Hermann Staiger Hermann Staiger ( 6 April 1915 – 22 June 1964 ) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . For the fighter - pilots it was a quantifiable measure of their skill and success . Hermann Staiger was credited with 63 aerial victories during World War II , 49 on the Western Front and 14 on the Eastern Front . Military career . Joining the " Luftwaffe " in 1935 to start his flight training , by the start of the war in September 1939 he was a " Leutnant " flying with 1 . / JG 20 ( the 1st squadron of the 20th Fighter Wing ) . This was a wing in name only , being just a single " Gruppe " ( Fighter Group ) that had been set up just prior to the outbreak of war , in July 1939 . His " StaKa " ( " Staffelkapitän " - Squadron Leader ) was the " Legion Condor " veteran Walter Oesau . For the Polish campaign his unit was based at Sprottau , to protect the Silesian industrial area from Polish bombers , but after a week of inactivity it returned to Berlin and then onto Bönninghardt on the Dutch border under the command of " Jagdgeschwader " 51 . The attack on France in May 1940 was very quiet for JG 51 and I . / JG 20 as they quickly cleared the skies over the Low Countries . It was only at the end of that month , when the units transferred to Ghent , in Belgium , for the battle for the beaches of Dunkirk that Staiger opened his scoresheet . He shot down an RAF Spitfire northwest of that city on 31 May , among the dozen claims by the Gruppe that day . Soon after his second victory ( a Blenheim bomber on 30 June ) , the relationship between JG 51 and I . / JG 20 was formalized on 4 July when the latter was renamed III . / JG 51 ( the third " Gruppe " of JG 51 ) , and Staiger ' s squadron became 7 . / JG 51 . He was reasonably successful in the ensuing Battle of Britain shooting down a further seven aircraft . Now an experienced pilot and promoted to " Oberleutnant " , he was appointed " Staffelkapitän " of his 7 . / JG 51 on 25 August when Oesau was himself promoted to " Gruppenkommandeur " of III . / JG 51 . After the invasion was postponed ( indefinitely ) JG 51 was withdrawn to winter quarters back in the Reich . It would return to the Channel Front for a time in early 1941 although now nominally on the defensive . Staiger still managed to pick up three further victories before the units were sent to the east for the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union . On the opening day of the Operation Barbarossa he shot down three SB - 2 bombers . JG 51 was leading the charge eastward racking up a huge number of victories . On 30 June , when JG 51 became the first " Geschwader " to claim 1000 victories Staiger shot down a further four bombers in the first great encirclement battle , over Minsk . However the combat wasn ' t all one - sided , and on 15 July he was himself seriously injured when his BF 109F2 ( Werk Nummer 8083 - factory number ) was hit by Soviet anti - aircraft fire . While recovering in hospital he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross on 16 July in recognition of his 25 victories to date . After an extended period of convalescence he served in a number of pilot - training units for the next two years , and was promoted to " Hauptmann " ( Captain ) on 1 February 1943 . He briefly returned to his old unit , JG 51 , at the end of May 1943 before taking up his new combat command as " Staffelkapitän " of 12 . / JG 26 on 5 July . Based back on the Channel Front it was fighting a whole new type of war : In the past year the American 8th USAAF had arrived in Britain and started daylight bombing operations against Germany ' s industry . The heavily armed four - engined B - 17 and B - 24 bombers ( " " Viermots " " ) were very hard to shoot down but Staiger quickly learned his combat technique . Over the next month he accounted for five " Viermots " , becoming one of the first bomber - aces . He would go on to survive and become one of the leading anti - bomber pilots . In one of the biggest " Luftwaffe " success over the 8th USAAF , on 17 August 1943 , the combined Schweinfurt - Regensburg mission he claimed a B - 17 near Mönchengladbach . On 10 October , in heavy raids on Münster , he shot down his seventh B - 17 , but this time was wounded by the return fire of the defensive ' boxes ' of bombers . For his continuing leadership and 34 victories he was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 29 October . Further heavy losses caused a pause and re - evaluation of strategy by the Allies , who desperately needed long - range fighter escorts to cover the bomber missions into the Reich . Finally , in December 1943 , the balance started to change with the introduction of the P - 51B Mustang . As the winter weather cleared , operations picked up again and the Americans launched Operation Argument ( Big Week ) on 20 February . Over the week Staiger shot down a further three aircraft . March ' s bombing target was mostly focused on Berlin , and he scored another five " Viermots " . After his " Gruppenkommandeur " , Klaus Mietusch , was injured on 8 March , he took up temporary command of III . / JG 26 for three weeks in his absence , while still remaining as squadron leader of 12 . / JG 26 at the same time . April was to be Staiger ' s most successful month , claiming 8 aircraft . Five of these were on the 24th . III . / JG 26 had been temporarily transferred to Munich , with very little to do except play cards . That morning however , the alarms sounded and the pilots ( including Staiger ) with only a few hours ' sleep , took to the air nursing fearsome hangovers , sucking in the pure oxygen ( a well - known hangover cure ! ) . Flying a heavily - armed Me 109 with a 30mm MK108 cannon firing through the spinner , he managed to down 2 bombers in as many minutes , then another plus two " Herausschüsse " ( formation separations ) within minutes of each other a half - hour later . In May , a series of devastating raids crippled Germany ' s oil production , severely limiting flight operations . On 15 May he was promoted to command of the Fw 190 - equipped I . / JG 26 , while " Maj " Karl Borris was away . In June all the Allied attention turned to France , and the Normandy invasion ( Operation Overlord ) . Immediately fifteen " Gruppen " , including Staiger ' s I . / JG 26 , were rushed to the west . But , now fighting low - level combats and often up against 20 : 1 odds , they stood no chance . On 1 August , with " Major " Borris ' return , Staiger transferred to take up command of II / JG 1 which had also been struggling through the French campaign . With the Allied breakout at the start of August , II . / JG 1 soon retreated east of the Seine , then a week later back to the Reich to rebuild and re - equip . Indicative of the devastation , in its 10 - weeks over Normandy , II . / JG 1 had lost 106 aircraft ( out of a nominal complement of 68 ) and 27 pilots killed , for 32 confirmed victories . It would not be fit for action for three months , not re - engaging in combat until 26 November 1944 . Staiger led by example , shooting down a B - 17 . Although promoted to " Major " on 1 January 1945 , Staiger was not involved in the ill - fated New Year ' s Day attack ( Operation Bodenplatte ) . He was seconded to III . / EJG 2 to get training on the Me262 jet . Staiger was tasked with setting up a new jet " Gruppe " , and on 12 January 1945 was assigned as " Kommandeur " of II . / JG 7 , authorized by re - naming IV / JG 54 on 7 February . But with very limited aircraft ( and , more particularly , engines ) available for the other " Gruppen " , let alone his , it struggled to get operational . Its first ten aircraft , along with a pair of two - seater trainers , were delivered a week later to allow training to commence . By then Staiger had passed command of II . / JG 7 over to " Hptm " Lutz - William Burckhardt . It is uncertain what he did for the remainder of the war , although Forsyth comments that he was a senior pilot still with II . / JG 7 in April , although he did not score any victories in the Me 262 jet . Hermann Staiger survived the war and was one of the very few ' start - to - finishers ' to do so . He is credited with 63 combat victories , of which only 14 were over the Eastern Front . His total of 26 " Viermot " victories ranks him 5th equal in success against this formidable aircraft type - and the most successful Me 109 - pilot over the Reich ( Werner Schroer ' s 26 were split over the Mediterranean and Reich theaters ) . He died , at Freiburg , on 22 June 1964