Career
The Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross and was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Oberleutnant Schmidt was initially posted to 8./NJG 1 in September 1941, based at Twente in the Netherlands. He claimed his first victory on the night of 24/25 March 1943, a Halifax bomber over Enkhuizen.
On 15 June 1943 Schmidt was appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./NJG 1, having claimed five victories by this time.
On the night of 1/2 January 1944, he claimed a Lancaster bomber shot down near Ramsel for his 10th victory. He claimed three victories in a single night on 3/4 May, 22/23 May, and 28/29 July.
Schmidt transferred as Staffelkapitän to 9./NJG 1 in December 1944. He added five further victories to raise his victory total to 43 by the end of the war.
Schmidt was then interned by British troops at Schleswig-Holstein, and released in August 1945.
He attended Heidelberg University obtaining a doctorate in Chemistry, married and fathered three children. Schmidt retired in 1984. Dietrich Schmidt was credited with 43 victories in 171 missions.
All his victories were recorded at night.
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