As a fighter ace, Steinhausen claimed 40 aerial victories over the Western Allies during the North African campaign.

Born in Lobkevitz on the isle of Rügen, Steinhausen was posted to Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) in the spring of 1941.

[4] On 3 December 1940, I. Gruppe was withdrawn from the English Channel and relocated to Döberitz located approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Staaken.

There, the ground crew began preparations for the air elements to arrive at the designated airfield at Ayn al-Ġazāla.

The orders for I. Gruppe that day were to attack and destroy the Yugoslavian air defenses in the area of Laibach, present-day Ljubljana in Slovenia.

[6] Following Operation Marita, the air elements briefly returned to Munich-Riem before they transferred to North Africa, arriving in Ayn al-Ġazāla between 18 and 22 April 1941.

[7] Steinhausen claimed his first aerial victory on 9 June, shooting down a Hawker Hurricane north of Tobruk.

[9] On 15 June, British forces launched Operation Battleaxe, an offensive to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica.

250 Squadron flown by British ace Sergeant Maurice Hards (7 victories) who force-landed wounded near Mersa Matruh.

[17] After the British Operation Crusader in November and December had relieved Tobruk and driven the Axis back, in January Rommel had sufficient fuel supplies to launch his next counter-attack, and he took Benghazi on 29 January, as the aircrew retraced their steps to airfields they had abandoned only a month or so previously.

[26] On 16 June, I. Gruppe flew combat air patrols in area of Gambut and Al Adm, the Gruppe flew eight missions during the course of which Steinhausen claimed four aerial victories, one Hurricane and three P-40 fighters, taking his total to 20 aerial victories claimed.

[27] On 27 June, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield named Bir el Astas, located approximately 35 kilometers (22 miles) west of Mersa Matruh.

That day, Steinhausen claimed four aerial victories, a Martin Maryland bomber near El Dabaa and three Hurricane fighters southwest of Fukah.

In support of this offensive, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield named Mumin Busak, located near El Dabaa, at on the evening of 2 July.

[29] On 9 July, Steinhausen shot down a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Consolidated B-24 Liberator, ("Eager Beaver"), and only the second four-engine bomber claimed by JG 27.

[30][31] On 20 July, I. Gruppe moved to a makeshift airfield named Quotaifiya, located approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Fukah.

[32] On 26/27 July, the Allied Eighth Army launched Operation Manhood in the northern sector in a final attempt to break the Axis forces which failed to reach its objective, effectively ending the first Battle of El Alamein.

On 1 September, I. Gruppe flew four combat missions and claimed 22 aerial victories, including 17 by Hans-Joachim Marseille alone.

[36] On 3 September, the Allied Eighth Army launched Operation Beresford, the counterattack in the area of Alam el Halfa.

One analyst asserts that James Francis Edwards was his victor since his combat report tallies with the action, though he only claimed a "damaged" Bf 109.