Lieutenant-General Gerhard "Gerd" Barkhorn (20 March 1919 – 8 January 1983) was the second most successful fighter ace of all time after fellow Luftwaffe pilot Erich Hartmann. He flew 1,104 combat sorties and was credited with 301 victories on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Red Air Force flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9. He flew with the famed Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) alongside fellow aces Hartmann and Günther Rall,...
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Lieutenant-General Gerhard "Gerd" Barkhorn (20 March 1919 – 8 January 1983) was the second most successful fighter ace of all time after fellow Luftwaffe pilot Erich Hartmann. He flew 1,104 combat sorties and was credited with 301 victories on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Red Air Force flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9. He flew with the famed Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) alongside fellow aces Hartmann and Günther Rall, and Jagdgeschwader 2.
Barkhorn joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 and completed his training in 1939. Barkhorn flew his first combat missions in May 1940, during the Battle of France and then the Battle of Britain without scoring a kill. Barkhorn scored his first victory in July 1941 and steadily built his personal score over the years against Soviet opposition. In March 1944 he was awarded the third highest award in the Wehrmacht when he received Knight's Cross, Oak Leaves and Swords for his 250 victory. Despite being the second highest scoring...
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