Georg - Peter Eder Georg - Peter " Schorsch " Eder ( born 8 March 1921 in Oberdachstetten , died 11 March 1986 in Wiesbaden ) was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1938 until the end of World War II in 1945 . He was also a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( ) . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . Eder flew 572 combat missions claiming 78 enemy aircraft shot down . World War II . Georg - Peter Eder joined the Luftwaffe as Fahnenjunker at the age of 17 in 1938 . In the beginning of April 1939 Eder enrolled in the aviation academy at Berlin - Gatow . His first combat appointment was to 1 Staffel , Jagdgeschwader 51 ( JG 51 ) on 1 September 1940 . He flew all through the Battle of Britain but did not claim any victories . In May 1941 he joined 4 . / JG 51 and claimed his first aircraft , a Spitfire , on 7 May . Eder then flew with JG 51 in the opening months of the campaign on the Eastern Front , destroying two Russian aircraft on 22 June . However , on 24 July he was shot down and slightly wounded . On 22 August , after 10 victories , Eder fighter collided with a Junkers Ju 52 on the ground at Ponjatowska , suffering a skull fracture . After recovery , Eder served as a flight instructor with " Jagdfliegerschule " 2 at Zerbst from November 1941 to November 1942 . The Western Front 1942 - 44 . In November 1942 Eder was sent to 7 . / Jagdgeschwader 2 ( JG 2 ) in France , and participated in the battle against the American 8th Air Force day bombing offensive . With Hauptmann Egon Mayer of III . / JG 2 , Eder developed the head - on attack strategy to combat the formations of B - 17s and B - 24s . In February 1943 Eder became " Staffelkapitän " of 12 . / JG 2 . On 28 March after downing a B - 17 , he was wounded when his Bf 109 G - 4 somersaulted on landing at Beaumont - le - Roger . Eder destroyed his 20th aircraft on 29 May 1943 . On 5 September 1943 , Eder was transferred to 5 . / JG 2 . On 5 November , Eder was again forced to bail out of his Bf 109 and was again injured . In March 1944 Oberleutnant Eder was transferred to 6 . / Jagdgeschwader 1 ( JG 1 ) in Northern Germany . He bailed out of his Fw 190 A - 7 during combat with a P - 47 over Göttingen on 19 April . On 8 May , he claimed a B - 24 but made an emergency landing at Vechta . Normandy and the Me 262 1944 – 45 . By the end of May he had a total of 49 victories . As Gruppenkommandeur II . / JG 1 he fought in the aerial battles over Normandy during the Allied invasion , and on 21 June 1944 recorded his 50th victory . On 24 June Eder received the " Ritterkreuz " . On 11 August 1944 Eder took command of 6 Staffel , Jagdgeschwader 26 ( JG 26 ) . Attacking Allied armour near Dreux on 17 August Eder shot down a Spitfire at low level ; it crashed between two M4 Sherman tanks , destroying them . Shortly after that he shot down another Spitfire , which crashed on another tank , setting it on fire . On 4 September Hauptmann Eder became " Gruppenkommandeur " II . / JG 26 , after the unit ' s Kommandeur Hauptmann Emil Lang was killed in action against USAAF Thunderbolts over St Trond . In September " Hauptmann " Eder was transferred to " Erprobungskommando 262 " and appointed " Staffelkapitän , " 1 . / Kommando Nowotny . On 19 November , following the redesignation of the unit to Jagdgeschwader 7 ( JG 7 ) , he commanded 9 Staffel , flying the Me 262 in combat . During the Ardennes offensive , Eder claimed 40 P - 47s destroyed on the ground . He was awarded the Oakleaves on 25 November 1944 for some 60 victories . On 22 January he was shot down near Parchim by P - 51s while trying to land . He broke both legs and spent the rest of the war in hospital at Wismar and Bad Wiessee , where he was captured by the US Army . Career Summary . Georg - Peter Eder flew 572 combat missions of which 150 were with the Messerschmitt Me 262 . On the Eastern Front he scored 10 victories and on the Western Front 68 , of which no less than 36 were four - engined bombers . With the Me 262 he scored at least 12 victories , at least one sources indicate that this number could be as high or even higher than 24 kills . He was the leading scorer against the four - engined bombers , and leading air ace against the USAAF , claiming some 56 US flown aircraft . Eder himself was shot down 17 times , bailing out 9 times , and was wounded 14 times .