Career
The Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. To avoid capture by the Red Army Strelow committed suicide after he was shot down by a Petlyakov Pe-2 twin-engine bomber in Bf 109 F-2 "Black 10" (Werknummer 8239—factory number). He had made a forced landing 9 kilometres (56 mi) behind Soviet lines.
Wehrmachtbericht reference Bibliography.
