Max - Hellmuth Ostermann Max - Hellmuth Ostermann ( 11 December 1917 – 9 August 1942 ) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace 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 . He is credited with 102 enemy aircraft shot down claimed in over 300 combat missions . The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern front with eight claims over the Western front and one over Belgrade . Ostermann was of such short height that wooden blocks had to be attached to his rudder pedals for him to engage in tight turning aerial combat . Ostermann was born in Hamburg on 11 December 1917 . He joined the military service of the " Luftwaffe " in 1937 and was trained as a pilot . After a brief period with Zerstörergeschwader 1 ( ZG 1 ) , a heavy fighter unit , he was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 54 ( JG 54 ) . He participated in the Battle of France and Britain before transferring east . He became the sixth fighter pilot in aviation history to achieve 100 aerial victories on the Eastern front for which he was awarded Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern " ) . He was killed in aerial combat with Soviet fighters southeast of Lake Ilmen on 9 August 1942 . Early life and career . Max - Hellmuth Ostermann was born on 11 December 1917 in Hamburg . His father was a civil servant in the justice department . Ostermann joined the Luftwaffe as a " Fahnenjunker " ( Officer Cadet ) in March 1937 after he had received his " Abitur " ( diploma ) — the final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education . His first assignment was with I . " Gruppe " ( 1st group ) Zerstörergeschwader 1 ( ZG 1 ) flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and participated in the Invasion of Poland in 1939 . In January 1940 " Hauptmann " ( Captain ) Wolfgang Falck took command of I . / ZG 1 . Falck came to the opinion that the Bf 110 was just a little too big for Ostermann and had him transferred to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 equipped I . / Jagdgeschwader 21 ( JG 21 ) on 7 April 1940 . JG 21 at the time was based at Mönchengladbach and was subordinated to " Oberstleutnant " ( Lieutenant Colonel ) Max Ibel , the " Geschwaderkommodore " ( Wing Commander ) of Jagdgeschwader 27 . He claimed his first of two aerial victories in the Battle of France on 20 May 1940 . Ostermann had been entrusted with leading a " Rotte " , an element of two aircraft , with " Unteroffizier " ( non - commissioned officer ) Fritz Marcks as his wingman . The " Schwarm " ( flight ) led by " Oberleutnant " ( Senior Lieutenant or First Lieutenant ) Günther Scholz engaged eight French Morane - Saulnier M . S . 406 ' s fighters near Amiens with Ostermann , Marcks and Scholz claiming one each . His second aerial victory was achieved over a Curtiss Hawk - 75 on 26 May 1940 . In a head on firing pass two 20mm shells tore off large parts of the aircraft ' s tail fin , which then collided with Osterrmann ' s starboard wing . The French pilot was observed to bail out with Ostermann managing to make a safe landing . By the time I . / JG 21 was ordered to the coastal area of the English Channel the " Gruppe " was redesignated III . / Jagdgeschwader 54 ( JG 54 ) . Ostermann ' s third aerial victory on 12 August 1940 may have been over Flight Lieutenant E . B . B . Smith of No . 610 Squadron RAF , who bailed out of his Supermarine Spitfire I K9818 . Smith was rescued from the Channel and hospitalized . On 8 October 1940 Ostermann claimed his 7th aerial victory of the war and 5th of the Battle of Britain . His opponent may have been the Czech Sergeant Josef František who was killed flying Hurricane Mk . I R4175 from No . 303 Polish Fighter Squadron near Sutton , west of Croydon , in the southern outskirts of London that day . The reason for his fatal crash remains unclear . Apart from Ostermann ' s claim , " Leutnant " ( Second Lieutenant ) Max Clerico and " Feldwebel " ( Sergeant or warrant officer ) Fritz Oeltjens also claimed one aircraft each at the same time and in the same vicinity . On 5 September 1940 III . / JG 54 ' s " Gruppenkommandeur " ( group commander ) failed to return from a mission and " Geschwaderkommodore " Hannes Trautloft temporarily appointed " Oberleutnant " Günther Scholz to lead the " Gruppe " . The leadership of 7 . " Staffel " ( 7th squadron ) was filled by " Oberleutnant " Hans - Ekkehard Bob , who became one of Ostermann ' s mentors . During an escort mission on 30 September 1940 , Bob and Ostermann claimed one Spitfire shot down each . In return Ostermann ' s wingman was shot down and made a forced landing at Bexhill . He radioed his fellow pilots : " Spinat vier meldet sich ab nach Kanada " — Spinach 4 reports off for Canada His aerial victory on 20 October 1940 over a No . 74 Squadron RAF Spitfire was his sixth — his eight overall — victory over Royal Air Force ( RAF ) fighters and his last during the Battle of Britain . The following day III . / JG 54 was instructed to relocate . Five month later following a long combat pause , JG 54 was moved to the south - east to counter the pro - British " coup d ' état " in Belgrade , Yugoslavia . He claimed his ninth victory over a Yugoslav Royal Air Force Messerschmitt Bf 109 E - 3 , piloted by Karlo Štrebenk who was killed , on 6 April 1941 over Belgrade during the Balkans Campaign . Eastern front . On 23 June 1941 , during the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa , the German invasion of the Soviet Union , Ostermann , in a free - hunting mission in the Lithuanian airspace north of Kaunas , intercepted a formation of nine Tupolev SB ' s and claimed two shot down in flames . " Leutnant " Ostermann survived a belly landing following combat with more SBs in south - eastern Latvia on 26 June . On 5 July he claimed three SB - 3 Soviet bombers in combat over the Velikaya River at Ostrov . He claimed his 19th and 20th aerial victory on 6 July in the same combat area . On the Eastern front he claimed JG 54 ' s 1 , 000th victory of the war on 1 August 1941 . He became the eighth member of JG 54 to receive the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) on 4 September 1941 after 29 aerial victories . The award was presented on 10 September 1941 in Dno by " Generaloberst " ( Colonel General ) Alfred Keller . He claimed his 50th aerial victory on 9 January 1942 , the 60th on 28 January 1942 and the 70th on 19 February 1942 . After this series of aerial victories Ostermann was sent on home leave . The reason for his leave was that he wanted to get married . Back home , on his way to his wedding ceremony , Ostermann was arrested and put in jail . A German police officer had assumed that Ostermann , with his childlike features , was actually a schoolboy who was playing a prank and illegally wearing a " Luftwaffe " uniform and military decorations . The consequences endured by the police officer for his bad judgement remain unknown . After he received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub " ) for 62 aerial victories on 12 March 1942 he was appointed " Staffelkapitän " ( squadron leader ) of the 8 . / JG 54 ( 8th squadron ) . His 80th and 81st aerial victory were claimed on 19 March 1942 followed by victories number 89 and 90 on 27 April 1942 . Ostermann claimed his 100th aerial victory on 12 May 1942 , the second JG 54 pilot — Hans Philipp was the first — and sixth overall to achieve the century , though in the same engagement his Bf 109F - 4 was hit and damaged . Ostermann himself was hit in the right arm and upper thigh . Although severely wounded , he managed to return to his home airfield . Five days later , while in the hospital , he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves with Swords ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern " ) . The award was presented at the " Führerhauptquartier " " Wolf ' s Lair " ( " Wolfsschanze " ) at Rastenburg on 28 and 29 June 1942 . Ostermann was killed in action on 9 August 1942 far behind Soviet lines east of Lake Ilmen . He and his wingman " Unteroffizier " Heinrich Bosnin were flying at an altitude of when they spotted a formation of nine Curtiss P - 40 ' s . Ostermann shot down the rear P - 40 . The two were reforming to make a second attack when they themselves were attacked from behind by a group of Soviet fighters emerging from the broken cloud cover . Ostermann ' s Bf 109G - 2 ( " Werknummer " 10438 — factory number ) was hit in the cockpit by 41 IAP ' s ( 41st Fighter Aviation Regiment ) " Starshiy Leytenant " ( First Lieutenant ) Arkadiy Sukov flying a LaGG - 3 . The aircraft rolled over and crashed into the edge of a small wood . After Werner Mölders and Leopold Steinbatz , Ostermann was the third of 45 recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords to die in World War II .