serviceyears branch commands death_place death_date birth_place allegiance unit awards battles birth_date nickname rank article_title name
1935 -- 42 heer -- 42 -rrb- -lrb- 1935 -- 36 -rrb- luftwaffe -lrb- 1936 i. / jg 51 belyi , russia 14 december 1942 bilin nazi germany jg 51 knight 's cross of the iron cross world war ii 13 august 1914 `` gaudi '' hauptmann heinrich krafft
 heinrich `` gaudi '' krafft
heinrich krafft

heinrich `` gaudi '' krafft -lrb- 13 august 1914 -- 14 december 1942 -rrb- 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 .
heinrich krafft was born on 13 august 1914 , the son of an engineer in bilin , sudetenland .
he joined the wehrmacht in 1935 and volunteered for the luftwaffe in 1936 .
krafft was killed on 14 december 1942 after being beaten by soviet troops following a crash landing .
during his career he was credited with 78 aerial victories , 4 over the western front and 74 over the eastern front .
