Bestowed for acts of bravery which would have required the EK I to be awared a further five to seven times. In the Luftwaffe approximately 20 points were needed for the Knight's Cross, although this changed as the war progressed. In 1941 Egon Mayer won it for 20 victories, but in 1943 Otto Kittle had shot down 123 planes before getting the award. In the navy it was necessary to sink approximately 100,000 tons before its bestowal.