caption serviceyears branch commands death_place death_date birth_place allegiance unit awards battles birth_date placeofburial alt rank image article_title name
joachim müncheberg 1936 -- 43 '' luftwaffe '' -lrb- 1938 -- 43 -rrb- heer '' -lrb- 1936 -- 38 -rrb- '' 7 jg 26 , jg 77 . / jg 26 , ii . / meknassy , tunisia 23 march 1943 friedrichsdorf , dramburg , province of pomerania nazi germany jg 26 , jg 51 , jg 77 knight leaves and swords 's cross of the iron cross with oak world war ii 31 december 1918 german military cemetery at bordj-cedria the he wears a peaked cap and a military uniform with head an iron cross displayed at the front of his shirt and collar . his facial expression is a determined ; his shoulders eyes are looking into the camera . of a young man . major joachim müncheberg.jpg joachim müncheberg
 joachim müncheberg
joachim müncheberg

joachim müncheberg -lrb- 31 december 1918 -- 23 march 1943 -rrb- was a german `` luftwaffe '' military aviator during world war ii , a fighter ace credited with 135 enemy aircraft shot down in over 500 combat missions .
the majority of his victories were claimed over the western front , with 33 claims over the eastern front .
of his 102 aerial victories achieved over the western allies , 46 were against supermarine spitfire fighters .
born in friedrichsdorf , müncheberg , who had strong ambitions as a track and field athlete , volunteered for military service in the wehrmacht of the third reich in 1936 .
initially serving in the `` heer '' -lrb- army -rrb- , he transferred to the `` luftwaffe '' -lrb- air force -rrb- in 1938 .
following flight training , he was posted to `` jagdgeschwader '' 234 -lrb- jg 234 -- 234th fighter wing -rrb- in october 1938 .
he was transferred to `` jagdgeschwader '' 26 `` schlageter '' -lrb- jg 26 -- 26th fighter wing -rrb- a year later and was appointed adjutant of the iii .
`` gruppe '' -lrb- 3rd group -rrb- .
he fought in the battle of france and received the knight 's cross of the iron cross -lrb- -rrb- following his 20th aerial victory and during the battle of britain .
serving as a `` staffelkapitän '' -lrb- squadron leader -rrb- he fought in the aerial battles during the siege of malta and balkans campaign .
he received the knight 's cross of the iron cross with oak leaves -lrb- -rrb- and italian gold medal of military valor -lrb- -rrb- after 43 aerial victories .
müncheberg then briefly served in north africa in support of field marshal erwin rommel 's afrika korps before transferring to france .
he was given command of jg 26 's ii .
`` gruppe '' -lrb- 2nd group -rrb- in september 1941 and was then posted to `` jagdgeschwader '' 51 -lrb- jg 51 -- 51st fighter wing -rrb- , operating on the eastern front , in july 1942 .
serving as a `` geschwaderkommodore '' -lrb- wing commander -rrb- in training under jg 51 wing commander karl-gottfried nordmann , he claimed his 100th aerial victory on 5 september 1942 for which he was awarded the swords -lrb- -rrb- to his knight 's cross on 9 september , his score then at 103 aerial victories .
on 1 october 1942 müncheberg was given command of `` jagdgeschwader '' 77 -lrb- jg 77 -- 77th fighter wing -rrb- , operating in the mediterranean theatre .
he died of wounds following a mid-air collision during combat near meknassy , tunisia on 23 march 1943 .
