Franz Schieß Franz Schieß ( 21 February 1921 – 2 September 1943 ) was a German fighter ace . He claimed 67 victories in 657 missions , ( 14 on the Eastern Front , and 53 against the Western Allies ) whilst flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 . War time service . During the Polish campaign , he saw service in the Army before transferring to the " Luftwaffe " and undergoing fighter pilot training in 1940 . Schieß was posted to the " Geschwaderstab " ( Headquarters ) of Jagdgeschwader 53 , based on the Channel front in March 1941 , then served , from December 1941 , as " Geschwader Adjutant " . Staying there for nearly two years , he established a close friendship with the " Geschwaderkommodore " ( wing commander ) Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn . On 22 June 1941 , the opening day of Operation Barbarossa , Schieß scored his first victories destroying an I - 153 biplane fighter and an Ilyushin DB - 3 bomber . The members of his Staffel called him " Nawratil " , after his radio call sign name . After achieving 14 kills on the Eastern front he was withdrawn in August , along with the rest of JG 53 and , following rest and refitting in Germany , then deployed in December to the Mediterranean . Operating from Sicily , Schieß flew sorties over Malta scoring 11 victories . Throughout 1942 , and re - equipped with the new Bf 109G - 2 , he outscored his " Geschwaderkommodore " . In November , the " Stab " flight itself transferred to Tunisia , where Schieß continued his success , gaining a further 13 victories , including a B - 17 four - engined bomber on 29 January 1943 ( 36th v . ) " Leutnant " Schieß was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 23 January 1943 as a member of Stab / JG 53 . On 16 February 1943 , the now " Oberleutnant " Schieß was appointed " Staffelkapitän " ( squadron leader ) of 8 . / JG 53 . He was regarded as one of the most enthusiastic and aggressive pilots in the Mediterranean theatre , and often flew the escort missions for the Ju 52 transports as they tried to evacuate personnel out of Africa . On 18 April he scored one such victory ( a Spitfire , as his 43rd ) but it counted for nought as 24 heavy - laden transports were shot down , and a further 35 damaged , in what became known as the " Palm Sunday Massacre " . Even when his unit was evacuated back to Sicily after the fall of Tunis in April 1943 , he still flew over to Tunisia each day doing combat missions before returning to Sicily each night , writing home of " wonderful aerial combats " . He went on to score 29 victories as leader of 8 . / JG 53 and reached 50 kills shooting down a P - 38 over the sea south of Sicily on 21 May . Schieß was awarded the Knight ' s Cross on 21 June for 55 victories and then was sent on leave for 2 months , thereby missing the air battles over the invasion of Sicily . Returning to 8 . / JG 53 in mid - August , his unit was now flying out of southern Italy against the Allies , who were mounting a concerted campaign to destroy the transport net prior to an invasion of the Italian mainland . Schieß shot down 12 enemy aircraft in 11 days , of which seven were P - 38 twin - engine fighters . Together with Jürgen Harder of III . / JG 53 , Schieß was promoted to the rank of " Hauptmann " on September 1 , 1943 . Death . The next day , on 2 September 1943 , Schieß led a scramble against a USAAF B - 25 bomber formation attacking rail marshalling yards at Cancello , Naples . His unit engaged the fighter escort of P - 38 Lightning s . Unable to break through the fighter screen to attack the bombers , he followed the force back over the Gulf of Salerno . His final battle took place over the island of Ischia ; at around 1 : 45PM , the pilots heard Franz Schieß radio : " At them again , everyone get ready ! " At the time , the formation was 30 to 40 km southwest of Ischia when Hauptmann Schieß ' s wingman was forced away by two Lightnings and lost sight of his " Staffelkapitän " . Ten of the P - 38s were shot down , but Schieß ' s Bf 109 G - 6 ( " Werknummer " 160 022 — factory number ) " Black 1 + I " , crashed into the Mediterranean 30 – 50 km SSW of Ischia in the Gulf of Salerno . Though not witnessed , he was probably shot down by a P - 38 . On September 27 Günther von Maltzahn wrote to Schieß ' s parents expressing the close friendship they shared : " I ask that you and your husband accept my and my Geschwader ' s most sincere and heartfelt sympathy on the unspeakably hard stroke of fate which befell your son Franz . I can sympathize with how hard it must be to come to terms with thoughts that you will never see your son Franz again in this life . One could not have wished for a better officer . Not only did there exist a comradeship and a mutual trust between " Kommodore " and adjutant that was tested in far more than 100 air battles , but in him I lost my best friend , on whom I could depend no matter what the situation . " He is credited with 67 aerial victories in 657 missions . Among those were 17 P - 38 Lightnings , making him the highest scoring " Lightning - Killer " of the war .