04.Walter Krupinski (The teacher of the greatest fighter)

If you mention an ace fighter in German that was 'grand talents mature slowly,' it will be Walter Krupinski without a doubt. Unlike his greatest student--Erich Hartmann, he entered the German air force before the war, joint the squadron created more than 30 ace fighters-- Jagdgeschwader 52, even under command of the ace fighter and the symbol of the squadron-- Rudolf Resch, he didn't shot down anything in the Battle of Britain, which almost all of the pilots had shot down at least one aircraft. 

Why?

Because he was a terrible shooter, impressive terrible. Rumor said that once his superior told him if he doesn't shoot any RAF(Royal Air Force, Britain) down, he will be send to the transport squadron to fly the dump plane.  

It was not until he changed how he fight on the sky that change his destiny. He started to ignore the rule of how to fight--shoot it at a range, snipe it as the red baron. He started to shoot at a super close range. according to his autobiography, he said that he will not pull the trigger until 'the enemy fill up my whole window,' which even the guy on the ground didn't shape his plane into good mode, he still got a kill.

Krupinski on the 2nd from the right

As he started to fight in his own way, he won lots of credits everyday. He shot down his first enemy from the sky as the whole unit transport to the Eastern front line as the Operation Barbarossa just started, and shot down 50 till the next year, which won him a metal. The day Erich Hartmann assigned to the squadron, something amazing happened. Hartmann wrote 'When I assigned to the squadron, the end of the sky came a BF109 smoking.(.......) The plane suddenly crashed, but surprisingly, the pilot walked out without harm. He is Walter Krupinski. ' 

Walter Krupinski on the left, with Erich Hartmann on the left

Walter Krupinski's picture with his signature on the top left

He was then promoted as the squadron leader in 1943, and Erich Hartmann became his wingman, learned lots of skills of how to fight to destroy enemy without wasting bullet. As he achieved his 177 victory, he was transported to lots of squadron, protecting his beloved country, including taking part in the unit full of aces --Jagdverband 44, flying the newest jet fighter--Me262 on the sky of Berlin.

Remake Me262. Most of the Me262 were taken away by USA and USSR for research

Me262 engaging

As the way how Krupinski fight was too risky, he often put himself into great danger, wounded several times, some of which almost killed him. At the coming of the end of the war, he surrendered to the US, and was in prision for half of a year. 

Instead of taking part in the war as an ace fighter, he was a former chief of  Fremde Heere Ost, know as the FHO, the Nazi German's intelligence at the Eastern front line gathering information about Soviet Union. He was recruited by the Gehlen Organization, former of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), the Federal Intelligence Service of the Germany, till 1953. The history of this is remain unknown.

RF86F, the plane Krupinski flied post war at first

Krupinski in a F104G2, the one on the left

F104 flew by Krupinski

Krupinski test flied F15 for the German air force

Krupinski entered Bundeswehr post war. He climbed highly up rank, but was forced to retire as General lieutenant in 1976, as he and his friend had taken the autobiography given out by Hans-Ulrich Rudel, a businessman and a former Nazi flying ace in a veterans' reunion of the Aufklärungsgeschwader 51, which was the place once Krupinski had been. He was criticized as Hans was criticized as a Nazi by the ignorant reporters, trying to panic the public that the Nazi is back in the army again for political issues. He retired and died at 2000 in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid, Germany.