Knights Cross Oak Leaves Swords & Diamonds

The next grade of the Knights Cross, the Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten) was instituted on July 15th, 1941, thought the official authorization was not published until September 28th of the same year. This Clasp consisted of an Oak Leaves and Swords set which, instead of being die struck, was hand crafted by selected jewelers and decorated with diamonds.

Each recipient was presented with a duplicate set for everyday wear, and these were well made but slightly inferior in construction. Jewelers also made a number of copies for private acquisition by the winners, these also vary in quality depending on the jeweler and may be seen with and without diamonds on the swords hilts. The award was presented in a small black case with velvet lining the base and white satin on the lid.

Only 27 members of the German armed forces were bestowed with this award. This number shows that only men with the up most dedication and outstanding military career were considered, in short,

The aces among aces.

Hitler, who also presented each award personally, reviewed all considerations in detail. The first award was presented to Lufftwaffe Oberst Werner Molders upon reaching his 101st air victory, the last 28 of which came during the first 24 days of the Russian Campaign.