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Grouping to Leutnant Anton Lindner serving as a fighter pilot with Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders". Awarded the Knight's Cross on 8.4.1944, the German Cross in Gold on 27. May 1942, the Luftwaffe Honor Goblet on 12.08.1941 and the Squadron Clasp for Kampfflieger in Gold with Pendant. During his career, he was credited with 73 aerial victories. These were achieved over the course of 650 sorties.
Seventeen period time reports "Abschussmeldung" from 15.1.1941 until 31.10.1944 about downed aircraft by him (sorties). Some documents have water stains and two holes. Very hard to find!
Very nice photos of his Luftwaffe service. It shows him several times with the Knight's Cross. Among them are two excellent portrait photos of Lt. Lindner and two photos taken during and after the award of the Knight's Cross. There are also four photos of fighter ace Werner Mölders, a shot of another Knight's Cross winner of JG 51, some aircraft photos, and photos showing the squadron's ground operations. In addition about 9-10 photos from the post-war period with the German Bundeswehr (Luftwaffe).
Total: 75 photos.
A nice grouping.
Condition
2/2-3
Historical information
NAME
Knights Cross of the Order of the Iron Cross
DATE OF INSTITUTION
1. September 1939 as the third and new grade of the re-instituted Order of the Iron Cross
AWARD CRITERIA
The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for exceptional bravery in the face of the enemy and for outstanding merit in troop leadership. The awarding required the previous awarding of the two lower grades. The Knights Cross was solely awarded by the Führer upon the proposal of the soldiers unit and issued by the Heerespersonalamt. The Knights Crosses were stored at the Ordenskanzlei in Berlin, to be sent to the awardee after approval. There were no Knights Crosses stored at any level of the Wehrmacht before the end of April 1945.
MANUFACTURERS
The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross was produced by seven manufacturers, not including variations amongst the individual companies. The Knights Crosses can be found either unmarked (early Juncker and 3/4 Ring), with a silver content mark, with an LDO number (L/12 and L/52), and later on with the company’s Präsidialkanzlei number (2, 20, 65, and 4). Private sales were forbidden after October 1941.
AWARD NUMBERS
Accurate numbers are not known but the closest estimation is around 7,200, and most likely another couple of hundred on stock at the Präsidialkanzlei.
AWARD DOCUMENTS
The awardee received a preliminary document in A5 format and issued in the name of the Führer by the responsible personnel offices of the three branches of the Wehrmacht. The formal document (Große Mappe) was issued later and only until date of late 1942 / early 1943 due to the huge backlog.
WEARING METHOD
The Knights Cross was worn around the neck on a wider red white and black ribbon which came within the black award case of the Knights Cross.
.jpg "Major Heinrich Höfer - restored (!) Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross \"65\"")
.jpg "Schmückle, Willi - Knight's Cross winner grouping")
