Alfred Surau was a real "comet" in the 9./JG 3. He achieved his first aerial victory as a Feldwebel on the Eastern front, February 28, 1943.
When III./JG 3 was transferred to the defense of the Reich in August, 1943, he was already credited with 41 victories. The vets from the Eastern front made III./JG 3 one of the most successful German fighter unit in the "Reichsverteidigung" (Home defense). While other German fighter units took a heavy beating, the pilots of III./JG 3 shot down 31 American planes, most of them four-engine bombers, without losing more than two pilots killed and one injured between August and December, 1943. One of the pilots killed was Oberfeldwebel Alfred Surau.
In the battle on October 14, Surau shot down a B-17, his victory No. 46. He was hit by the bombers return fire and bailed out badly injured. Alfred Surau died the same day in the hospital at Wertheim.