Siegfried Schnell Major Siegfried Schnell ( born 23 January 1916 in Zielenzig , Province of Brandenburg , German Empire – killed in action 25 February 1944 near Narva , Estonia ) was German World War II Luftwaffe 93 victories Flying ace and 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 - for the fighter pilots , it was a quantifiable measure of skill and combat success . At the time of his presentation , it was Germany ' s highest military decoration . Siegfried Schnell was killed in action on 25 February 1944 against the Soviet Narva offensive shot down by an opposing fighter . Wartime career . A keen glider - pilot , he joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 , and by the start of the war in 1939 , he was a " Feldwebel " serving with 4 . / JG 2 ( the 4th " Staffel " of " Jagdgeschwader 2 " ' Richthofen ' ) . Stationed on the western border , he saw very little action until the campaign in France started in May 1940 . He got his first victory , a French Bloch 152 fighter on 14 May . He was particularly successful in the Battle of Britain and on 7 November off the Isle of Wight , as operations were slowing down and recently commissioned as a " Leutnant " ( on 1 November ) , he scored his 20th victory . For this feat he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross , on 9 November . The focus of the airwar shifted in the next year to the Eastern Front , however Schnell stayed with JG 2 defending the West . On 24 June 1941 , only 2 days after the opening of Operation Barbarossa , he was appointed as " Staffelkapitän " ( Squadron leader ) of 9 . / JG 2 . Soon after , he shot down nine Supermarine Spitfire s in just two days ( 8 – 9 July ) to reach his 44th victory and was immediately awarded the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves , at the time being one of the top pilots in " Jagdgeschwader " 2 . He continued to score consistently as the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) mounted heavier strikes into France , and temporarily held command of III " Gruppe " from 9 December 1941 to the following 28 January while " Kommandeur " Hans " Assi " Hahn was on leave . He scored his 52nd ( ? ) victory on 12 February while his unit provided cover for the " Kriegsmarine " battlecruisers making their ' Channel Dash ' back to their ports in Germany . Over the Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942 , he shot down five Spitfires to reach his 71st victory . After that his scoring rate slowed down as he focussed more on administration and command , and he led his unit in the changeover onto the new Focke Wulf Fw 190 — a very rugged dogfighter . In a misguided idea by High Command to rotate the fighter " Gruppen " between Western and Eastern Fronts , III . / Jagdgeschwader 54 ( JG 54 — 54th Fighter Wing ) was transferred from Russia back to Germany for Defence of the Reich . " Hauptmann " Schnell , now with 80 victories , was given command of the unit on 1 May 1943 to train and lead the pilots in high - altitude interception rather than the low - level brawling they were used to on the Eastern Front . On 11 January 1944 he shot down 3 B - 17 bombers to reach 90 victories . On 1 February 1944 he was given command of IV . / JG 54 , based near Leningrad , and he arrived on 11 February . As mentioned above , command transfers between fronts were rare , given the markedly different combat conditions , and unfortunately Schnell was not lucky to be able to adapt quickly enough . After less than a month and only 3 further victories , he was shot down and killed in his Messerschmitt Me 109 G - 6 ( " Werknummer " 411675 — factory number ) over the Russian offensive for Narva on 25 February 1944 . Posthumously promoted to Major , Siegfried Schnell flew over 500 combat missions and ended with 93 confirmed victories , including 12 4 - engined bombers . His tally of 90 on the Western Front made him the 11th most successful pilot over the Western Allies .