Heinrich Bär Oskar - Heinz ( 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 all major German theaters of the war , including the Western , Eastern and Mediterranean fronts . On 18 occasions he survived being shot down , and he was credited with 220 or 221 aerial victories , around 16 of which were in a jet fighter . Bär , a Saxon with a strong accent , 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 kills , a feat that earned him the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern " ) for 90 aerial victories in February 1942 . During the remainder of World War II , Bär was credited with 130 other aerial victories , including 16 while flying one of the first jet fighters , the Me 262 , an achievement which would normally have earned him the coveted Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub , Schwertern und Brillanten " ) . Hermann Göring ' s personal dislike of Bär , coupled with Bär ' s insubordinate character and lack of military discipline , deprived him of this award . 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 near Leipzig in the Kingdom of Saxony , a federated state of the German Empire . His parents were farmers , and Bär initially 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 became a glider pilot and 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 Great Depression prevented Bär from gaining a civil pilot license . In 1934 , he joined the Reichswehr and was assigned to the " Kraftfahrabteilung 4 " as a mechanic . He served in this position until the following year , when he was transferred to a combat unit of the Luftwaffe . A few months later , he was accepted for pilot training , receiving his transport aircraft pilot ' s license in 1937 . 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 . 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 ) , earning him the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 27 September 1939 . During the Battle of France , he is credited with two more aerial victories before adding a further ten during the Battle of Britain . During this time , he had several emergency landings with badly damaged planes 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 , a trait that frequently landed him in trouble . In early 1941 , he is credited with an additional four aerial victories against the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) , bringing his total to 17 . Eastern front . In June 1941 , JG 51 was transferred East to take part in Operation Barbarossa . JG 51 at the time was part of the II . " Fliegerkorps " , operating in the central sector of the Eastern front . Bär claimed five aerial victories on 30 June 1941 , bringing his total to 22 . On this 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 Colonel ( " Oberst " ) Werner Mölders , with 82 aerial victories , surpassed Manfred von Richthofen in number of victories . 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 ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) on 2 July , followed by his promotion to First Lieutenant ( " Oberleutnant " ) on 1 August 1941 . On 14 August , he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub " ) for 60 victories , and on 30 August he became an " ace in one day " by shooting down six Soviet aircraft . On 31 August , Bär was shot down some behind Soviet lines , near Novgorod - Seversky . He suffered back injuries while bailing out , but managed to walk back to the German lines ; his wounds necessitated a lengthy hospital treatment . Bär was promoted to Captain ( " Hauptmann " ) in late 1941 and appointed Squadron Leader of 12 . / JG 51 in early 1942 . His long time wingman at the time was Heinrich Hoffmann . He received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern " ) on 16 February as his tally rose to 90 . This achievement was mentioned in the daily " Wehrmachtbericht " ( daily report by the High Command of the German Armed Forces regarding the military situation on all fronts ) on 12 February 1942 , his first of three references during the course of the war . 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 ; JG 77 was tasked with supporting the hard fighting over the Kerch straits on the Crimean peninsula . Led by the flying ace s ( " 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 ; his victory total now stood at 103 . 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 . A book was published about Bär in 1942 with the title " Und so wuchsen ihm Flügel " - " And thus he grew wings " . Mentioning his early interest in flying and his somewhat atypical career in the Luftwaffe with his changing from transport units to fighter pilot , it treated his participation in the West and in Russia . His being awarded the Swords and his deployment in the Mediterranean are mentioned in the epilogue . Mediterranean theatre . In June 1942 , JG 77 was moved to the Mediterranean theater and took part in the air battles over Malta before relocating to Tunisia and participating in the North African Campaign . After Bär achieved his 149th aerial victory , General Hans - Jürgen von Arnim submitted him for the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub , Schwertern und Brillanten " ) . " Reichsmarschall " Hermann Göring ignored this request , denying Bär the " Diamonds " . The reason for this remains uncertain , but it is believed that Göring disliked Bär for his insubordinate character and strong Saxon dialect , which Göring was known to detest . Bär and his I . Gruppe of JG 77 operated from Fatnassa , Tunisia , in early March 1943 . On 1 March , Bär claimed a Spitfire shot down , then in the evening met Galland , who was making a surprise visit to I . / JG 77 . Galland was greeted by " Major " Joachim Müncheberg , who introduced Bär to Galland . Thus began a comradeship which outlasted World War II . Over North Africa and the Mediterranean theater , Bär had increased his tally to 179 , but , fighting a losing battle against ever - increasing Allied air superiority , Bär lost his fighting spirit , and suffered severe mental and physical exhaustion . After several arguments with JG 77 ' s new Commander Colonel Johannes Steinhoff and Hermann Göring , in mid - 1943 Bär was transferred to France " for cowardice before the enemy " and demoted to Squadron Leader . He took over command of an operational training unit , Jagdgruppe Süd . Defense of the Reich . His combat skills were hard to overlook and hence Bär was transferred to II . / Jagdgeschwader 1 ( JG 1 ) on 21 January 1944 as an ordinary pilot . He was assigned to 6 . / JG 1 . Jagdgeschwader 1 ( JG 1 ) Wing Commander ( " Geschwaderkommodore " ) Colonel Walter Oesau welcomed him with a reminder that he had promised Oberkommando der Luftwaffe ( OKL ) Göring that Bär would not be given any command responsibilities . Although Bär accepted this with humor , he later commented to others that in the air he was the " Kommodore of his own crate " . On 15 March 1944 , Bär , now a " Major " and rehabilitated from the demotion , was given command of II . / Jagdgeschwader 1 ( JG 1 ) . This was after the death of Hauptmann Hermann Segatz on 8 March 1944 . JG 1 was tasked with " Reichsverteidigung " ( Defense of the Reich ) and equipped with the Focke Wulf 190 A - 7 fighter . Morale of the group soared following his appointment . He was considered the unofficial leader of the group and the best officer in the entire " Geschwader " . On 11 April 1944 , Bär achieved his 199th aerial victory over a B - 17 Flying Fortress near Fallersleben . His 200th aerial victory , a B - 24 Liberator , was claimed on 22 April accompanied by his regular wingman Warrant Officer ( " Oberfeldwebel " ) Leo Schuhmacher , who would be awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 March 1945 as a fighter pilot in II . / JG 1 . Bär had just landed at Störmede airfield from a II . / JG 1 intercept when a smoking United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) B - 24 of the 458th Bombardment Group passed overhead . Bär and his wingman quickly got into their aircraft and intercepted the B - 24 . The bomber ' s gunners had already bailed out of the aircraft , making it an easy aerial victory . Bär returned to Störmede airfield to the congratulations of his men . This double century victory earned Bär his third and final reference in the " Wehrmachtbericht " on 24 April 1944 . After Oesau ' s death on 11 May 1944 , Bär was made acting Wing Commander of JG 1 . In June , he was appointed Wing Commander of Jagdgeschwader 3 ( JG 3 ) following the death of Friedrich - Karl Müller . By the end of 1944 , Bär ' s score had risen to 203 . Bär ' s 204th and 205th victories , against two Hawker Typhoon s , were achieved on 1 January 1945 during " Unternehmen Bodenplatte " , a Luftwaffe mass attack against Allied airfields in the Benelux area . The operation resulted in hundreds of aircraft losses on both sides . Bär ' s JG 3 contributed by raiding Eindhoven in the Netherlands , shooting down about six RAF fighters and destroying many aircraft on the ground . One of Bär ' s ' aerial kills ' may not have been airborne . Historian Norman Franks states both aircraft , from No . 438 Squadron RAF , were taxiing when hit . Flight Lieutenant Pete Wilson was wounded and later died from his injuries after Bär ' s strafing attack . The second Typhoon did get airborne . Its pilot , Flight Officer Ross Keller was killed . This version of events is contradicted by a witness , Pilot Officer ' Bill ' Harle , who thought both aircraft were airborne . Combat in the Me 262 . In February , Bär was transferred to command the jet fighter training unit III . / Ergänzungs - Jagdgeschwader 2 ( EJG 2 ) . In March , the unit was equipped with the Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter and sent into battle . Bär shot down 13 enemy aircraft , many of them heavy bombers like the B - 17 and the B - 24 , bringing his score to 217 . On 23 April , Bär transferred to the elite " Jet Experten " unit Jagdverband 44 ( JV 44 ) , led by Adolf Galland . On 26 April , he assumed command of the unit when Galland was wounded . Bär possibly flew his first operational sortie with JV 44 on 27 April 1945 . Flying the Me 262 A - 1 / U5 , a six MK 108 cannon prototype , he was accompanied by " Major " Wilhelm Herget and the non - commissioned officer NCO ( " Unteroffizier " ) Franz Köster when the trio engaged American fighters over Riem ; Bär claimed one aerial victory . While not flying operationally , Bär spent most of his time giving hasty instruction to the new pilots still being assigned to JV 44 . With JV 44 , he achieved his final four aerial victories ( 3 P - 47s and 1 Mosquito ) on 28 April , bringing his total to 220 . All told , he had achieved 16 victories in the Me 262 , making him the second most successful " Jet Expert " of the war , which he finished as a Lieutenant Colonel ( " Oberstleutnant " ) . During the final days of the Second World War in Europe , Lieutenant General ( " Generalleutnant " ) Adolf Galland attempted to surrender JV 44 to American forces from his hospital bed . At the same time Air General ( " General der Flieger " ) Karl Koller had ordered JV 44 to relocate to Prague and continue fighting . Bär , as a Galland loyalist , attempted to ignore the order . Bär was further pressured to relocate JV 44 when Major General ( " Generalmajor " ) Dietrich Peltz , commander of " IX . Fliegerkorps " , and Colonel Hajo Herrmann , commander of 9 . Flieger - Division ( J ) , unexpectedly emerged at the control room in Maxglan on 2 May 1945 . A heated and violent dispute erupted between Bär , Peltz and Herrmann , witnessed by Walter Krupinski . He later recalled that Bär responded with " Yes , sir , but we are under the command of " Generalleutnant " Galland , and I will only follow orders of " Generalleutnant " Galland ! " — a final act of disobedience that Krupinski believed could have led to Bär being shot for insubordination . In the early morning hours of 4 May 1945 , Bär gathered the pilots of JV 44 for a final briefing . Bär ordered the remaining Me 262 destroyed before going into captivity and interrogation by US Intelligence officers of the 1st Tactical Air Force ' s Air Prisoner of War Interrogation Unit , based at Heidelberg . After the war . Bär did not return to his home in Sommerfeld after World War II . He settled in Braunschweig , where he continued his career in aviation , including a lead position for motor - powered flight with the " Deutscher Aero Club " . He also worked as a consultant and test pilot in the field of sport aviation , testing aircraft before they went on the market . On 28 April 1957 , while conducting a routine flight - check in a light aircraft , a LF - 1 Zaunkönig , Bär put the aircraft into a flat spin , the final manoeuvre in the test process . The aircraft spun down to then , unable to regain control , Bär was killed in the resulting crash at Braunschweig - Waggum . Summary of career . Heinrich Bär , call sign " Bussard 1 " , flew more than 1 , 000 combat missions . His 220 confirmed aerial victories place him eighth on the overall list of " Experten " . His claim of 124 aerial victories over Western - flown aircraft is second only to Hans - Joachim Marseille ' s total of 158 ; almost all of the latter ' s victories occurred in Africa . He achieved four victories during the Battle of France , 13 during the Battle of Britain and 61 over Libya and Tunisia . On the Eastern front he had claimed 96 aerial victories . At least 75 of his victories had been claimed against British - and American - flown aircraft over Europe , 16 of these while flying the Me 262 jet fighter . Also among these 75 aerial victories are 21 US heavy bombers and one Mosquito . Bär crash - landed or bailed out 18 times and was wounded three times in combat . Awards . Three times Heinz Bär was recommended for the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds . All three commendations were denied by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring . Bär shot down a further 130 enemy aircraft after he had received the " Swords " .