Born in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Schmidt volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1938.

He flew his first combat missions in the Battle of Britain and claimed his first aerial victory in the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

[1] From Easter 1930, he attended the Realgymnasium—a secondary school built on the mid-level Realschule to achieve the Abitur (university entry qualification)—in Bad Homburg and graduated in March 1938.

Aged 13, Schmidt joined the Hitlerjugend (HJ—Hitler Youth) where he attained the rank of Kameradschaftsführer (Comrade Unit Leader) and learned to fly glider aircraft.

From 9 October 1939 to 15 May 1940, Schmidt attended the Flugzeugführerschule A/B (flight school for the pilot license) at Plauen, Saxony.

[2] World War II in Europe had begun on 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland.

Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), commanded by Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Johannes Steinhoff.

Gruppe of JG 52 was, at that time, engaged in the Battle of Britain and was commanded by Hauptmann (Captain) Erich Woitke.

There, he was promoted to Obergefreiter (senior lance corporal) on 1 October and received the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2.

[2] In early November, JG 52 was withdrawn from combat operations and relocated to Germany to recuperate and replenish their aircraft.

The Geschwader returned to active service where Schmidt flew further defense of the Reich missions over the Netherlands from 27 December 1940 to 8 February 1941.

Gruppe of JG 52 was recalled from the Channel Front in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Staffel was moved to an airfield at Suwałki, close to the German-Soviet demarcation line negotiated in the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty.

Fliegerkorps commanded by Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen and supported the northern wing of Army Group Centre.

[9] On 12 August, Schmidt crash landed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 5541—factory number) near Saklinja, approximately 70 kilometers (43 mi) into enemy territory, and spent six days evading capture until able to get back to the German lines, and his unit.

[12] Schmidt claimed his fifth aerial victory on 25 August, a Polikarpov I-17 fighter aircraft shot down at 08:50 on a mission flown out of Spasskaya Polist, 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Novgorod.

[14][12] On 29 August, Schmidt claimed his seventh and eighth victory in quick succession when he shot down two Polikarpov I-15 fighter aircraft at 15:10 and 15:11.

On 26 November at 13:55, he shot down a DB-3 bomber, followed by a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3, also referred to as a I-301 by the Germans, the next day at 13:04 100 km (62 mi) south of Klin.

[19] On 22 December, JG 52 was withdrawn from combat operations for a period of recuperation and replenishment and was moved to Jesau near Königsberg, arriving on 16 January 1942.

The unit was deployed in ground fighting at Dugino, approximately 200 km (120 mi) west of Moscow, where it suffered heavy casualties.

Via multiple stopovers, the Gruppe was ordered to Zürichtal, present-day Solote Pole, a village near the urban settlement Kirovske in the Crimea.

The next day, Schmidt became an "ace-in-a-day" when he shot down seven LaGG-3s in combat over the outskirts of Stalingrad, taking his total to 82 aerial victories.

Staffel, near Stalingrad, after the Soviets had launched Operation Uranus that encircled Axis forces fighting in and near the city.

[34] He was shot down again behind Russian lines in mid-February, returning to friendly territory after a two-day trek across the frozen Sea of Azov minus one fur-lined flying boot and with a smashed shoulder and dislocated right arm.

Gruppe was made complete again, reuniting with all three Staffeln at a makeshift airfield named Karlowka located approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Poltava.

[39] These were his final claims before he was posted as missing in action after aerial combat near Markor, near Kotelva, that day.

His Bf 109 G-6 aircraft 'Yellow 7' (Werknummer 15903—factory number) was possibly shot down in error by Hungarian fighters operating in the same area.

Authors Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock state that the circumstances about his death remain unanswered.

They further speculate that the story about him having been shot down by friendly fighters could be a myth, created to uphold the illusion that he was killed undefeated by the enemy.