Hans Strelow
Strelow flew more than 200 missions, and was credited with 68 aerial victories. Squadron leader and death. On 1 February 1942, Strelow was appointed "Staffelkapitän" (squadron leader) of 5. "Staffel" of JG 51. He succeeded "Oberleutnant" Horst Geyer who had temporarily led the "Staffel" after its former commander, "Oberleutnant" Hartmann Grasser had taken command of II. "Gruppe" of JG 51. To avoid capture by the Red Army, Strelow committed suicide after he was shot down by a Petlyakov Pe-2 twin-engine bomber in Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 "Black 10" ("Werknummer" 8239—factory number). He had made a forced  landing behind Soviet lines. He was succeeded by "Oberleutnant" Karl-Heinz Schnell as commander of 5. "Staffel". Summary of career. Aerial victory claims. According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Strelow was credited with 68 aerial victories. Matthews and Foreman, authors of "Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims", researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 68 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.