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Gerhard Barkhorn
Sign in to saveGerman general and fighter pilot during World War II (1919–1983)
Key facts
- Nickname
- Gerd
- Born
- ( 1919-03-20 ) 20 March 1919, Königsberg , Prussia , Germany
- Died
- 11 January 1983 (1983-01-11) (aged 63), Frechen / Cologne , West Germany
- Buried
- Tegernsee
- Allegiance
- Nazi Germany West Germany
- Branch
- Luftwaffe ( Wehrmacht ) German Air Force ( Bundeswehr )
- Service years
- 1937–1945 1956–1975
- Rank
- Major ( Wehrmacht ) Generalmajor ( Bundeswehr )
- Unit
- JG 2 , JG 52 , JG 6 and JV 44
- Commands
- 4./JG 52, I./JG 52, II./JG 52, JG 6, JaboG 31 Boelcke
- Conflicts
- See battles World War II Battle of Britain Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa Operation Blue Operation Citadel Crimean Offensive (1944) Operation Bagration Defense of the Reich
- Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Gerhard
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Germany
- Place of birth
- Königsberg
- Place of death
- Frechen
- Occupation
- fighter pilot
- Languages spoken
- German
- Conflict
- World War II
- Military branch
- Luftwaffe
- Military rank
- major general
- Image
- 5-Luftwaffe-pilot-Major-Gerhard-Barkhorn-01.jpg
Show 8 more facts
- date of birth
- 1919-03-20
- date of death
- 1983-01-11
- manner of death
- accidental death
- Commons category
- Gerhard Barkhorn
- cause of death
- traffic collision
- allegiance
- Nazi Germany
- start of work period
- 1937-00-00
- end of work period
- 1975-00-00
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Gerhard "Gerd" Barkhorn (20 March 1919 – 11 January 1983) was a German military aviator who was a renowned wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was the second most successful fighter pilot of all time after fellow German Erich Hartmann. Other than Hartmann, Barkhorn is the only fighter ace to ever exceed 300 claimed victories. Following World War II, he became a high-ranking officer in the German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Born in the Weimar Republic in 1919, Barkhorn joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 and completed his training in 1939. Barkhorn flew his first combat missions during the "Phoney War" and then the Battle of Britain without shooting down any aircraft. Flying with Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), he claimed his first victory in July 1941 and his total rose steadily against the Soviet Air Forces. In March 1942, Barkhorn was appointed squadron leader of 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of JG 52 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in August 1942. He was given command of II. Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 52 in September 1943. Barkhorn was awarded the second highest decoration in the Wehrmacht when he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for 250 aerial victories.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gerhard Barkhorn” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.