The Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross), known more simply as the Ritterkreuz (Knight’s Cross), was the highest German military award of the Second World War and equivalent to the Victoria Cross in the RAF and its associated Air Forces.&nbsp;The Award was Instituted by the Reich on 1 September 1939, to coincide with the German invasion of Poland, and it was to be awarded to any Wehrmacht Member who demonstrated a single act or multiple acts over a period of time of 'Outstanding Leadership, Valour or Skill' while under enemy fire. At first only those serving from 'Grossdeutschland' were able to be recognised in this way, but as the war expanded the award was also made available to other Axis members.&nbsp;As the war continued to expand across the globe, so to inevitably did the need for higher levels of recognition in battle by the Reich; thus leading to the creation of Higher variants or levels for the awarding of the Ritterkreuz being instituted.These were to be known in year of creation as the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves (1940-1945), Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (1941-1945) , Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds (1941-1945), and the pinnacle of Wehrmacht Awards the Knight’s Cross with Golden Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds (1944-1945) or respectively in German:&nbsp;Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub,&nbsp;Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern, Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten and&nbsp;Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten.By VE-Day in 1945 over 7000 Decorations had been presented to serving members of the Reich's Wehrmacht, along with members of the Waffen-SS, RAD (Reich Labour Service) and Volkssturm. Similar in design, but larger, than the Eiserne Kreuz (Iron Cross), and worn around the neck as opposed to on the breast, the border and hanging loop on the Knight’s Cross were made of pure silver which was marked with the numerals ‘800’.&nbsp;The award was made by a wide number of German manufacturers throughout the duration of the war.&nbsp;On 3 June 1940, the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuz mit Eichenlaub (Knights Cross with Oak Leaves) was instituted, by which time 124 Rittterkreuz had been awarded to all arms of the German military, of which forty-nine had been awarded to Luftwaffe personnel.&nbsp;The first recipient was Generalfeldmarschal Hermann Göring on 30 September 1939; the first Operational Luftwaffe aircrew member to be a recipient, and the fifth awarded overall, was Oberst Robert Fuchs (1895-1977), Gruppenkommodore of Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG26 - Bombers).&nbsp;His award was made on 6 April 1940.The first Luftwaffe fighter pilot to receive the Ritterkreuz was Hauptmann Werner Mölders (1913-1941) of III Gruppe/Jagdgeschwader 53 (III./JG 53) on 29 May 1940.&nbsp;Only three Luftwaffe officers would receive the Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub in 1940, and all of them were fighter pilots – Werner Mölders on 21 September 1940 (he was by then the Geschwader Kommodore of JG 51), Major Adolf Galland (1912-1996) (Gruppenkommodore of JG 26) on 24 September 1940, and Hauptmann Helmut Wick (1915-1940) (Gruppenkommandeur of I Gruppe/JG 2) on 6 October 1940.Throughout that long fateful summer of 1940, many more Luftwaffe members, be they serving on fighter, bomber, dive bomber or reconnaissance Aircraft types, were to receive the Ritterkreuz.&nbsp;Some of these awards were made posthumously, whilst others would learn of their awards whilst a prisoner of war in either the UK or Canada.In this book, the renowned aviation historian Chris Goss provides biographical details of all operational members of the Luftwaffe who received the Ritterkreuz during 1940 or were awarded it as a result of their actions in what became known as the Battle of Britain shortly afterwards. Himself Having retired from the RAF with the rank of Wing Commander, Chris Goss is a regular and highly respected contributor to major aviation publications in the UK, France and Germany, as well the author of more than forty critically-acclaimed books covering the air war between 1939 and 1945. Chris completed an MA with Merit in War Studies in 2001.Illustrated - 100 Pictures.Originally Published 2018; This is the digital version of that book.

Knights Of The Battle Of Britain (1940-Luftwaffe Aircrew Awarded the Knight's Cross) PDF

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