List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients (R)

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry.

[Note 1] This number is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR).

Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht—the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe (Air Force)—as well as the Waffen-SS, the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD—Reich Labour Service) and the Volkssturm (German national militia).

The majority of the disputed recipients had been nominated for the award in 1945, when the deteriorating situation of Germany during the final days of World War II left a number of nominations incomplete and pending in various stages of the approval process.

[5] Scherzer has challenged the validity of 11 of these listings but also identified one additional legitimate recipient, Siegfried Rieger.

Heer members received 295 of the medals, including the additional recipient identified by Scherzer; 16 went to the Kriegsmarine, 98 to the Luftwaffe, and 39 to the Waffen-SS.

A silver framed black cross that has arms which are narrow at the center, and broader at the perimeter. In the middle of the cross is a swastika, an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles. On the lower arm of the cross are the number 1939 engraved. The cross is connected to a ribbon with a silver clip. The ribbon has a red central stripe, flanked in white and with a black edge stripe.