Heinrich Bär
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| Heinz Bär | |
|---|---|
| 21 March 1913 - 28 April 1957 | |
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| Nickname | Pritzl or Reeste |
| Place of birth | Sommerfeld |
| Place of death | Braunschweig |
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Years of service | 1935-1945 |
| Rank | Oberst (Colonel) |
| Unit | JG 51, JG 77, JGr. Süd, JG 1, JG 3, EJG 2 and JV 44 |
| Commands | 12./JG 51, I.JG 77, JGr. Süd, II./JG 1, JG 3, III./EJG 2 and JV 44 |
| Awards | Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub und Schwerten |
Heinz "Pritzl" Bär (21 March 1913 - 28 April 1957) was one of a few handful of Luftwaffe German fighter aces who served with the Luftwaffe through the whole of World War II. He had a total of 221 victories,[1] fighting in all the major German theaters of war, including ETO, MTO and the Eastern Front. He was shot down 18 times during the course of flying about 1000 combat missions.
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[edit] Early life
Bär was born in Sommerfeld near Leipzig. In 1935 he joined the Reichswehr, later joined the Luftwaffe. In 1937 he became a transport aircraft pilot, mostly flying the Junkers Ju-52/3m. In 1938 Bär requested a transfer to fighters, and was posted to Jagdgeschwader 51, which was equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters, as an NCO transport pilot. At first he received unofficial training on the Bf 109E, before officially becoming a fighter pilot.
[edit] World War 2
Stationed on the border with France, Bär got his first victory on 25 September 1939 during the phoney war air skirmishes with the Allied air force. During the Battle of France he scored 2 more victories, and added 10 more during the Battle of Britain. During this time he had several emergency landings with a badly damaged plane, and was also shot down over the English Channel on 2 September 1940. Even at this early stage of his combat career Bär showed an often blatant disregard for higher authority, a trait that would land the young ace in trouble numerous times. In the spring of 1941 he scored additional 4 victories against the Royal Air Force bringing his total to 17.
In 1941 JG 51 was transferred east to take part in Operation Barbarossa. As most skilled German pilots, Bär had a field day against the inexperienced pilots of the Soviet Air Force and his tally rose to 27. He was promoted to Leutnant and awarded the Ritterkreuz on 2 July. On 14 August he was awarded the Eichenlaub to his Ritterkreuz for 60 victories, and on 30 August he became a "ace in one day" by shooting down 6 Soviet aircraft. He was also promoted to Oberleutnant.
In early 1942 Bär was promoted to Hauptmann, appointed Staffelkapitän of 12./JG 51,[2] and received the Schwerten to his Ritterkreuz on 16 February as his tally rose to 90. In early May Bär was transferred to take command over I./JG 77, commanded by Gordon Gollob, to support the hard fighting over the Kerch straits on the Crimean peninsula. The JG 77 led by such able experten as Bär and Gollob, "took over" the air space over the Kerch-Taman area. With Gollob a disciplinarian pro-Nazi and Bär being anti-authoritarian, there was mutual animosity between the two aces and an intense rivalry ensued. By end of May Bär's score had risen to 103.
In June JG 77 was moved to the Mediterranean area. At first it took part in the air battles over Malta, later it was relocated to Tunisia. In Tunisia Bär 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 Commander Oberst Johannes Steinhoff he was transferred to France "for cowardice before the enemy" in the summer of 1943. He took over command of a operational training unit, Jagdgruppe Süd.
In early 1944 Bär, now a Major, was given command of II./JG 1. JG 1 was tasked with Reichsverteidigung (Defence of the Reich) and equipped with the Focke Wulf 190 A-7 fighter. In June he was promoted to Oberstleutnant and appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 3. During 1944 Bär's score rose to 203.
Bär's 204th and 205th victories were achieved on 1 January 1945 during Operation Bodenplatte, a Luftwaffe mass attack against Allied airfields in the Benelux area. The operation resulted in hundreds of aircraft lost on both sides. Bär's JG 3 raided Eindhoven in Holland shooting down about half a dozen RAF fighters and destroying many aircraft on the ground.
In February Bär was transferred to command the Jet fighter training unit III./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 Boeing B-17 and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, bringing his score to 217. On 23 April Bär transferred to the elite Jet Experten unit JV 44, led by Adolf Galland. On 26 April he assumed command of the unit when Galland was wounded. With the JV 44 he scored the final 4 victories (3 P-47s and 1 Mosquito), bringing his total to 221. All told he had 16 victories in the Me 262, making him the second most successful Jet Expert of the war. He finished the war as a Oberst.
During the war Bär had shot down a total of 124 Western Allied aircraft, second only to Hpt. Hans-Joachim Marseille with 158 claims.
[edit] After the war
Bär did various work as an aviation consultant, and was killed while performing aerobatics in a light plane LF-1 Zaunkönig over Braunschweig on 28 April 1957.
[edit] Awards
- Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber
- Eisernes Kreuz 2. and 1. Klasse (July 1940)
- Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern
- Ritterkreuz (2. July 1941)
- Eichenlaub (14. August 1941)
- Schwerter (16. February 1942)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Some older sources claims he got 220 victories, but 221 seems to be correct based on his log-book and personal file.
- ^ For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization
