Dietrich Hrabak Dietrich " Dieter " Hrabak ( born 19 December 1914 in Groß - Deuben , now a part of Böhlen , Saxony , died 15 September 1995 in Pfaffenhofen ) was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1935 until the end of World War II on 8 May 1945 and again in the Bundeswehr from 1955 until his retirement on 30 September 1970 . A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat . During World War II he shot down 125 enemy aircraft achieved in over 1000 combat missions . 109 of his victories were claimed over the Eastern front , with 16 against the Western Allies . Military career . Hrabak showed an interest in aviation from an early age , but joined the German navy in 1934 . Two years later he transferred to the Luftwaffe , and qualified as a pilot . In 1938 Hrabak was posted to the Vienna Jagdgruppe , I . / JG 138 . This unit was later redesignated I . / JG 76 during the Polish Campaign , before becoming II . / JG 54 in April 1940 . During the Polish Campaign , Hrabak was shot down ( the first of 11 times ) on his first mission , making a belly landing . On 13 May 1940 , he claimed his first victory , a French Potez 63 and he claimed five more victories before the armistice . During the Battle of Britain , Hrabak was a member of JG 54 , becoming " Gruppenkommandeur " II . / JG 54 on 26 August 1940 . During the Battle of Britain he added ten victories against Royal Air Force ( RAF ) fighters and Field Marshal Hermann Göring personally decorated Hrabak with the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) . Hrabak served in the Balkans campaign and when Operation Barbarosa began in the Soviet Union , he flew on the northern front and over Leningrad . In November 1942 , he left JG 54 to become " Geschwaderkommodore " of Jagdgeschwader 52 ( JG 52 — 52nd Fighter Wing ) . Under Hrabak JG 52 became the highest scoring Geschwader with over 10 , 000 victories . In August 1943 he got his 100th victory and in November was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight ' s Cross , the 337th soldier to be thus awarded . He had 118 victories . On 20 September 1944 , Hrabak scored the last of his 125 victories . In October 1944 Hrabak returned to JG 54 , serving as its last " Geschwaderkommodore " until the end of the war . His greatest contribution to the Luftwaffe was not his combat record however but his command , tactical and leadership qualities , which endeared him to the men under his command and sealed his reputation within the Luftwaffe leadership . After the war , he worked in the automotive and chemical industry until 1953 when Chancellor Konrad Adenauer asked him to help form the new German Air Force . In 1956 he commanded the Advanced Pilot Training Center at Fürstenfeldbruck . In 1962 he took charge of the air defense covering northern Germany and the Netherlands . In 1964 he was named NATO ' s Chief of Air Defense / Central Europe until becoming special manager for the Lockheed F - 104 Starfighter programme . As a major general , he commanded the GAF ' s tactical command . General Hrabak died peacefully 15 September 1995 in Pfaffenhofen . Quotes . Dietrich Hrabak was famous for saying : " If you return from a mission with a victory , but without your Rottenflieger [ Wingman ] , you have lost your battle . "