sentences:  Hermann Graf was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 24 January 1942 for 42 victories and Steinbatz received the German Cross in Gold () the day after.On 14 February, he too was awarded the Knight's Cross for also reaching 42 victories, and sent on extended leave.Graf was promoted to Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 52 in March, and by the beginning of April, his unit had racked up over 200 victories in Russia, for the loss of only 8 pilots of their own.