Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939, a typical production by Otto Schickle Pforzheim. Blackened iron core with nickel silver frame, suspension loop and jump ring are unmarked, with worn neck ribbon section, one of the rare productions between May 1940 and March 1941. The Knight's Cross shows wear, the blackening on the swastika largely worn away. Includes a fine portrait photograph of Hauptmann Braun circa 1943, on which this exact Knight's Cross can be identified.
Large award document for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross to Leutnant Rudolf Braun. Dated “Führerhauptquartier, 14 June 1941”. With original ink signature in the hand of the Führer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler. The Knight's Cross presentation case of red leather with gold-embossed national eagle. The inside covers with vellum mirrors and hand-gilded line borders. On the lower edge of the reverse with signature “Frida Thiersch”. The document on large vellum double sheet written by hand, the name of the recipient “Rudolf Braun” in raised gold.
The vellum document is in good condition. The red presentation case has unfortunately suffered some damage, the red retention strap is missing inside, the spine partially torn, approximately 2 cm missing at bottom.
Front Flying Clasp for Ground-Attack Pilots in Gold with pendant for “300” combat missions. Gilt zinc. Lightly worn, pin missing on reverse.
Complete set of 6 flight log books, from 1935 to his last flight on 30 April 1945. From 1936 with Fliegergeschwader Immelmann, total of 310 recorded combat missions, last combat mission on 29 April 1945.
Total of 56 photographs, including 18 portrait photos with Knight's Cross in various sizes (in the photos the Schickle Knight's Cross is clearly recognizable throughout), further photos from the France campaign 1940, 23 photos from deployment and combat over Crete 1941, 3 very fine group photos from Africa, 4 photos of his Kommodore and other Knight's Cross recipients. Also a very fine reproduction photo of Braun with postwar signature.
Rudolf Braun, born 30 August in Brannenburg/Inn, joined the Luftwaffe in 1934 and as a non-commissioned officer already played an important role in the development of the dive-bomber arm. Promoted to Leutnant on 1 April 1938, to Oberleutnant on 1 April 1940, he became Staffelführer in I./Stukageschwader 3, flew in 1939 in the Poland campaign, 1940 France campaign, 10 combat missions against England, over the Balkans and distinguished himself especially in combat against Crete and in the Mediterranean theater. During support of the airborne operation at Chania he knocked out the anti-aircraft batteries with direct hits, sank 16,000 GRT in the waters of Greece, scored direct hits against the British fleet in the waters south of Melos on a heavy cruiser, on a destroyer and a light cruiser. After over 170 missions, 25 of them in the Mediterranean and against Crete, he was awarded the Knight's Cross on 14 June 1941. Then the Gruppe transferred to Africa. On 25 April 1942 during operations at Tobruk shot down by Kittyhawks and Tomahawks of 2nd South African and 4th SAAF Sqn. and severely wounded, crash-landed at Tmimi with his dead radio operator on board. Until 3 August 1943 in hospital and convalescent leave, from 6 August 1943 to 1 January 1944 as Staffelkapitän of 3./StG. 15 anti-partisan operations on the Italian-Croatian border. From January 1944 to January 1945 Commander of S.G. 102 of the dive-bomber school at Deutsch-Brod. From February 1945 until war's end as Hauptmann Commander of I./Schlachtgeschwader 3 in the northern sector of the Eastern Front.

An impressive estate of a brave Stuka pilot. As bearer of one of the few awarded Schickle Knight's Crosses, which can be recognized in the photographs, this grouping is particularly interesting.

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Luftwaffe Awards and Document Estate from the Possession of Knight's Cross Recipient Rudolf Braun, Last Commander I./Schlachtgeschwader 3

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross represents one of the most significant military decorations of the Second World War, forming the foundation of a hierarchical awards system that recognized extraordinary battlefield valor and outstanding military leadership across the German Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, and Waffen-SS. Instituted on September 1, 1939, by Adolf Hitler through the Ordinance re-establishing the Iron Cross, the Knight's Cross replaced the Pour le Mérite as Germany's highest combat valor award and bridged the gap between the Iron Cross First Class and the Grand Cross, the latter awarded solely to Hermann Göring.

The decoration functioned within a strictly graduated hierarchy comprising five ascending grades. The Knight's Cross itself formed the base grade, followed by the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves (instituted June 3, 1940), the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (September 28, 1941), the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (July 15, 1941), and finally the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, instituted December 29, 1944, and awarded exclusively to Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Award criteria demanded exceptional battlefield bravery or outstanding military leadership across all ranks. Recipients required prior possession of the Iron Cross First Class 1939, though both decorations were occasionally awarded concurrently. Specific thresholds governed presentation: U-boat commanders received the award for sinking 100,000 gross register tons of shipping, fighter pilots initially for achieving twenty aerial victories, though these criteria were adjusted as the war progressed. The Knight's Cross was worn suspended from a neck ribbon and took precedence over all other decorations except its own higher grades.

The total number of Knight's Crosses awarded remains subject to historical analysis. The German Federal Archives documented 7,313 presentations, while the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients recorded 7,318, though two hundred lacked official documentation. The Federal Archives substantiated 7,161 recipients, along with 863 Oak Leaves awards, 147 Swords, and 27 Diamonds. The first presentation occurred on September 30, 1939, following the invasion of Poland. Ceremonies frequently took place personally with Hitler at the Reich Chancellery, the Berghof, or at the Führerhauptquartier such as the Wolf's Lair or Werwolf. Following the failed assassination attempt of July 20, 1944, Hitler made presentations only sporadically, with senior commanders assuming this duty.

The present example represents a production by Otto Schickle of Pforzheim, among the rarest Knight's Cross variants. Manufacturing occurred in three-piece construction with a blackened iron core between two nickel silver frames, soldered together and fitted with a suspension loop and jump ring. Unlike the more common productions by Steinhauer & Lück (marked “800”), C.E. Juncker, Klein & Quenzer, or C.F. Zimmermann, Schickle crosses are typically unmarked, bearing neither silver hallmark nor maker's code. The production period extended only five to six months, with manufacturing ceasing in mid-1941 following a prohibition by the Präsidialkanzlei.

The Knight's Cross displays the classic cross pattée form with arms narrow at the center and broader at the perimeter. The obverse features a rotating swastika at the center and the date “1939” on the lower arm, while the reverse bears the date “1813”, commemorating the original institution of the Iron Cross. The black-white-red ribbon was worn around the neck.

The present grouping documents the award to Leutnant Rudolf Braun, Staffelführer of I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 3, dated June 14, 1941, at the Führerhauptquartier. The decoration recognized his achievements following over 170 missions, including twenty-five in the Mediterranean area and over Crete, where he scored direct hits on British cruisers and destroyers and sank 16,000 gross register tons of shipping. The accompanying award document on double-leaf parchment was hand-written and bears Adolf Hitler's original ink signature.

After 1945, the Federal Republic of Germany prohibited wearing Nazi insignia. In 1957, the West German government authorized a replacement Knight's Cross with an oak leaf cluster replacing the swastika, which wartime recipients could wear. Otto Schickle's frame dies reportedly passed to the Deumer firm and were used in the 1957 replacement production.