 Specht was officially listed as Missing In Action over Maastricht , but he has recently been confirmed dead . He crashed his plane after taking heavy fire . Specht was promoted posthumously to Oberstleutnant and nominated for the Eichenlaub ( Oak Leaves to the Knight 's Cross ) though this was never awarded in the bedlam of the final weeks of the war . Shot down six times in his career , he preferred to ride the plane to a landing rather than taking to his parachute . Specht was credited with 34 aerial victories , which included 15 Viermots , all achieved over the Western Front . 
