Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (16 February 1922 – 15 July 1950) was a German Luftwaffe night-fighter pilot and the highest-scoring night fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. A flying ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during combat.[1] All Schnaufer's 121 victories were claimed during World War II, mostly against British four-engine bombers,[Note 1] for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Germany's highest military decoration at the time, on 16 October 1944.[Note 2] He was nicknamed "The Spook of St. Trond", from the location of his unit's base in occupied Belgium.