stayed until 23 May supporting German forces fighting in the Second Battle of Kharkov. On 23 May, the Gruppe was ordered to relocate to Barvinkove. On 1 June, II. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Grakowo, located approximately halfway between Kharkov and Kupiansk. The main German objectives in that combat area were, breakthrough to the upper Don and capture of Voronezh. There, Krupinski claimed his first aerial victory in 1942 when he shot down a MiG-1 fighter northwest of Kupiansk on 4 June. The Gruppe stayed at Grakowo until 26 June when it moved to Bilyi Kolodiaz. During this period, Krupinski claimed further aerial victories, a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter on 5, 14 and 24 June each, and a MiG-1 on 22 June, taking his total to twelve.On 28 June, the Wehrmacht initiated Fall Blau (Case Blue), the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. The objective was to secure the oil fields of Baku as well as an advance in the direction of Stalingrad along the Volga River, to cover the flanks of the advance towards Baku. Tasked with aerial support of this offensive was Luftflotte 4 (Air Fleet 4) to which JG 52 was subordinated. Following the German advance, Krupisnki had increased his number of aerial victories to twenty by the end of July. On 20 August, II. Gruppe reached the airfield at Tusov, approximately 25 kilometers (16 miles) southwest of Kalach-na-Donu on the western bank of the Don, from where the Gruppe operated in the combat area of Stalingrad. Flying from this airfield, Krupinski's number of aerial victories increased to 31 by end of August.In September 1942, II. Gruppe was ordered into the Battle of the Caucasus, supporting Army Group South on the front over the Caucasus. Opposing it was the 4th and 5th Air Armies of the Red Air Force. The Gruppe reached an airfield named Gonschtakowka located north-northeast of Mozdok on the Terek on 6 September. On 25 July 1942, the Staffelkapitän of 4. Staffel, Oberleutnant Barkhorn, his friend from Merseburg, had been injured in combat. During his convalescence, Barkhorn was temporarily replaced by Leutnant Waldemar Semelka who was killed in action on 21 August. Command was then given to Leutnant Otto Leicher who was also killed in action. In consequence, Krupinski was transferred, taking command of 4. Staffel from 10 to 30 September when Barkhorn returned. During his tenure with 4. Staffel, Krupinski had to bail out of his Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13537—factory number) due to engine failure on 17 September. Fighting in the North Caucasus region in September, Krupinski increased his number of aerial victories to 47.Following his 50th aerial victory, Krupinski was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 13 September 1942. On 25 October, his Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13861) was severely damaged in aerial combat resulting in a forced landing destryoing the aircraft at the airfield near Soldatskaya, approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) north-northwest of Prokhladny. Two days later, he received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold). By end October, Krupinski increased his number of aerial victories to 59. On 29 October 1942, Krupinski and Leutnant Rudolf Miethig from 3. Staffel were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernes Kreuzes).While Soviet forces launched Operation Uranus, the operation which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad, Krupinski was in a hospital at Maykop and had his synovial bursa removed following an injury sustained to knee. He was then flown to Liegnitz, present-day Legnica, for further treatment. On 12 December, he was met by his future wife Ilse Hartung in Berlin and the couple continued their voyage to Braunsberg. In January 1943, Krupinski learned that he had been transferred to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, a supplementary training unit for fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front, as an instructor. At the time, the unit was commanded by Oberstleutnant Hermann Graf and was based at La Leu Airfield near La Rochelle, France.Defense of the Reich
On 11 April 1944, the Staffelkapitän of 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 5  (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing), Oberleutnant Edgar Habermann, was killed in action. In consequence, Krupinski was transferred from the Eastern Front to Germany, succeeding Habermann in this capacity. At the time, the squadron is subordinated to I. Gruppe of JG 5, based at Herzogenaurach Airfield and was fighting in Defense of the Reich. The Gruppe was commanded by Major Horst Carganico. Promoted to the rank of Hauptmann (captain) on 1 May 1944, Krupinski was made Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 11  (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing). He succeeded Major Rall who had been wounded on 12 May.After the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, the Gruppe was moved to Normandy to operate on low-level Army support missions. Krupinski claimed 10 Allied aircraft with JG 11. On 23 July, Krupinski married Ilse Hartung in Braunsberg. The two had known each other since 1936 and at the time were expecting their daughter Carola, born in September 1944. On 12 August, without enemy involvement on a relocation flight, the engine of his Bf 109 G-5 (Werknummer 110244) had exploded in mid-flight near Marburg. Taking to his parachute, he sustained burns to his hands and face, requiring one month of hospitalization. He was replaced by Hauptmann Karl Leonhard as commander of II. Gruppe of JG 11. This was his fifth injury of the war for which he was presented with the Wound Badge in Gold (Verwundetenabzeichen in Gold) in January 1945.Following his convalescence, he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26  "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) on 27 September 1944, replacing Klaus Mietusch who had been killed in action on 17 September. At the time, JG 26 was under the command of Oberstleutnant Josef Priller. Caldwell described Krupinski's style of command as too loose. He stated that under his command, III. Gruppe performance as a fighter unit declined. Caldwall attributed this to Krupinski being "weary of the war". On 18 December, Krupinski was involved in an incident that led to the suicide of Oberleutnant Peter Reischer, Staffelkapitän of 11. Staffel. Reischer had led a morning mission which was supposed to take the flight to the combat area over the Ardennes. After the mission, Reischer reported that his flight had attacked Allied armor near Aachen and then had fought an aerial battle. In truth, his flight flew around Lower Saxony, never approaching the combat zone. The lie was revealed by means of the Y-Control System, a radio guidance system, as one of the aircraft was equipped with the FuG16ZY, an airborne transceiver. Krupinski then ordered Reischer to lead a successful second mission or face a court-martial for cowardice. The second mission was inconclusive and upon return, Reischer shot himself.On 25 March 1945, III. Gruppe of JG 26 was disbanded. Priller, who had been transferred and then held a staff position with the General der Jagdflieger (Inspector of Fighters), had recommended to Krupinski to go to Lechfeld where III. Gruppe of Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader 2 (EJG 2—2nd Supplementary Fighter Group) under the command of Oberstleutnant Heinrich Bär was based. EJG 2 was a jet fighter training unit where pilots learned to fly the Messerschmitt Me 262. Krupinski asked Bär if he and his pilots from JG 26 could be trained to fly the Me 262. Due to capacity reasons, Bär had to reject the request and Krupinski headed for the fighter pilot recreation facility at Bad Wiessee.
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