Werner Quast

Werner "Quax" Quast (21 June 1920 – 12 July 1962) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. On 7 August 1943 Werner Quast rammed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 into an Il-2 Sturmovik and was forced to bail out. He was taken prisoner by Soviet forces and was held until 1949. He joined the postwar Luftwaffe in 1956 and died in a helicopter accident in Mittenwald on 12 July 1962. During his career he was credited with 84 aerial victories, all on the Eastern Front.