Ernst - Wilhelm Reinert Ernst - Wilhelm Reinert ( 2 February 1919 – 5 September 2007 ) 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 . A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat . 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 . Biography . Ernst - Wilhelm Reinert was born 2 February 1919 in Lindenthal . After gaining his wings in April 1939 Reinert joined " Ergänzungsgruppe " / Jagdgeschwader 77 ( JG 77 — 77th Fighter Wing ) in Vienna in April 1941 . Shortly afterwards , he was transferred to 4 . / JG 77 , taking part in Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union . On 7 February 1942 " Feldwebel " Reinert was awarded the " Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe " for 24 victories , flying with II . / JG 77 at Sarabus in the Crimea in March 1942 . He was awarded the " Deutsches Kreuz in Gold " in May for 44 claims , before passing fifty claims in early June . The " Ritterkreuz " was awarded on 1 July 1942 . On 23 July , he was shot down and wounded by a Petlyakov Pe - 2 twin - engined bomber over Plaskaja . A period in hospital followed . Reinert returned to the front in September . On 3 October Fw . Reinert passed the century mark with three claims . On 6 October he was awarded the " Eichenlaub " for 103 victories . He was posted with the unit to Tunisia in December 1942 flying operations from east of Tripoli in Libya to support the Afrika Korps . Although heavily outnumbered , Reinert continued to score heavily where he became one of the most successful Luftwaffe ' experten ' during that period of combat . One of his victims on 16 April was a Spitfire flown by 244 Wing leader and ace Wing Commander Ian Gleed . On 20 April Reinert was promoted to the rank of " Leutnant " . Having been ordered to evacuate from Tunisia Lt . Reinert was ordered to fly to Sicily . Reinert took the controls of a Bf 109 G with Oblt . Baeumel and a mechanic crammed into the machine . En route to Sicily Reinert sighted a formation of Royal Navy Grumman Martlets and swung his overloaded fighter behind one of the British aircraft to shoot it down . Reinert then flew on safely to Sicily , to the relief of his passengers . On 8 August Reinert was forced to ditch his G - 6 in the sea near Milazzo after combat with P - 40 ' s . Reinert was then appointed " Staffelführer " of 3 . / JG 77 in October 1943 and then Staffelkapitän of 1 . / JG 77 . In December he shot down a Supermarine Spitfire over Monte Cassino for his 165th claim . Early in 1944 Reinert was ill with malaria , and in April 1944 was transferred to Austria as a " Staffelkapitän " to JG 27 as an " Oberleutnant " . JG 27 was transferred in June to the invasion front , flying over Caen and claiming a P - 47 Thunderbolt on 27 June . Two further victories over Normandy followed , although Reinert was injured on 17 June and 5 July . Reinert ' s 12 . / JG 27 was redesignated as 14 Staffel in August and was withdrawn to Germany for refitting . " Oberleutnant " Reinert was then appointed Gruppenkommandeur of IV . / JG 27 on 1 January 1945 . " Hauptmann " Reinert was awarded the " Schwerter " on 30 January 1945 . In March he transferred to JG 7 flying the Me 262 . Reinert flew 715 combat missions and was officially credited with shooting down 174 enemy aircraft plus 16 ground victories . 103 claims were made on the Eastern Front , 20 on the Western Front , and 51 in the Mediterranean theatre . He also destroyed 16 armoured vehicles plus 6 locomotives . Later life . After World War II up until the fifties , Ernst - Wilhelm Reinert pursued a career in business . In 1956 he rejoined the military service in the Bundeswehr as Major . Oberstleutnant Reinert retired in 1972 .