Anton Hackl Anton " Toni " Hackl ( 25 March 1915 in Regensburg – 10 July 1984 in Regensburg ) was a German former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( ) during World War II . 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 . He was one of the very few Luftwaffe ' first - to - last ' " Experten " who survived the whole war , serving from 1939 until 1945 . World War II . Unteroffizier Hackl was serving with II . / Jagdgeschwader 77 ( JG 77 — 77th Fighter Wing ) when war broke out . By May 1940 , Hackl was based in Norway , with JG 77 when he claimed his first in June 1940 shooting down two Royal Air Force ( RAF ) Hudsons . On 27 June he shot down another Hudson , but was also wounded . He claimed four victories during his time in Norway . In July 1941 he was posted with JG 77 to the Eastern Front . By the end of year his score was 27 . By early 1942 he was Staffelkapitän of 5 Staffel . / JG 77 . His score rapidly increased during the spring of 1942 , and by May 1942 , after 51 victories he received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) . During the month of July 1942 , Hackl amassed 37 enemy aircraft shot down in the aerial battles around Voronezh , including 6 victories in a day on both 21 July and 23 July . In August , he shot down three to record his 100th victory . After his 106th victory on 6 August he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub " ) . He shot down his 118th enemy aircraft on the Eastern Front , ( a Lavochkin - Gorbunov - Gudkov LaGG - 3 ) , in September 1942 . II . / JG 77 were then transferred to Tunisia where Hackl claimed 6 victories . In combat with P - 38 Lightning s on 4 February 1943 he was badly wounded and was hospitalised for several months . Returning to duties in September 1943 , Hackl next operated with III . / Jagdgeschwader 11 ( JG 11 — 11th Fighter Wing ) on " Reichsverteidigung " ( Defense of the Reich ) duties . On 1 October , he became " Gruppenkommandeur " ( group commander ) III . / JG 11 . Hackl went on to claim 25 four - engined bombers shot down during his time with the III . " Gruppe " . In April 1944 , he commanded JG 11 briefly before being badly wounded in battle with a United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) P - 47 Thunderbolt . He was awarded the " Schwerter " on 9 July . During July 1944 he became " Geschwaderkommodore " ( Wing Commander ) of Jagdgeschwader 76 ( JG 76 — 76th Fighter Wing ) . On 8 October he became " Gruppenkommandeur " of II . / Jagdgeschwader 26 " Schlageter " ( JG 26 — 26th Fighter Wing ) with 165 victories to his credit . By the end of the year he now had 172 victories . By late January 1945 he was acting " Geschwaderkommodore " of Jagdgeschwader 300 ( JG 300 — 300th Fighter Wing ) and , in late February , " Geschwaderkommodore " of JG 11 . His last 24 victories were never officially confirmed . Anton Hackl flew about 1000 combat missions and was officially credited with shooting down 192 enemy aircraft plus another 24 unconfirmed aerial victories . 131 victories were claimed while serving on the Eastern Front , six victories have been claimed in Africa and 55 on the Western Front . Among these numbers are 34 four - engined bombers which puts him in second place behind Georg - Peter Eder as the leading daylight bomber claimant . 55 claims were made with JG 11 , 10 with JG 26 , 1 with JG 300 , and 124 while flying with JG 77 . He was shot down eight times and wounded four times . Anton Hackl died on 9 July 1984 in Regensburg .