Hans - Arnold Stahlschmidt Hans - Arnold Stahlschmidt ( 15 September 1920 – missing in action 7 September 1942 ) was a German fighter pilot and ace . A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat . He scored all of his 59 victories against the Western Allies in North Africa flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 . Stahlschmidt was a close friend of the prominent ace Hans - Joachim Marseille ( 158 Kills ) . Early life . Hans - Arnold Stahlschmidt was born on 15 September 1920 in Kreuztal , Westphalia as son to the manufacturer Arno Stahlschmidt . He attended the Volksschule in Kreuztal and received his Abitur in April 1939 from the " Oberschule " in Weidenau / Sieg . Stahlschmidt completed his " Reichsarbeitsdienst " in Eichelsachsen near Gleiwitz . Afterwards he joined the military service in Salzwedel and became a professional soldier . In Salzwedel he completed his military basic training as a fighter pilot . He continued his training at the pilot training facilities in Breslau and the war - college at Vienna - Schwechat . From here in January 1941 , he was posted as an Oberfähnrich to 2 . / JG 27 ( the 2nd squadron of the 27th Fighter Wing ) based at Berlin . Also posted to I . / JG 27 at the same time - but from a far different background - was Oberfähnrich Marseille , already an ace with 7 victories from the Battle of Britain . War Time Service . Soon afterward , in March , I / JG 27 was sent to Sicily to see action over Malta . Pulled back in early April to Graz in Austria , it joined JG 54 and the rest of JG 27 as fighter for the Balkan invasion . On 14 April , with air superiority assured , I . / JG 27 was recalled to Munich for a short layover before being transferred to a new theater for the Luftwaffe : North Africa . They were initially based at Ain - el - Gazala , just west of the besieged town of Tobruk . Amongst a cadre of experienced , veteran pilots , Stahlschmidt took time to adapt to the desert conditions . However , before he scored a kill in air combat , he succeeded in sinking two Allied vessels , leading to the capture of 32 men . He finally achieved his first victory over Tobruk , a Hawker Hurricane of the RAF 73 Squadron , on 15 June 1941 . In August , as the remaining " Gruppen " of " Jagdgeschwader 27 " transferred in to North Africa from Russia as reinforcements , I . / JG 27 rotated its own squadrons back to Germany to re - equip onto the Bf 109F . It was November 1941 , just as the British launched Operation Crusader to relieve Tobruk , that the now - commissioned " Leutnant " Stahlschmidt scored his next victories - a trio of SAAF Maryland bombers - southwest of Tobruk . On 6 December he was appointed " Gruppen Adjutant " of I . / JG 27 , a position he held briefly until his return to 2 . / JG 27 in February 1942 . On 22 January 1942 No . 3 Squadron RAAF was bounced by Leutnant Stahlschmidt and his wingman . Stahlschmidt shot down Flying Officer James McIntosh , who was killed . On 21 February , Stahlschmidt was part of a formation led by his " Staffelkapitän " , " Oberleutnant " Gerhard Homuth . They observed 11 P - 40 Kittyhawk aircraft near Acroma . In a letter to his mother he described the subsequent events : I saw the Curtiss planes approximately 300 meters below us and falling away below . These aircraft were no threat to us whatsoever ! Now I just wanted to level out of my turning bank , since my colleagues were already at a substantially higher altitude . Keppler ( his wingman ) , overshot me . Once again , I saw the Curtiss planes 300 meters directly below me and counted eleven aircraft . < br > Not suspecting anything untoward , I continued my level climb . All of a sudden there was a loud noise in my cockpit — I ' d taken cannon [ sic ] fire . < br > The crate immediately flipped uncontrollably onto its back . Fuel gushed into the cockpit ; it began smoking and then I completely lost control of the Bf 109 , spiraling down on my back through the Curtisses . < br > Over the intercom I heard the angry voice of Homuth : " Which of you idiots just let himself get shot down ? " < br > Trailing a long column from my radiator I fell earthward . The water temperature climbed to 140 degrees . At an altitude of 1 , 000 meters I again regained control of the crate . With a bit of flair and fortune I managed to fly the 100 km to our own lines , during which I would only switch the engine [ on ] for short periods , in order to gain altitude for the long glide home . Crash landing in " no man ' s land " , Stahlschmidt escaped the burning wreck with just a pair of singed eyebrows . Once again , as he ran on foot toward German lines , Stahlschmidt was fired on by an Allied truck convoy which he had just overflown . However he was picked up by a German reconnaissance unit . Back at Staffel HQ Stahlschmidt learned from Marseille and Homuth that the lead Kittyhawk had pulled up sharply and fired accurately ; both were of the opinion that it was a wonderful shot . The Allied pilot was the leading Australian ace , Squadron Leader Clive Caldwell , CO of No . 112 Squadron RAF . Six days later , on 27 February 1942 , flying his Bf 109F - 4 ( W . Nr 8497 ) Stahlschmidt was again shot down - this time while strafing an Allied supply column when his engine suddenly died . This time though , as he crash - landed he was taken prisoner by Free Polish soldiers , who beat him and stole his medals . Interrogated , then sent onto another camp he was able to escape on foot later that night . After a 16 - hour trek he walked through the desert he reached the German lines . Stahlschmidt was awarded the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold for fighter pilots in February 1942 . He was the first pilot in Africa to complete 200 combat missions . He was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 9 April 1942 , ( also cited as being awarded on the 20 April ) Four days after his 9th victory on 22 May 1942 , Rommel launched his counter - offensive that would eventually take the Axis forces right back across Libya and Egypt , almost to the gates of Alexandria . It was now that Stahlschmidt ' s combat success really started . He scored eight victories in June , including a pair of Hurricanes and a pair of Kittyhawks on the 26th , the day that the " Geschwader " finally crossed over onto Egyptian soil , at Sidi Barrani By now his close friend , Hans - Joachim Marseille , was reaching legendary status , promoted to " Staffelkapitän " of 3 . / JG 27 and reaching 100 victories in mid - June . A fortnight later , on 1 July 1942 , Stahlschmidt was himself promoted : to " Staffelkapitän " of 2 . / JG 27 . With the Allied forces now enjoying numerical superiority it became a target - rich environment and Stahlschmidt himself had great success in July , shooting down 25 aircraft ( more than doubling his score in a month ) , as the front finally stabilised at the Alamein line . Strangely , the ' Gladiator ' biplane he claimed on 7 July may more likely have been an Italian CR . 42 biplane shot down in error ! Two Hurricanes shot down on 1 August took his tally to 45 as another lull fell over the front , as both sides stopped to build up supplies for their next offensives , and ' Fifi ' only scored three victories in August . He was , however , awarded the Knight ' s Cross on 20 August , for his 47 victories to date . Everything changed again on 1 September 1942 . As Marseille was putting in his claim for what would eventually be recognised as 17 victories on one day ( a record at the time , and only beaten by Emil Lang ( fighter ace ) in Russia ) , Stahlschmidt himself claimed another pair of Hurricanes late int he day to take his score to 50 victories . A flurry of victories over the next few days took his total to 59 , as the Allies flew a number of bomber and airfield - strafing missions . Relating the strain of the activity , in another letter home to his family , he described the action on the 3 September : Today I have experienced my hardest combat . But at the same time it has been my most wonderful experience of comradeship in the air . < br > We were eight Messerschmitts in the midst of an incredible whirling mass of enemy fighters . I flew my 109 for my life . I worked with every gram of energy and by the time we finished I was foaming at the mouth and utterly exhausted . < br > Again and again we had enemy aircraft fighters on our tails . I was forced to dive three or four times , but I pulled up again and rushed back into the turmoil . Once I seemed to have no escape ; I had flown my 109 to its limits , but a Spitfire still sat behind me . At the last moment Marseille shot it down , 50 metres from my 109 . I dived and pulled up . Seconds later I saw a Spitfire behind Marseille . I took aim at the enemy - I have never aimed so carefully - and he dived down burning . < br > At the end of the combat only Marseille and I were left in the dogfight . Each of us had three kills . At home we climbed out of out planes and were thoroughly exhausted . Marseille had bullet holes in his 109 and I had 11 hits in mine . We embraced each other , but were unable to speak . It was an unforgettable event . Later that afternoon he shot down a further two aircraft to make 5 for the day - his most successful combat day . Death . On 7 September 1942 Stahlschmidt , flying Messerschmitt Bf 109 F - 4 ( " W . Nr . 8704 " ) " Red 4 " , was part of a " Schwarm " that had taken off on a " freie Jagd " ( fighter sweep ) south east of El Alamein . They intercepted a tactical reconnaissance Hurricane covered by a strong escort of Hurricane MK IICs from No . 33 Squadron RAF and No . 213 Squadron RAF . However , Stahlschmidt ' s flight had failed to notice another flight , of Spitfire Mk Vc ' s of No . 601 Squadron RAF , which had been flying " up in the sun " . Trapped between both flights , two 109s were shot down , including Stahlschmidt . His commander , Eduard Neumann , dispatched the 1st and 2nd " Staffeln " to search for the missing ace , but Stahlschmidt was nowhere to be found . He was posted as missing in action , and his exact fate remains unknown to this day . Recent research suggests that he may have been shot down by an American ace , Flight Lieutenant John H . Curry ( RCAF ; 7 . 5 claims ) , of 601 Sqn . In over 400 combat missions in North Africa Stahlschmidt scored 59 victories , all but four being single - engine fighters . All were over Western Allied pilots , and unusually , all were scored in the African theatre . Behind Marseille ( 151 ) and Werner Schroer ( 61 ) , Stahlschmidt was the third highest scoring Desert ace of the war . Sixteen months later on 3 January 1944 he posthumously became the 365th recipient of the Oak Leaves to the Knight ' s Cross and was promoted to " Oberleutnant " . In the space of three weeks " I . Gruppe " , " Jagdgeschwader 27 " was rocked by the deaths of its three top aces . Stahlschmidt ' s death only 24 hours after the death of 1 . / JG 27 ace Günter Steinhausen ( 40 victories ) was followed on 30 September 1942 by the death of Hans - Joachim Marseille ( the " Star of Africa " ; 158 victories ) . I . / JG 27 claimed 588 aircraft shot down in April 1941 – November 1942 . Stahlschmidt , Steinhausen and Marseille between them accounted for 250 of these ; 42 % of the unit ' s total . Understandably morale fell so low that the " Gruppe " was withdrawn to Sicily in October . It returned briefly to North Africa but was withdrawn from the theatre for the final time in December 1942 .