Hermann Hogeback " Oberstleutnant " Hermann Hogeback ( 25 August 1914 – 15 February 2004 ) was a German " Luftwaffe " bomber pilot and flew more than 100 operational sorties during the Spanish Civil War and 500 during World War II . He was also a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( ) . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . His last service position was " " ( wing commander ) of ( KG 6 — 6th Bomber Wing ) . Born in 1914 , Hogeback joined the military service of the Wehrmacht in 1934 . He transferred to the " Luftwaffe " in 1935 and following flight training and service with various bomber wings he volunteered for service with the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War . During World War II he fought in the Invasion of Poland , Battle of France , Operation " Weserübung " , the German invasion of Norway , Battle of Britain , Battle of Crete , siege of Malta , Mediterranean theatre of operations , over the Eastern Front and in Defense of the Reich . By the end of hostilities , Hogeback ' s bomber crew held the unique distinction that every member — radio operator , combat observer and air gunner — was decorated with the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . Childhood , early career and Spanish Civil War . Hermann Hogeback , the son of a tax inspector , was born on 25 August 1914 in Idar - Oberstein at the time in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg , a state of the German Empire . Growing up in Münster from 1921 on he graduated with his " Abitur " ( diploma ) in 1934 . After his graduation , Hogeback joined the military service as an officer cadet in the 9th Company of Infantry Regiment 15 , 5th Division of the Reichswehr in Kassel . Following his officers training he transferred to the " Luftwaffe " a year later where he received his pilot training at Neuruppin , Ludwigslust and at the R . B . - Strecke of the Deutsche Luft Hansa . During this training period he was promoted to " Leutnant " ( second lieutenant ) on 1 June 1936 . After he completed his bomber pilot training he transferred to the III . / Lehrgeschwader Greifswald ( 3rd group of Demonstration Wing Greifswald ) , which was formed on 1 April 1937 and later became the III . / Lehrgeschwader 1 ( LG 1 — 1st Demonstration Wing ) . Hogeback then transferred to the II . / Kampfgeschwader 355 ( 2nd group of the 355th Bomber Wing ) on 1 May 1938 and to Kampfgeschwader 253 ( 243rd Bomber Wing ) on 1 September 1938 . Following his promotion to " Oberleutnant " ( first lieutenant ) Hogeback volunteered for combat service with the Condor Legion ( ) where he flew more than 100 missions in the Spanish Civil War . The Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the " Luftwaffe " and from the German Army ( " Wehrmacht Heer " ) which served in the Spanish Civil War in support of the Nationalists . His Heinkel He 111 was shot down by republican anti - aircraft artillery on his first mission with 1 . ' 88 in Spain . The mission was to attack positions at Móra d ' Ebre and Ebro . Hogeback ' s starboard engine was hit and caught fire . Attempting to return to Zaragoza - Sanjurjo , he had to give the order to abandon the aircraft . The combat observer , Poppenhagen , and the flight engineer , Hermann , managed to bail out but the radio operator ' Gerhard Pacht , was wounded and failed to escape . Hogeback bailed out as well but sustained skull and lung injuries when he struck the antenna and vertical stabilizer and came down in no man ' s land where he was recovered the following night . For his services in Spain he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords in June 1939 . World War II . At the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939 , Hogeback was back with III . / LG 1 where he flew the He 111 in combat missions in the Invasion of Poland . His " Gruppe " ( group ) converted to the then new Junkers Ju 88 at the beginning of 1940 . He flew further combat missions in the Battle of France . In summer of 1940 he flew missions against England in what would become the Battle of Britain , including 28 missions over London . Hogeback and III . / LG 1 was relocated to Sicily for operations in the siege of Malta and on 20 January 1941 he was appointed " " ( squadron leader ) of the 8 . / LG 1 . On one of his first missions in the Mediterranean theatre he was credited with the sinking of a freighter . His Ju 88 came under attack from 12 British fighters during an aerial reconnaissance flight over the Mediterranean Sea in July 1941 . The British fighters broke off the attack following aerial combat , during the course of which Hogeback ' s radio operator " Feldwebel " ( Sergeant ) Willy Lehnert managed to shoot down two of the attackers . On 8 September 1941 , after 163 combat missions , " Oberleutnant " Hogeback received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( ) from the hands of " Fliegerführer Afrika " " Generalleutnant " ( Lieutenant General ) Stefan Fröhlich at Derna in North Africa . On 20 February 1943 , for his leadership of III . ( " Kampf " ) / LG 1 , Hogeback was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( ) , the 192nd German soldier so honoured . The award was presented at the Wolf ' s Lair , or ' ( Führer Headquarters , at Rastenburg , East Prussia ) in early March 1943 . Hogeback together with " Hauptmann " Erwin Fischer , an aerial reconnaissance pilot with Fernaufklärungs - Gruppe 121 ( Long – range Reconnaissance Group 121 ) , received the award directly from Adolf Hitler . At this presentation Hitler commented that eligibility for high awards was most difficult to achieve for reconnaissance pilots , next were the bomber pilots , and last and most easy for the " fine gentlemen " from the fighter force . Hitler then said that this procedure would be changed before inviting them to tea along with " Luftwaffe " adjutant ' Nicolaus von Below . On 12 August 1943 Hogeback was appointed to succeed ' Walter Storp as " Geschwaderkommodore " ( Wing Commander ) of ' ( KG 6 — 6th Bomber Wing ) and was promoted to " Oberstleutnant " ( Lieutenant Colonel ) with effect from 1 May 1944 . On 18 October 1944 KG 6 , along with ' ( KG 27 — 27th Bomber Wing ) , " Kampfgeschwader 30 " ( KG 30 — 30th Bomber Wing ) and ' ( KG 55 — 55th Bomber Wing ) were subordinated to the newly formed IX . ( J ) Fliegerkorps . KG 6 received the suffix " J " to its name — J stands for " Jagd " ( fighter aircraft ) — and was now known as " " ( J ) 6 , denoting its fighter aircraft character . Hogeback ordered all the remaining Junkers Ju 88 and Junkers Ju 188 units transferred to other units . KG ( J ) 6 then transferred to Prague for conversion to the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter . Between 1943 and 1945 every member of Hogeback ' s Junkers Ju 88 crew was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross , making it the most highly and only so decorated crew in the " Luftwaffe " . Air gunner " Oberfeldwebel " Günter Glasner — crew member since early 1940 — received the Knight ' s Cross on 31 December 1943 , radio operator " Oberfeldwebel " Willy Lehnert — crew member since March 1941 — on 5 April 1944 , and observer " Fahnenjunker - Oberfeldwebel " Wilhelm Dipberger — crew member since 1940 — on 9 January 1945 . Following the German capitulation in May 1945 , Hogeback was taken prisoner of war by United States Army forces . He was held captive in London , England , and at Sainte - Mère - Église , France , before being released in September 1945 . After the war Hermann Hogeback studied law and worked in the automobile industry . He died on 15 February 2004 in Dötlingen , Lower Saxony , and was buried with full military honors .