[2] World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland.
On 1 March 1941, Stahlschmidt was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) with a rank age date of 1 February 1941.
Stahlschmidt claimed a trio of South African Air Force (SAAF) Martin Maryland bombers, west of Tobruk.
[7] The 21 Squadron SAAF reported the loss of four from a formation of nine and claimed one Bf 109 shot down in exchange during a mission to bomb positions at Al Edem.
[8] A week later, on 27 November, he claimed another Hurricane south of El Adem for his fifth victory which qualified him as a flying ace.
3 Squadron RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) were bounced by Stahlschmidt's staffel and he shot down Sergeant Cameron.
[14] On this mission he was a part of a formation led by his Staffelkapitän (Squadron leader), Oberleutnant Gerhard Homuth.
In a letter to his mother he described the subsequent events: I saw the Curtiss planes approximately 300 meters below us and falling away below.
Fuel gushed into the cockpit; it began smoking and then I completely lost control of the Bf 109, spiraling down on my back through the Curtisses.
With a bit of flair and fortune I managed to fly the 100 km to our own lines, during which I would only switch the engine [on] for short periods, in order to gain altitude for the long glide home.
Once again, as he ran on foot toward German lines, Stahlschmidt was fired on by an Allied truck convoy which he had just overflown.
[16] Back at Staffel HQ Stahlschmidt learned from Marseille and Homuth that the lead Kittyhawk had pulled up sharply and fired accurately.
The Allied pilot was the leading Australian ace, Squadron Leader Clive Caldwell, CO of No.
This time though, as he crash-landed he was taken prisoner by Free Polish soldiers, who beat him and stole his medals.
His physical injuries amounted to a fractured eye socket and several cracked ribs.
Stahlschmidt claimed a single victory—Sergeants Dean, Packer and Shaw were posted missing in action.
In the ensuing Battle of Mersa Matruh, Rommel depleted British forces but failed to destroy them.
In the morning battle Stahlschmidt, with Feldwebel Günter Steinhausen flying as his wingman, dived to attack and shot down Major Lemmie Le Mesurier and Lieutenant Powell of 1 Squadron SAAF.
[32] Further research has indicated that Egyptian officers procured military photographs of British positions and intended to hand them over to the Germans.
The conspirators ordered Pilot Officer Ahmed Saudi Hussein to deliver them and he took-off in a Gladiator but was intercepted by Stahlschmidt.
[32] On a patrol near El Alamein on 10 July, Stahlschmidt shot down two P-40s and a Hurricane in ten minutes to inflate his tally to 33.
In the morning sortie his Staffel trailed 33 Squadron as the British unit returned to base.
Consequently 213 received no warning of the German presence and radar plotters assumed the mass to be a single formation.
Relating the strain of the activity, in another letter home to his family, he described the action on the 3 September 1942: Today I have experienced my hardest combat.
I worked with every gram of energy and by the time we finished I was foaming at the mouth and utterly exhausted.
On the latter date, JG 27 suffered a blow when the 40-victory ace Günther Steinhausen was shot down and killed in the Alamein area.
[41] On the morning of the 7 September 1942 Stahlschmidt, flying Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 8704) "Red 4", led a Schwarm (four-strong formation) that had taken off on a freie Jagd (fighter sweep) south east of El Alamein.
Trapped between both flights, two 109s were shot down, including Stahlschmidt and the 24-victory ace Leutnant von Lieres u Wilkau.
Recent research suggests that he may have been shot down by an American ace, Flight Lieutenant John H. Curry (RCAF; 7.5 claims), of 601 Sqn.
It returned briefly to North Africa, but was withdrawn from the theatre for the final time on 6 December 1942.