Kerch Peninsula. There, Dickfeld claimed eleven aerial victories on 8 May making him a "double-ace-in-a-day", taking his total to 73 aerial victories. According to Obermaier, Dickfeld was credited with his 100th aerial victory on 18 May 1942. He was the 8th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. That day, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (). He was the 94th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. The presentation was made by Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's headquarters in Rastenburg on 25 May. North Africa In early November 1942, the Western Allies launched Operation Torch, the Anglo–American invasion of French North Africa. On 17 November, II. Gruppe of JG 2 was withdrawn from the English Channel Front and ordered to San Pietro Clarenza, Sicily. At the time, the Gruppe was equipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-3, some Fw 190 A-2s, and received the A-4 variant in early December. This made II. Gruppe of JG 2 the only Fw 190 equipped fighter unit in the Mediterranean Theater. The Gruppe flew its first missions on 19 November, securing German air and sea transportation to Tunis. That day, elements of II. Gruppe began relocating to Bizerte Airfield. On 8 January 1943 during an emergency takeoff, Dickfeld crashed his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 (Werknummer 0750—factory number) by running into a bomb crater. The aircraft summersaulted and Dickfeld was injured. On 15 April, Dickfeld was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 11 (JG 11—11h Fighter Wing), an office he held until May when he transferred command to Hauptmann Günther Specht. He was transferred to the Reich Air Ministry in December 1943. There, he was appointed Reichs-Inspekteur der Flieger Hitlerjugend (Reich inspector of the Aviation Hitler Youth). He was promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 1 June 1944 and appointed General für Nachwuchs Luftwaffe (general of procreation/recruitment), a position he held until the end of World War II. Dickfeld was officially credited with 136 victories claimed in 1072 combat missions. He also claimed a further 15 enemy aircraft unconfirmed. He claimed about 128 victories over the Eastern Front. He claimed one victory flying the Heinkel He 162 Salamander ("Volksjäger") jet fighter, a P-47 Thunderbolt on 11 April 1945. Later life After the war in 1952, Dickfeld initiated the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients. He then lived in East Africa for many