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His
total continued to climb during the winter of 1944, but not nearly as fast as
it did during the summer before. The main problem was the German planes did
not function well in the harsh Russian winters. The guns froze up and the engines
would not start on cold mornings. A captured Russian aviator showed the Germans
a couple of tricks that allowed them to not only start their planes but to keep
the guns from jamming.
On
March 2, 1944 he downed 10 planes in one day pushing his total over 200. That
same day he was awarded the Knights Cross and Oak Leaves. The kill total kept
climbing. He reached 250 and was awarded the Knights Cross, Oak Leaves, and
Swords. Another big day came on August 24, 1944 when he had another 10 plane
day and pushed his kill total to 301. At this time he was award Germany's highest
honor, the Knights Cross, Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. During his leave
he married Ursula Paesch.
He
was also grounded by Herman Goring at this time, but Major General Adolph Galland
went to bat for the young ace and had him reinstated. But he was not to return
to his former squadron, instead he headed back to school to learn to fly the
ME-262 Jet fighter. This prospect of flying in JG-44,know as the Expert Squadron,
did not appeal to the young pilot. He longed to return to his beloved JG-52
and do what he could for his country.
