Friedrich Geißhardt Friedrich " Fritz " Geißhardt ( 22 January 1919 – 6 April 1943 ) was a German former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 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 , with its higher grade Oak Leaves , was awarded to recognise exceptional battlefield bravery or military leadership . " Fritz " Geißhardt is credited with 102 victories in 642 combat missions , including 37 close air support missions . He achieved 63 of his victories over the Eastern front . In his total are at least seventeen Spitfires . Geißhardt was mortally wounded in combat with US bombers on 5 April 1943 and succumbed to his injuries the next day . Military career . Friedrich " Fritz " Geißhardt was born on 22 January 1919 in Sonnefeld , near Coburg in Oberfranken . He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe in 1937 and was transferred to the 2 . / Lehrgeschwader 2 ( LG 2 — 2nd Squadron of the 2nd Demonstration Wing ) on 1 July 1939 . During the opening phase of the German invasion of Poland , I . ( Jagd ) / LG 2 ( 1st Fighter Group of the 2nd Demonstration Wing ) relocated to Lauenburg ( now Lębork ) , near Bromberg , in support of the 4 . " Armee " ( 4th Army ) . " Unteroffizier " ( a non - commissioned officer ) Geißhard claimed his first aerial victory , a PWS - 26 biplane , that day . The following day , flying his Messerschmitt Bf 109 , Geißhardt had to make an emergency landing behind Polish lines . After several hours in Polish captivity , he escaped during the confusion caused by a German Stuka ( Dive Bomber ) attack . He reached German lines after walking for five days . Geißhardt was transferred to the 1 . / LG 2 ( 1st Squadron of the 2nd Demonstration Wing ) on 27 February 1940 . By the end of 1940 , he claimed six Royal Air Force ( RAF ) aircraft shot down during the Battle of Britain , followed by six more claims in early 1941 . He achieved four victories on 6 April 1941 in the aerial battles of the Balkans Campaign , and two Hawker Hurricane s in the German Invasion of Crete . He was posted as an adjutant of the " Stab " to the I . ( Jagd ) / LG 2 at the end of April 1941 . He achieved his 20th aerial victory on 23 June 1941 and received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) on 30 August 1941 , after 27 aerial victories . He shot down further enemy aircraft in quick succession in the early part of 1942 . On 3 and 4 February 1942 Geißhardt and " Oberleutnant " Erwin Clausen shot down three Polikarpov R - 5 s or Polikarpov R - Z s of 622 LBAP ( " Legkii Bombardirovochnyy Aviatsionyy Polk " — Light Bomber Aviation Regiment ) and 672 LBAP . He claimed his 40th victory on 1 March 1942 , his 50th on 19 April 1942 , 52nd – 56th on 20 April 1942 , 61st – 67th on 25 April 1942 . He was appointed " Staffelkapitän " of the 3 . / Jagdgeschwader 77 ( JG 77 — 3rd Squadron of the 77th Fighter Wing ) . " Oberleutnant " ( First Lieutenant ) Geißhardt was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak leaves ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub " ) on 23 June 1942 for 79 aerial victories . The award was presented at the " Führerhauptquartier " at Rastenburg on 28 and 29 June 1942 . By this date , he had claimed three more victories for an accumulated number of 82 victories . Shortly after the Oak Leaves presentation , the " Gruppe " transferred from the Eastern front to Sicily in Italy . Geißhardt destroyed nine enemy aircraft in the aerial battles of Malta by the end of October 1942 ( 83 – 91 ) . He added nine more victories in the North African Campaign , among them his century on 10 November 1942 . " Hauptmann " ( Captain ) Geißhardt arrived at Wevelgem on 11 January 1943 to take over command as " Gruppenkommandeur " ( group commander ) of the III . " Gruppe " ( 3rd group ) of Jagdgeschwader 26 ( JG 26 ) from " Major " Josef Priller . Geißhardt ' s arrogance grated on some of the pilots , who felt that he treated his fellow pilots who had not yet earned the Knight ' s Cross with too much disdain . " Hauptmann " Geißhardt , who was flying Fw 190 A - 4 ( " Werknummer " 7051 — factory number ) in " Major " Priller ' s " Schwarm " , was severely wounded in combat with United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) B - 17 Flying Fortress of the 306th Bomb Group on 5 April 1943 . He had been hit by the defensive fire from the bombers . He was bleeding profusely from a wound in the abdomen but managed to make a smooth landing on the airfield at Sint - Denijs - Westrem , Belgium . He succumbed to his injuries early the next morning on 6 April 1943 .