Kurt Knispel had 168 kills and could have claimed about 20-30 more but he was not looking for glory or stats. Was recommended for the knights cross 4 times but did not get it. He evidently was kind of a maverick and not a model Nazi soldier. Longer hair, Goatee, and a couple of clashes with officers may have prevented him from getting the Knights cross.
He had a tank kill on a Russian T-34 at 3000 yards, That is a hell of a shot for back then !!
You can do the research on your own. It’s highly rewarding.
The Luftwaffe’s (created in 1935) leadership was completely put into place during the Nazi era, unlike the Heer or Imperial Navy/Reichsmarine/Kriegsmarine (used under Wilhelm I as a unifier for the new German state). This allowed NSDAP members to control the entire organization, unlike other divisions in the Wehrmacht which had traditional non-NSDAP inertia to counteract it.
It’s pretty well known how troublesome the Heer leadership was to the NSDAP.
Even though I know of a few examples of non NSDAP pilots and many today swear that NSDAP membership was looked down upon at the time, the fact is the Luftwaffe was developed from the NSFK which was basically a “flying” HJ so they had a serious NSDAP base and influence.