 Following his 50th aerial victory, Krupinski was awarded the Honour Goblet of the "Luftwaffe" () on 13 September 1942 and the German Cross in Gold () on 27 October 1942.After another six victories, Krupinski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ().On 2 March 1943, Krupinski was promoted to "Staffelkapitän" (squadron leader) and was given command of 7.