Here Is the Shocking Story of Nazi Germany's Greatest Fighter Ace. Barkhorn’s career in the post-war Bundeswehr is also examined, Colonel Barkhorn commanded JaBoG 31 “Boelcke,” and flew many types of Jets in the new Luftwaffe from the F-84g, the T-6 and T-33 as well as the Hunter and Kestrel harrier prototype as well as the sleek F-104G.

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.

Such thoughts come to mind when you read the biography of one of the most famous German pilot-aces, whose name is Gerhard Barkhorn. Despite the fact that Gerhard Barkhorn scored a total of 301 victories while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52 on the Eastern Front, making him the second most successful fighter pilot of the Second World War after Erich Hartmann, today he is almost forgotten. Here Is the Shocking Story of Nazi Germany's Greatest Fighter Ace Germany was in the act of formally surrendering to the Soviets and the Western Allies, so occupying Red Army troops in the eastern German town of Brunn were not expecting to witness what may have been World War II’s last dogfight over Europe.

The most interesting and sad part of this story in JV44 was the accident of Oberst Steiner and the failure of Barkhorn to regain his form and strength of mind that saw him as the second highest ace of the war on the German … 1. Gerhard Barkhorn Major. US versus German aces - by MK2 The reason the Luftwaffe scores where higher is because they had more opportunity but not exactly because of more targets (although that is true as well) but rather more missions. The German war hero had 168 confirmed and 195 unconfirmed kills in World War II. It also contains colour profiles of every aircraft flown by Barkhorn. USAAF Aces were rotated out after 60 (most of the time) Hartmann and Barkhorn flew over 1000 combat sorties. The List of Top 7 German Panzer Aces. All the factors that created opportunities for aces to pile up huge scores came together for German Luftwaffe pilots on the Russian Front. Erich Hartmann scored 352; Gerhard Barkhorn 301; Günther Rall 275; Otto Kittel 267; and Walter Nowotny 258. In May 1944, Barkhorn was badly wounded and while convalescing, his rival, Erich Hartmann, surpassed him in the victory count. He was released that September.

Despite Gerhard Barkhorn scoring 301 kills while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52 on the Eastern Front (making him the second most successful fighter pilot of the Second World War after Erich Hartmann) but today he is almost unknown. Like Hartmann, Rall, Steinhoff, Krupinski, Galland and other German war aces, in 1956 Barkhorn enlisted in the revitalized Bundesluftwaffe, the West German Federal Air Force. The Forgotten Ace (Das vergessene As) is a book that examines all aspects of this fighter ace.

Take a look below for 27 more weird and interesting facts about Gerhard Barkhorn. German 044180 - THE FORGOTTEN ACE: Fighter Pilot Gerhard Barkhorn (German/English text) By Bernd Barbas. On his return to combat, Barkhorn flew missions with Hartmann over Hungary but was never able regain his title as the highest scoring ace. Gerhard Barkhorn (Königsberg, 20 marzo 1919 – Tegernsee, 6 gennaio 1983) è stato il secondo maggiore asso dell'aviazione della storia dopo Erich Hartmann, nonché l'unico, assieme allo stesso Hartmann, ad aver abbattuto più di trecento aerei nemici. 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.Other than Hartmann, Barkhorn is the only fighter ace to ever exceed 300 confirmed victories. 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. Oberst Gerhard Barkhorn Germany WW2 ace He is one of the old stagers of the combat Luftwaffe, with experience extending from the Battle of Britain to the very eve of Germany's collapse. Gerhard Barkhorn was born on 20 May 1919 at Königsberg in East Prussia. Barkhorn and the remaining pilots were playing cards when American troops took over the field. On his return to combat, Barkhorn flew missions with Hartmann over Hungary but was never able regain his title as the highest scoring ace. General-locotenent Gerhard „Gerd” Barkhorn (n. 20 martie 1919, Königsberg, Imperiul German – d. 8 ianuarie 1983, Frechen, Germania) cu 301 victorii aeriene a fost cel de al doilea as de aviație cu cele mai multe victorii aeriene după colegul său din Luftwaffe pilotul Erich Hartmann.Barkhorn s-a înrolat în Luftwaffe în anul 1937 terminându-și perioada de pregătire ca pilot în 1939. He began his flying training in March 1938 in the pre-war Luftwaffe.