Carl - Alfred Schumacher Generalmajor Carl - Alfred ( August ) Schumacher was born 19 February 1896 in Rheine and died 22 May 1967 in Bad Godesberg . During World War II , Schumacher served in the German Luftwaffe , commanding the Jagdgeschwader 1 ( JG 1 ) fighter wing . After World War II , Schumacher was an active politician and elected member of the Landtag in Lower Saxony ( 1951 – 1963 ) . Military career . Schumacher initially fought in World War I as an artillerist before he transferred to the Kaiserliche Marine and participated in the Battle of Jutland as a " Fähnrich " on a battlecruiser . He learned to fly in 1930 and transferred to the newly emerging Luftwaffe in 1934 , involved in the flight - and leader - training departments . On 1 August 1936 he was given a squadron command in I . / JG 136 , he was subsequently promoted to major , and full command of the I . / JG 136 — " Gruppe " ( subsequently renamed II . / JG 333 on 1 November 1938 , and again on 1 May 1939 to II . / Jagdgeschwader 77 ) based on the northern coast , the German Bight . With the country at war , his unit was tasked with covering the northern approaches to the Third Reich , and he was appointed " Jagdfliegerführer Deutsche Bucht " ( " Jafü Deutsche Bucht " — Fighter - commander German Bight ) in October as well , to control all the disparate fighter units defending the northern coast . As the Luftwaffe expanded , in November he was then given orders to set up a brand new " Geschwader " . Initially ( and unusually ) comprising just a " Stab " or HQ Flight , called Stab . / JG Nord , it was soon officially authorised as JG 1 on 30 November 1939 , with Obstlt Schumacher as its first " Geschwaderkommodore " ( wing commander ) . It inherited command of I . / JG 1 which had been previously operating without an HQ , and was also based at Jever on the northwest coast . With his Geschwader he defended against the first British bombing campaigns . He claimed his first aerial victory over a Vickers Wellington bomber , among the 12 shot down in the aerial battles of the Heligoland Bight on 18 December 1939 . His successful co - ordination of a range of different units and aircraft was effective and forced a fundamental change in air strategy for the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) in the first year of the war , as they abandoned unescorted bomber missions . He claimed his only other victory , a Bristol Blenheim , over the North Sea on 27 December 1939 . He led his Geschwader in the Battle of the Netherlands , although his unit did not follow the armies in the invasion of France or the Battle of Britain , instead being kept back on the coast as Reich Defence . For his outstanding leadership and success he was the very first fighter pilot awarded the Knight ' s Cross - on 21 July 1940 . Because of that , and / or his lack of direct involvement in the Battle of Britain , he kept his role as a " Geschwaderkommodore " and was not dismissed by Hermann Göring in his purge of the senior fighter commanders a month later . On 8 November 1941 , he controversially shot down a de Havilland Dragon of the Finnish Air Force by mistake , and was relieved of command . However , he was soon re - appointed to a new post - as Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen on 5 January 1942 . Again this was a role to co - ordinate a number of scattered units , this time across Norway , facing both the Russian Polar Front , the North Sea and Arctic Ocean . This subsequently also got further centralised with the formation of the new Jagdgeschwader 5 in May 1942 . In late February 1943 he was sent to Romania , and in May became head of the Luftwaffe mission to oversee the training of the Romanian air - force . Finally , in the latter years of the war , now a " Generalmajor " , he was tasked with assignments co - ordinating the Defence of the Reich . He finished the war having flown 160 missions , with just the two victories from 1939 . Post - war career . Schumacher was a prisoner - of - war from 1945 – 7 . He was subsequently hired by the district President of Aurich in 1948 and was working for the Olympia - Werke AG , in the typewriter industry , starting 1951 . He was elected member of the Landtag in Lower Saxony as deputy of the GB / BHE faction in 1953 and re - elected in 1955 . He then joined the Deutsche Partei ( DP ) in 1958 and changed to the Christian Democratic Union faction in 1962 . He lost his mandate in 1963 and died in 1967 . In accordance with his wishes , he was cremated and his ashes were sprinkled in the North Sea .