Fritz Losigkeit Major Fritz Losigkeit ( November 17 , 1913 in Berlin - Tegel – January 14 , 1994 in Hünxe ) was a German World War II Luftwaffe Flying ace and recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . He held the position of Geschwaderkommodore of fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 51 and Jagdgeschwader 77 . Life . Losigkeit joined the Prussian State Police Academy and was eventually selected for flight training . After graduation , he was assigned to Jagdgeschwader ( Fighter Wing ) 132 , the famous Richthofen Wing . In March 1938 , he was assigned to Jagdgruppe 88 with the Condor Legion , flying the Heinkel He 51 during the Spanish Civil War . He was shot down by 20 mm antiaircraft artillery on 31 May 1938 and was captured and held prisoner of war until he escaped in February 1939 . For his actions during the Civil War he was awarded the Spanish Cross in silver with swords . He was then assigned to JG 26 flying the Messerschmitt Bf - 109 . Losigkeit scored his first victory on 28 May 1940 during the Battle of France , a Spitfire over Calais . As the air war turned to England , he achieved four more victories to become an Flying ace by 15 September 1940 . For the next 8 months Losigkeit commanded 2nd Staffel of JG 26 and flew more than 100 combat missions . In May 1941 he was reassigned as a diplomatic courier to Japan . Until January 1942 he advised on German air combat tactics with Imperial Japanese Army Air Force pilots flying the Ki - 44 against several examples of the Bf - 109 fighter shipped to Japan for evaluation . Wanting to rejoin the European war , he made the voyage back to Germany via the German blockade - runner " MSS Elsa Essberger " . Travelling , Losigkeit arrived in time to form " Sonderkommando Losigkeit " on the orders of General of Fighters Adolf Galland . Losigkeit conducted fighter operations over Norway in support of the Navy and the battleship Scharnhorst . After completing this special operation , he took command of IV . / JG 1 at Berlin - Werneuchen , which later became I . / JG 1 . Deployed to bases in the West , his unit flew missions against de Havilland Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft and USAAF heavy bomber formations attacking targets in Germany . In June 1943 Major Losigkeit commanded III . / JG 51 " Mölders " flying the Bf - 109 in the Orel area of the Eastern Front . Fighting during the Battle of Kursk in July 1943 , his unit then covered the retreat of the German Army . On 1 April 1944 he became Geschwaderkommodore of JG 51 and continued to fight against ever increasing odds as the Russians advanced . Awarded the Knight ' s Cross in April 1945 , he ended the war as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77 in Czechoslovakia . Losigkeit was credited with around 750 combat missions , claiming some 68 air victories . After the war Losigkeit returned to civilian life , turning his attention to politics and business . He was a secretary in the administration of the Free Democratic Party ( FDP ) in 1946 . From 1946 until 1978 , he served as a business representative and a marketing manager in a utilities company .