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 German 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. Flying with Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), he claimed his first victory in July 1941 and his total rose steadily against the 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. 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.
Early life and career 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. 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.
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. Effective as of 1 August 1939, Barkhorn was promoted to Oberfähnrich (rank equivalent to master sergeant) and at the same time to the officer rank of Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 27 August. His training in Dresden ended that day.
World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland and Barkhorn was selected for specialized fighter pilot training. That day, Barkhorn was posted to the Jagdfliegerschule Schleißheim, the fighter pilot school at Schleißheim. Training began on the He 51, on 10 October, training progressed to the Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun single-engine sport and touring aircraft. Barkhorn first flew the Messerschmitt Bf 109 on the morning of 21 October. His first aerial gunnery training was flown on the He 51 on 7 November, scoring 20 out of 100 hits, a relatively poor performance. His next attempt, flown on 16 November was even worse, scoring only 10 out 100 hits on the target. Training in Schleißheim ended on 23 November with an aerial gunnery training on the Bf 109 and a navigation flight on the He 51. On 1 December, he was posted to the Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Merseburg, a supplementary training unit based at Merseburg. There, he received further training, particularly in formation flying. He made his last two flights in Merseburg on 7 January 1940, both aerial gunnery training on a Bf 109 B. His last flight was his 615th in total.
World War II Upon completion of his training, he was posted to 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) in Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), named after the World War I fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, on 10 January 1940. At the time, the squadron was based at Frankfurt-Rebstock Airfield and commanded by Hauptmann Henning Strümpell. The squadron was subordinated to I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 2 headed by Hauptmann Jürgen Roth.For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organisation of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The Gruppe was equipped with the Bf 109 E and flew combat air patrols along Germany's western border during the "Phoney War" period of World War II. In total, Barkhorn flew on 22 such missions with JG 2.
From 1 April until 30 June, Barkhorn was posted to Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 10 (10th Aviators Training Regiment) based in Pardubitz, present-day Pardubice in the Czech Republic, as a company commander. In June 1940, Barkhorn fell ill and was diagnosed with scarlet fever. He was sent to a hospital in Wildenschwert, present-day Ústí nad Orlicí in the Czech Republic. By July, he had fully recovered and on 1 July was posted to the 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of II. Gruppe. This squadron was commanded by Oberleutnant Johannes Steinhoff while the Gruppe was led by Hauptmann Horst-Günther von Kornatzki. Barkhorn conducted many training flights with 4. Staffel at Nordholz and Stade. Shortly after 18 August, he was transferred to 6. Staffel. His new Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) was Oberleutnant Werner Lederer. Lederer commanded the Staffel until 6 October when he was transferred and replaced by Oberleutnant Rudolf Resch. Flying from Peuplingues on 27 September, Barkhorn for the first time had enemy contact on a combat air patrol across the English Channel during the Battle of Britain. Near Maidstone and Chatham, the flight encountered Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters. He flew many fighter escort missions to England, including a long-range mission on 29 September for bombers from II. Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 2 (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing) targeting London. On 4 October, he helped escort bombers from I. Gruppe of LG 2, and again on the following day. Barkhorn flew two further missions in support of I. Gruppe of LG 2 on 5 October and three days later, he escorted II. Gruppe of LG 2 and fighter bombers to London. On 10 October, he flew a courier mission, taking documents to Rouen, Beaumont and Cherbourg, before returning to Peuplingues. On 11 and 12 October, Barkhorn flew two further missions to London. On 23 October 1940, for his service he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class ().
On 27 October, Barkhorn flew a further mission, escorting bombers of LG 2 to England. Two days later, on his 38th combat mission, Barkhorn encountered Supermarine Spitfires over the English Channel. His Bf 109 E-7 (Werknummer 5922—factory number) took numerous hits, forcing him to make an emergency landing in the English Channel. Floating in a small inflatable dinghy for two hours, he was rescued by the Seenotdienst, the German air-sea rescue service. Barkhorn flew again on 2 November. This was also the last day of operations for II. Gruppe before it returned to Germany. That day, II. Gruppe had also lost its commanding officer, Hauptmann Wilhelm Ensslen, who had led the Gruppe since 26 August and was killed in action. Ensslen was replaced by Hauptmann Erich Woitke. On 5 November, II. Gruppe moved to München Gladbach, present-day Mönchengladbach, for a period of rest and replenishment. On 3 December 1940, Barkhorn was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class ().
On 22 December, II. Gruppe was ordered to Leeuwarden Airfield where they were tasked with flying fighter patrols along the Dutch North Sea coast. On 15 January 1941, the Gruppe moved to Ypenburg Airfield where they stayed until 10 February. Barkhorn's 6. Staffel also used a forward airfield at Haamstede. From this airfield, Barkhorn flew many escort missions for German shipping. On 10 February, II. Gruppe moved to Berck-sur-Mer. From this airfield, the Gruppe again patrolled the English Channel and missions to England. Barkhorn flew two more patrols on 12 February. Three days later, he participated on a mission to Dover-Dungeness. On 6 March, II. Gruppe was ordered to Maldegem, where they were joined by Walter Krupinski, someone Barkhorn had befriended during training, having completed his training with the Ergänzungsgruppe. Until 24 March, Barkhorn flew further combat air patrols, mostly in the area of Ostend to Calais followed by a shipping escort mission on 27 March. On 15 April, the Gruppe moved again, this time to Raversijde. On 27 April, II. Gruppe was ordered to an airfield near Katwijk aan Zee, west-northwest of Leiden, where they received the new Bf 109 F variant. On 24 May, the Gruppe returned again to Raversijde. During this time, Barkhorn flew many training and patrol missions on the Bf 109 F-2 until 20 April when he received the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Silver (). II. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Channel on 9 June and headed east.
Operation Barbarossa
In preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe of JG 52, without a period of replenishment in Germany, was ordered to airfields close to the German-Soviet demarcation line. While the Gruppenstab (group headquarters unit) and 4. Staffel were based at Suwałki in northeastern Poland, 5. and 6. Staffel were transferred to a forward airfield at Sobolewo. For the invasion, II. Gruppe of JG 52 was subordinated to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). The Geschwader was part of the VIII. Fliegerkorps commanded by Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen which supported the northern wing of Army Group Centre.