Anton Lindner (12 April 1917 â 17 February 1994) was a 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, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Lindner joined the postwar German Air Force, at the time named the Bundesluftwaffe, in 1956 and retired in 1972 as an Oberstleutnant (colonel). During his career he was credited with 73 aerial victories, one on the Western Front and 72 on the Eastern Front, claimed in 650 combat missions.
Lindner was born on 12 April 1917 in Hohenkemnath, present-day part of Ursensollen, then in Kingdom of Bavaria within the German Empire.
On 24 May 1940, Linder was shot down and wounded in aerial combat with Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire fighters. He successfully bailed out of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E near Calais.
On 8 April 1945, Lindner was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the Stabsstaffel (headquarters squadron) of JG 51. He succeeded Leutnant Wilhelm Hübner who had been killed in action. On 24 April, Lindner was also placed in command of 15. Staffel of JG 51, succeeding Hauptmann Helmut Scheuber. Lindner held both command positions until the end of World War II in Europe.
Following World War II, Lindner reentered military service in the West German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe. He retired in March 1972 holding the rank of Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) and died on 17 February 1994 at the age of in Hohenkemnath, Germany.
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Lindner was credited with 73 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 73 aerial victories, 72 of which on the Eastern Front and one on the Western Front, claimed in 650 combat mission. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces â Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and state that Lindner was credited with approximately 72 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, plus one further unconfirmed claim on the Western Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 56441". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.