Oskar-Heinrich "Pritzl" Bär (; 25 May 1913 – 28 April 1957) was a German Luftwaffe flying ace who served throughout World War II in Europe. Bär flew more than one thousand combat missions, and fought in the Western, Eastern and Mediterranean theatres. On 18 occasions he survived being shot down, and according to records in the German Federal Archives, he claimed to have shot down 228 enemy aircraft and was credited with 208 aerial victories, 16 of which were in a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Sources credit him with 220 – 96 on Eastern Theatre and 124 on Western Theatre – up to 222 aerial victories may also be possible.
Bär, a native of Saxony, joined the Reichswehr in 1934 and transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935. Serving first as a mechanic, then as a pilot on transport aircraft, he was informally trained as a fighter pilot. He claimed his first aerial victory in September 1939 on the French border. By the end of the Battle of Britain, his tally of victories had increased to 17. Transferred to the Eastern Front to participate in Operation Barbarossa, he quickly accumulated further victories, a feat that earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for 90 aerial victories in February 1942.
During the remainder of World War II, Bär was credited with 130 other aerial victories, an achievement which would normally have earned him the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. After World War II, Bär continued his career as an aviator. He was killed in a flying accident on 28 April 1957 near Braunschweig.
Early life Bär was born on 25 May 1913 in Sommerfeld, present-day part of Leipzig, in the Kingdom of Saxony, a federated state of the German Empire. His parents were farmers, and in 1916, his father was killed in action on the Western Front of World War I. Bär attended the Volksschule, a combined primary and lower secondary school, in Sommerfeld. Initially, he planned on taking over the family farm in Engelsdorf and following graduation attended the agriculture school in Wurzen. Aged 15, he became a glider pilot, joining the glider club on the "Schwarzer Berg" (Black Mountain) at Taucha. Bär then wanted to become a forester, for everything associated with wildlife and forests interested him. His first sight of a Junkers transport aircraft changed his mind and convinced him that he should become an aviator. As a teenager, he had ambitions to become an airline pilot with Deutsche Luft Hansa. He acquired the nickname Pritzl because of his affection for Pritzl candy bars.
The financial difficulties during the Great Depression prevented Bär from gaining a civil pilot license; three separate licenses were required by airlines. In 1934, he joined the Reichswehr and was assigned to the 3. Kompanie of Kraftfahrabteilung 4 (3rd Company of the 4th Motor Vehicle Battalion) as a mechanic. He served in this position until the following year, when he was transferred to a combat wing of the Luftwaffe. A few months later, he was accepted for pilot training, receiving his transport aircraft pilot's training.Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations. For pilots destined to fly multi-engine aircraft, the training was completed with the Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate (Erweiterter Luftwaffen-Flugzeugführerschein), also known as C-Certificate. From 1 November 1937 to 31 March 1938, Bär attended the flight school at Oldenburg and was then transferred to the flight school at Hildesheim. He was transferred again, attending the flight school at Ludwigslust where he attained his Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate (Erweiterter Luftwaffen-Flugzeugführerschein), also known as 'C'-Certificate, confirming proficiency on multi-engine aircraft, on 16 May 1938. Bär then attended the blind flying school Blindflugschule 2 (BFS 2—2nd blind flying school) at Neuburg an der Donau from 7 July to 14 August 1938. He was transferred to I./Jagdgeschwader 135, the core of the future Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51), on 1 September 1938, usually flying the Junkers Ju 86.For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Organisation of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The Squadron Leader (Staffelkapitän) Douglas Pitcairn noticed Bär's flying talents and tried to convince Bär to become a fighter pilot. Initially Bär refused, but after he illegally conducted some aerobatics in the Ju 86 leading to an engine failure, he reluctantly accepted and became a fighter pilot.
World War II Stationed on the border with France, Bär achieved his first victory—a Curtiss P-36 Hawk—on 25 September 1939 during the Phoney War air skirmishes with the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force). This earned him the Iron Cross 2nd Class () on 29 September 1939 which was presented to him by Hugo Sperrle. During the Battle of France, he was credited with two more aerial victories before adding a further 10 during the Battle of Britain and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class () on 6 July 1940. During this time, he had several emergency landings in badly damaged aircraft and was shot down over the English Channel on 2 September 1940 by a Spitfire. Bär was summoned to appear before Hermann Göring and report on this battle. When Göring asked him what he was thinking about while in the water, Bär immediately replied, "Your speech, Herr Reichsmarschall, in which you said that England is no longer an island!", alluding to an address that Göring had made before the German fighter pilots. Incidents like this are testimony to his often blatant disregard for higher authority. His outspokenness frequently landed him in trouble with Göring. In early 1941, he was credited with an additional four aerial victories against the Royal Air Force (RAF), bringing his total to 17.
Eastern Front In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, I. Gruppe relocated to Starawieś on 10 June. On the morning of 22 June, Bär and his wingman Oberfeldwebel Heinrich Höfemeier were escorting a damaged Heinkel He 111 over German lines when they made contact with 18 Tupolev SB bombers from the 39 SBAP (Skorostnoy Bombardirovohchnyy Aviatsionny Polk—high speed bomber aviation regiment) and 10 SAD (Smeshannaya Aviatsionnaya Diviziya—composite aviation regiment). The German pilots attacked; Höfemeier claimed four, Bär two—though the former was wounded in the arm. The Germans noted the vulnerability of the Soviet aircraft which lacked self-sealing fuel tanks and had a propensity to burst into flames. More JG 51 Bf 109s appeared and claimed six more. None of the 18 bombers returned home. Bär had achieved his 19th and 20th victories.
JG 51 at the time was part of Fliegerkorps II, operating in the central sector of the Eastern Front. Bär claimed five aerial victories on 30 June 1941, bringing his total to 22. On that day JG 51 was credited with 113 aerial victories in total, among them their 1,000th aerial victory—the first unit to reach this figure—and Oberst Werner Mölders, with 82 aerial victories, surpassed Manfred von Richthofen in number of victories. The Geschwader recorded 24 separate engagements in a 14-hour period and lost five Bf 109s. Bär's opponents included Ilyushin DB-3 bombers from the 42nd and 52nd DBA (Dal'me-Bombardirovochnaya Aviatsiya—long range aviation bomber regiment). Five Tupolev TB-3s from the 3rd TBAP were also claimed.
Within two weeks of combat against the Soviet Air Force, Bär's tally rose to 27, which earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 2 July, followed by his promotion to Oberleutnant on 1 August 1941. On 5 July, Bär or Mölders may also have shot down the Soviet fighter ace Podpolkovnik (Lieutenant Colonel) Stepan Suprun from the 401 IAP (Istrebitel'nyy Aviatsionyy Polk—fighter aviation regiment) and holder of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
Squadron leader On 20 July 1941, Bär was transferred to IV. Gruppe of JG 51 where he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 12. Staffel. He succeeded Hauptmann Karl-Gottfried Nordmann who had been placed in command of IV. Gruppe. Bär accounted for a Petlyakov Pe-2 on 23 July. Three were lost from the 411 BAP (Bombardirovochnyy Aviatsionyy Polk—bomber aviation regiment) operating under the OSNAZ (Osoboye Naznachenie—Special purpose-unit or task force). German pilots submitted three claims. On 9 August a SB bomber was claimed from a formation of eight belonging to the 57 BAP's 3rd Eskadrilya—five Soviet aircraft were shot down. Bär had achieved his 55th victory.
On 14 August, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () for achieving 60 victories, and on 30 August he became an "ace-in-a-day" by shooting down six Soviet aircraft. On 31 August, Bär was shot down in his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8318—factory number) by an Ilyushin Il-2 some northeast of Novgorod-Seversky, resulting in an emergency landing. He suffered injuries to his back and feet while bailing out. Bär evaded Soviet patrols which rushed to the crash site. Bär remained in hiding through to the following night. He turned his leather jacket inside-out and discarded his flying boots to present himself as a Russian peasant. Vanity prevented him from throwing away the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves and he hid the items. Bär eventually made it to German lines but aggravated his injuries and spent two months in hospital. During his convalescence, 12. Staffel was temporarily led by Leutnant Bernd Gallowitsch.
Bär was promoted to Hauptmann in late 1941 and appointed Squadron Leader of 12./JG 51 in early 1942. By late 1941, after Mölders (115), Lützow (100), Galland (96) and Gollob (85), Bär's 80 placed him among the leading pilots of the war. His longtime wingman at the time was Heinrich Hoffmann. From January he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (Group Commander) of IV Gruppe. At this time, JG 51 was only the second of two fighter groups that continued to operate the Bf 109E in winter 1941. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords () on 16 February as his tally rose to 90. This achievement was mentioned in the daily Wehrmachtbericht propaganda bulletin on 12 February 1942, his first of three references during the course of the war. Three months later he was referenced again.
On 11 May, Bär was transferred from IV./JG 51 on the Moscow front to take command of I. Gruppe of Gordon Gollob's Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77) flying wing. Bär replaced Herbert Ihlefeld who had been transferred. JG 77 was tasked with supporting the hard fighting in the Crimean Campaign over the Kerch Strait on the Crimean Peninsula. Led by the flying aces (Experten) Gollob and Bär, JG 77 took over the air space above Kerch-Taman as Gollob and Bär shot down two and three LaGG-3s respectively, raising Bär's victory total to 93. Mutual animosity between the two men, Gollob, a disciplinarian pro-Nazi, and Bär, an anti-authoritarian, ensured an intense rivalry. On 19 May 1942, Bär claimed five further aerial victories—including a Polikarpov R-5 in the morning and four Polikarpov I-16s in one afternoon mission: his victory total now stood at 103. He was the 9th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. That same day, Inspector of Fighters (General der Jagdflieger) Adolf Galland arrived to inspect Bär's I./JG 77 and JG 77 surpassed 2,000 victories. This flying achievement earned Bär a second mention in the daily Wehrmachtbericht on 20 May 1942.
Mediterranean theater