Walter Krupinski award received German Cross in Gold
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.
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