Gerhard Köppen (17 May 1918 – 5 May 1942) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was credited with 85 aerial victories claimed in 380 combat missions. Born in Holzendorf, Köppen joined military service in 1936 and initially served with a bomber before he was trained as a fighter pilot. He was then posted to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) in 1941. Köppen claimed his first aerial victories on 24 June 1941 during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Following his 45th aerial victory, he was nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross which he received on 18 December 1942. On 27 February 1942, Köppen was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves after 72 aerial victories and promoted to an officers rank. On 5 May 1942, he was posted missing in action after he made a forced landing in the Sea of Azov. Military career Köppen was born on 17 May 1918, in Holzendorf, present-day part of Kuhlen-Wendorf, at the time in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin within the German Empire. He joined the military service in 1936. His initial posting was with Kampfgeschwader 1 "Hindenburg" (KG 1–1st Bomber Wing) before he was selected for fighter pilot conversion training in 1939. Following flight training, he was posted to the 8. Staffel (8th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of III. Gruppe, on 6 October 1940. At the time, 8. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Günther Rall and the Gruppe was headed by Major Gotthard Handrick. Until 12 October, the Gruppe was based at Schönwalde-Glien near Berlin where the pilots continued their training. The rise of General Ion Antonescu in Romania in 1940 led to a reorganization of his country's armed forces. In this, he was supported by a military mission from Germany, the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien (Luftwaffe Mission Romania) under the command of Generalleutnant (equivalent to major general) Wilhelm Speidel. III. Gruppe of JG 52 was transferred to Bucharest in mid-October and temporarily renamed I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 28 (JG 28—28th Fighter Wing) until 4 January 1941. Its primary task was to train Romanian Air Force personnel. Eastern Front Following its brief deployment in the Balkan Campaign, III. Gruppe was ordered to Bucharest by mid-June. There, the unit was again subordinated to the Luftwaffenmission Rumänien and reequipped with