Gerhard Barkhorn 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 . 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 an aerial victory — that is an aerial combat encounter resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft . His first victory came in July 1941 and his total rose steadily against Soviet opposition . In March 1944 he was awarded the third highest decoration in the " Wehrmacht " when he received the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( " Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern " ) for 250 aerial victories . Despite being the second highest scoring pilot in aviation history , Barkhorn was not awarded the Diamonds to his Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords after achieving his 300th victory on 5 January 1945 . Barkhorn flew 1 , 104 combat sorties and was credited with 301 victories on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Red Air Force piloting the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke - Wulf Fw 190D - 9 . He flew with the famed " Jagdgeschwader 52 " ( JG 52 — Fighter Wing 52 ) , alongside fellow aces Hartmann and Günther Rall , and " Jagdgeschwader 2 " ( JG 2 ) . Less than two weeks later he left JG 52 on the Eastern Front and joined " Jagdgeschwader 3 " ( JG 3 ) , defending Germany from Western Allied air attack . Barkhorn survived the war and was taken prisoner by the Western Allies in May 1945 and released later that year . After the war Barkhorn joined the " Bundesluftwaffe " , serving until 1976 . On 6 January 1983 , Barkhorn was involved in a car accident with his wife Christl . She died instantly and Gerhard died two days later on 8 January 1983 . Early life . Gerhard Barkhorn was born in Königsberg , Prussia on 20 March 1919 . He joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 as a " Fahnenjunker " , and started his pilot training in March 1938 . Upon completion of his pilot education , he was commissioned as a " Leutnant " and posted to a " Staffel " in Jagdgeschwader 2 " Richthofen " , a unit with old traditions from World War I , in early 1940 . He was flight trained by Franz Stigler , who would later become a Luftwaffe ace himself . World War II . Early war . Barkhorn flew his first combat sorties over Belgium and France during the Battle of France and later over southern England during the Battle of Britain , flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109E . On 1 August 1940 Barkhorn was transferred to 6 . / Jagdgeschwader 52 ( JG 52 ) . He did not have any success , although he flew some 21 combat sorties and was shot down in the English Channel on 29 October by RAF fighters . Shortly thereafter he was rewarded with the " Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse " ( Iron Cross First Class ) . In the " Staffel " , he flew alongside another promising pilot , Hans - Joachim Marseille . Eastern Front . In 1941 JG 52 was transferred to the east and participated in Operation " Barbarossa " , the invasion of the Soviet Union , on 21 June 1941 . Subsequently , Gerhard Barkhorn scored his first victory by shooting down a Red Air Force DB - 3 bomber on 2 July , flying his 120th combat sortie . This success seemed to have a reassuring effect on Barkhorn , who had finally found his ' shooting eye ' . By November his tally had reached 10 victories and he was promoted to " Oberleutnant " on 11 November 1941 . On 21 May 1942 Barkhorn was appointed " Staffelkapitän " of 4 . / JG 52 . He continued to add to his score over the next year , until on 19 July when he became " ace in one day " by shooting down six aircraft in his Bf 109 F . He was wounded on 25 July and put out of action for two months , returning to combat in October . During July 1942 Barkhorn had destroyed 30 Soviet aircraft . On 23 August he received the " Ritterkreuz " for having shot down a total of 59 aircraft . After a two - month break from the front he returned to action in early October . By 19 December 1942 Barkhorn had raised his score to 101 victories . On 9 January 1943 Barkhorn claimed his 105th kill . His victims included Lieutenant Vasiliyev , and Hero of the Soviet Union " Podpolkovnik " Lev Shestakov of the 236 IAP Fighter Regiment . Barkhorn strafed their Yakovlev Yak - 1 fighters until they caught fire . Both pilots survived . Barkhorn was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight ' s Cross on 11 January 1943 . Barkhorn , now a " Hauptmann " , was appointed " Gruppenkommandeur " of II . / JG 52 on 1 September 1943 . On 5 September he shot down and killed Hero of the Soviet Union and Soviet fighter ace Nikolay Klepikov , an ace with 10 personal and 32 shared victories . This was offset by the loss of II . / JG 52 ' s 173 - kill ace " Oberleutnant " Heinz Schmidt . The two Lavochkin La - 5 s shot down by Barkhorn were his 165th and 166th aerial victories . Barkhorn reached the 200 mark on 30 November 1943 . The main German fighter unit covering the Crimea and Kuban was his II . / JG 52 and in the three months between December 1943 and 13 February 1944 the unit claimed 350 victories , of which 50 were claimed by Barkhorn personally . On 13 February 1944 he reached 250 victories , prompting a price being put on his head by the Red Air Force . He had claimed 15 victories in September , 23 in November and 28 in December , including seven on 28 December alone . On 2 March 1944 he was awarded the Swords to his Knight ' s Cross . He attended the wedding of fellow ace Erich Hartmann as best man . Barkhorn was promoted to major on 1 May 1944 . On 31 May , on 273 victories , he was shot down by Soviet P - 39 Airacobra s . Flying his sixth mission of that day he intercepted some Soviet bombers but failed to notice the escorting fighters . His Bf 109G - 6 was severely damaged and despite severe wounds to his right shoulder and leg he managed to crash - land behind his own lines , but was hospitalized for four months . It has not been possible to identify the Soviet pilot who shot him down , but it was not , as some sources suggest , high scoring Soviet ace Aleksandr Pokryshkin who was not in the area at the time . Eventually returning to his unit the psychological damage and combat stress on Barkhorn became apparent ; sitting in his cockpit he became overcome with anxiety , and even when flying with friendly aircraft behind him he felt intense fear . It took several weeks for him to overcome this condition . Returning to combat in October he claimed his 275th victory on 14 November . Over the next few weeks Barkhorn added another 26 kills , scoring his 301st ( and final ) victory on 5 January 1945 . Defense of the Reich . On 16 January 1945 Barkhorn was assigned as " Geschwaderkommodore " to Jagdgeschwader 6 ( JG 6 ) , a unit assigned to defend the Reich and equipped with the Focke - Wulf Fw 190 D ( although he preferred to retain his Bf 109G as well ) . JG 6 was a unit consisting mostly of new recruits and former Bf - 110 pilots ; it suffered heavy losses against the American air fleets . Barkhorn did not last long in this position and was forced to take a medical absence because of severe physical and mental strain . After his hospitalization Barkhorn was invited by Adolf Galland to join the elite Jagdverband 44 ( JV 44 ) flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet - fighter . He found flying the Me 262 over the western front difficult and he did not score any victories in it . On 21 April 1945 , he flew his 1104th and last mission . One of the engines of his aircraft flamed out as he was approaching an enemy bomber formation and he was forced to make an emergency landing . As he approached the airfield , his jet was attacked by several prowling P - 51 fighters ; Barkhorn managed to land his burning plane though he received a slight wound as a result of this action when the cockpit canopy - which he slid back prior to crash landing - slammed forward on his neck . Taken prisoner by the Western Allies while still in hospital , he was released from Allied captivity in September 1945 . Barkhorn claimed 301 victories in 1 , 104 operational sorties . His total included 110 Yak fighters , 87 LaGG fighters , 21 Il - 2s and 12 twin - engined medium bombers . He was shot down 9 times , bailed out once and was wounded 3 times . After the war . Barkhorn joined the Bundesluftwaffe in 1956 , rose to command JaboG 31 " Boelcke " . Barkhorn later served as second in command of the U . S . , British and German " Tripartite " Kestrel evaluation squadron . He retired in 1976 with the rank of " Generalleutnant " . On 6 January 1983 , during a winter storm on an autobahn near Cologne , he and his wife Christl were involved in a car accident ; his wife died instantly and Barkhorn died in hospital on 8 January 1983 . They were buried in Tegernsee , Bavaria . Notes . Footnotes . For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designations , see Luftwaffe Organization