Gerhard Barkhorn

Gerhard "Gerd" Barkhorn (20 March 1919 – 11 January 1983) was a German military aviator who was a renowned wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II.

As a fighter ace, he was the second most successful fighter pilot of all time after fellow pilot Erich Hartmann.

Other than Hartmann, Barkhorn is the only fighter ace to ever exceed 300 claimed victories.

Following World War II, he became a high-ranking officer in the German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Born in the Weimar Republic in 1919, Barkhorn joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 and completed his training in 1939.

Barkhorn flew his first combat missions during the "Phoney War" and then the Battle of Britain without shooting down any aircraft.

Barkhorn was born on 20 March 1919 in Königsberg in the Free State of Prussia of the Weimar Republic.

Today it is Kaliningrad in Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea.

He was the third of four children of Stadtbauoberinspektor Tiefbautechniker im Straßenbau (inspector for road construction) Wilhelm and his wife Therese.

Barkhorn had two brothers, Helmut and Dieter, and a sister Meta.

The four children were all members of the Bündische Jugend, a German youth movement.

From 1925 to 1929, Barkhorn attended the Volksschule (primary school) in Königsberg and then the Wilhelms-Gymnasium, a secondary school, where he graduated with his Abitur (diploma) in early 1937.

On 1 April 1937, Barkhorn started his compulsory Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labour Service) with Arbeitsdienstabteilung 6/12, a labor service department, in Mehlkehmen, present-day Kalinino in Kaliningrad Oblast.

His Reichsarbeitsdienst ended on 30 September.

A month later, on 1 November, Barkhorn joined the military service in the Nazi German Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker (cadet) at the Air War School Klotzsche in Dresden.

He started his flight training in March 1938 at the Luftkriegsschule 2 at Gatow.

His classmates at Gatow included Julius Meimberg and Egon Mayer.

On 4 March, he made his maiden flight on a Heinkel He 72 biplane trainer.

Until 25 March, accompanied by his flight instructor, he flew up to nine times daily, flights of up to 60 minutes.

In December 1938, Barkhorn and the other flight students transferred from Dresden to the airfield at Garz on the island of Usedom.

On 6 December, Barkhorn made a crash landing in a Heinkel He 51 biplane fighter and sustained minor injuries.

The pilots for the first time flew a mock combat against one of the other pilots in January 1939.

In February, the students returned to Dresden where theoretical training was emphasized.

Prior to completing his training, Barkhorn was given home leave in the summer.

Flying with Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), he claimed his first victory in July 1941 and his total rose steadily against Soviet Air Forces.

In March 1942, Barkhorn was appointed squadron leader of 4.

Staffel (4th squadron) of JG 52 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in August 1942.

He was given command of II.

Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 52 in September 1943.

Barkhorn was awarded the second highest decoration in the Wehrmacht when he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for 250 aerial victories.

Barkhorn flew 1,104 combat sorties and was credited with 301 victories on the Eastern Front piloting the Messerschmitt Bf 109.

In January 1945, he left JG 52 on the Eastern Front and joined Jagdgeschwader 6 (JG 6—6th Fighter Wing) as Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander), defending Germany from Western Allied air attack.

In April 1945, he joined Galland's Jagdverband 44 (JV 44—44th Fighter Detachment) and surrendered to the Western Allies in May 1945 and was released later that year.

His first solo flight, his 68th in total, was flown on 29 March.

In April and May, he learned to fly the Focke-Wulf Fw 44 and Bücker Bü 131.

On 1 June, he began learning aerobatics on the Gotha Go 145.

One of his flight instructors at the time was Franz Stigler who initially thought that Barkhorn was a bad pilot but later graduated him with good ratings.

After the war, Barkhorn joined the German Air Force of the Bundeswehr, serving until 1975.

On 6 January 1983, Barkhorn was involved in a car crash with his wife Christl.

She died instantly and Barkhorn died five days later on 11 January.