Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-649-5355-02, Jagdflugzeug Messerschmitt Me 109 auf Feldflugplatz

Gerhard "Gerd" Barkhorn (20 March 1919 – 11 January 1983) was a German military aviator and

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. As a

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, he was the second most successful fighter pilot of all time after fellow pilot

Erich Hartmann Erich Alfred Hartmann (19 April 1922 – 20 September 1993) was a German fighter pilot during World War II and the most successful fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. He flew 1,404 combat missions and participated in aerial com ...

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

List of aerial victories claimed

According to US historian

David T. Zabecki David T. Zabecki (born 1947) is an American military historian, author and editor. Zabecki served in the U.S. Army both in the Vietnam War and in United States Army Europe in Germany attaining the rank of major general. Zabecki holds PhDs in eng ...

, Barkhorn claimed 301 victories in 1,100 combat missions. He was shot down nine times, bailed out once and was wounded twice. Author Spick states his total number of combat missions was 1,104. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the

German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (german: Bundesarchiv) are the National Archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture and t ...

and found records for 300 aerial victory claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim. All of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 44793". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15

minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting (abbreviation MoM), protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a state ...

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

by 30 minutes of

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size. Barkhorn joined 6. '' Staffel'' (6th squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 18 August 1940. On 1 March 1942, Barkhorn was transferred and appointed ''

Staffelkapitän ''Staffelkapitän'' is a position (not a rank) in flying units ( ''Staffel'') of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a ''Staffelkapitän'' is of ''Oberstleutnant'' or ''Major'' rank. In the '' ...

'' (squadron leader) of 4. ''Staffel'' of JG 52. On 1 September 1943, Barkhorn was appointed ''

Gruppenkommandeur ''Gruppenkommandeur'' is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A ''Gruppenkommandeur'' usually has the rank of Major or ''Oberstleutnant'' (Lieutenant Colonel), and commands ...

'' (group commander) of II. '' Gruppe'' (2nd group) of JG 52.

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Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Refend Aerial victories of Barkhorn, Gerhard Barkhorn, Gerhard Aviation in World War II