Walther Dahl Walther Dahl ( 27 March 1916 – 25 November 1985 ) was a German Oberst Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( ) during World War II . 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 . A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat . Dahl claimed some 128 enemy aircraft shot down in 678 missions , including about 300 ground - attack missions . Military career . Walther Dahl was born in Lug near Bad Bergzabern , son of a teacher who was killed in action in 1918 on the Western Front of World War I . He joined the army in 1935 , initially serving in Infantry Regiment 119 in Stuttgart , before transferring to the Luftwaffe and becoming a fighter pilot . By May 1941 Dahl was part of the " Geschwaderstab " of Jagdgeschwader 3 ( JG 3 — 3rd Fighter Wing ) and claimed his first victory on 22 June during the first day of the invasion of Russia . In July Dahl transferred to II . Gruppe of JG 3 . By the end of October Dahl had 17 claims . He was then transferred to 4 staffel , JG 3 in December 1941 before the unit was posted to the Mediterranean theatre . He claimed a Spitfire over Malta on 1 April 1942 and on 10 April 1942 Dahl was made " Staffelkapitän " , " Ergänzungsgruppe , JG 3 " . In April 1943 , Dahl was transferred to the staff of the " General der Jagdflieger " . In August , Dahl was next appointed " Geschwaderadjutant , " JG 3 on the Eastern front where he had raised his total to 51 , being awarded the German Cross in Gold in December 1942 On 20 July 1943 , Dahl was posted as " Gruppenkommandeur " III . / JG 3 and relocated to Münster from Kursk on the Russian Front . He claimed 2 four - engined bombers on 6 September and 2 more four - engined bombers ( and a P - 38 ) on 23 February 1944 . Dahl led a III . / JG 3 formation against the Schweinfurt and Regensburg raid of 17 August 1943 but was intercepted by Spitfires of No . 222 Squadron . III . / JG 3 lost 5 Bf 109s shot down including Dahl who had to make a belly landing in his Bf 109 G - 6 . Major Dahl was awarded the " Ritterkreuz " in March 1944 for 67 victories . In May 1944 , Dahl was appointed Kommodore of JG z . b . V . He led the unit until 6 June , then taking command of Jagdgeschwader 300 ( JG 300 — 300th Fighter Wing ) on 27 June . JG 300 was to become famous for flying the heavily armed and armored Focke Wulf FW 190A - 8 " Sturmbock " in close formation , driving in their attacks to point - blank range . As a last resort , after depletion of all ammunition , the pilots had to ram enemy bombers . On 7 July 1944 a force of 1 , 129 B - 17 Flying Fortress es and B - 24 Liberator s of the United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) Eighth Air Force set out from England to bomb aircraft factories in the Leipzig area and the synthetic oil plants at Boehlen , Leuna - Merseburg and Lützkendorf . This formation was intercepted by a German " Gefechtsverband " consisting of IV . ( Sturm ) " Gruppe " Jagdgeschwader 3 escorted by two " Gruppen " of Bf 109s from JG 300 led by " Major " Dahl . Dahl drove the attack to point - blank range behind the Liberators of the 492nd Bomb Group before opening fire . 492nd Bomb Group was temporarily without fighter cover . Within about a minute the entire squadron of twelve B - 24s had been annihilated . The Germans claimed 28 USAAF 2nd Air Division B - 24s that day and were credited with at least 21 . The majority to the Sturmgruppe attack . IV . / JG 3 lost nine fighters shot down and three more suffered damage and made crash landings ; five of the unit ' s pilots were killed . On 13 September , Dahl apparently brought down a B - 17 four - engined bomber by ramming according to his own account . The historians of JG 300 ( Lorant / Goyat ) found no evidence of a corresponding loss in US archives . For his personal exploits and that of his unit , Dahl was dubbed " Rammdahl " again according to his own account . On the morning of 30 November 1944 , Dahl was informed that Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was coming to visit the troops and to present Dahl with the Oak Leaves to the Knight ' s Cross . At 12 : 20 pm Göring and Generaloberst Bruno Loerzer arrived and Dahl made a formal report . Soon the discussion came to the question of whether Dahl believed that given these bad weather conditions the " Geschwader " could not engage in combat . Dahl explained that in only good conditions would they stand a chance against the overwhelming odds , as they were outnumbered 20 : 1 . He also referred to the inexperience and inadequate training of his young pilots . Into this situation came the news of an approaching bomber formation . Göring ordered Dahl to take off and engage the enemy . Dahl stood his ground and continuously refused to obey . Göring became furious and threatened Dahl with court martial and execution . Only the arriving " General der Jagdflieger " Adolf Galland , who confirmed Dahl ' s opinion , saved Dahl from severe punishment . Nevertheless Dahl was immediately relieved from his command and sent on sick leave . Subsequently Dahl was not presented with the Oak Leaves that day . On 26 January 1945 , Hermann Göring appointed him " Inspekteur der Tagjäger " ( Inspector of the day fighter ) . Despite his promotion , Dahl continued to fly operationally . " Oberst " Dahl ended the war flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter with III . / Ergänzungs - Jagdgeschwader 2 ( a supplementary fighter unit ) . On 27 March 1945 , Dahl claimed two P - 47 fighter kills . His 128th and last victory was a USAAF P - 51 Mustang near Dillingen on 26 April 1945 . Post World War II . Walther Dahl survived the war and became a member of the Deutsche Reichspartei ( DRP — German Reich Party ) . In the West German federal election of 1961 he unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the DRP . His 128 aerial victory claimed during World War II were challenged by the historians of JG 300 ( Lorant / Goyat ) who identified no more than 100 Dahl claims . Any other figures are likely to have been based on his ' memoir ' entitled Rammjäger . Dahl died on 25 November 1985 in Heidelberg at the age of 69 .