Upon completion of his training, he was posted to 3.
Staffel (3rd squadron) in
Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), named after the World War I fighter pilot
Manfred von Richthofen, on 10 January 1940. At the time, the squadron was based at
Frankfurt-Rebstock Airfield and commanded by
Hauptmann Henning Strümpell. The squadron was subordinated to I.
Gruppe (1st group) of JG 2 headed by
Hauptmann Jürgen Roth. The
Gruppe was equipped with the Bf 109 E and flew combat air patrols along Germany's western border during the "
Phoney War" period of World War II. In total, Barkhorn flew on 22 such missions with JG 2. From 1 April until 30 June, Barkhorn was posted to
Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 10 (10th Aviators Training Regiment) based in
Pardubitz, present-day Pardubice in the Czech Republic, as a company commander. In June 1940, Barkhorn fell ill and was diagnosed with
scarlet fever. He was sent to a hospital in
Wildenschwert, present-day Ústí nad Orlicí in the Czech Republic. By July, he had fully recovered and on 1 July was posted to the 4.
Staffel of
Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of II.
Gruppe. This squadron was commanded by
Oberleutnant Johannes Steinhoff while the
Gruppe was led by
Hauptmann Horst-Günther von Kornatzki. Barkhorn conducted many training flights with 4.
Staffel at
Nordholz and
Stade. Shortly after 18 August, he was transferred to 6.
Staffel. His new
Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) was
Oberleutnant Werner Lederer. Lederer commanded the
Staffel until 6 October when he was transferred and replaced by
Oberleutnant Rudolf Resch. Flying from
Peuplingues on 27 September, Barkhorn for the first time had enemy contact on a
combat air patrol across the
English Channel during the
Battle of Britain. Near
Maidstone and
Chatham, the flight encountered
Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters. He flew many
fighter escort missions to England, including a long-range mission on 29 September for bombers from II.
Gruppe of
Lehrgeschwader 2 (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing) targeting
London. On 4 October, he helped escort bombers from I.
Gruppe of LG 2, and again on the following day. Barkhorn flew two further missions in support of I.
Gruppe of LG 2 on 5 October and three days later, he escorted II.
Gruppe of LG 2 and fighter bombers to London. On 10 October, he flew a courier mission, taking documents to Rouen, Beaumont and Cherbourg, before returning to Peuplingues. On 11 and 12 October, Barkhorn flew two further missions to London. On 23 October 1940, for his service he was awarded the
Iron Cross 2nd Class (). On 27 October, Barkhorn flew a further mission, escorting bombers of LG 2 to England. Two days later, on his 38th combat mission, Barkhorn encountered
Supermarine Spitfires over the English Channel. His Bf 109 E-7 (
Werknummer 5922—factory number) took numerous hits, forcing him to make an
emergency landing in the English Channel. Floating in a small inflatable
dinghy for two hours, he was rescued by the
Seenotdienst, the German
air-sea rescue service. Barkhorn flew again on 2 November. This was also the last day of operations for II.
Gruppe before it returned to Germany. That day, II.
Gruppe had also lost its commanding officer,
Hauptmann Wilhelm Ensslen, who had led the
Gruppe since 26 August and was
killed in action. Ensslen was replaced by
Hauptmann Erich Woitke. On 5 November, II.
Gruppe moved to
München Gladbach, present-day Mönchengladbach, for a period of rest and replenishment. On 3 December 1940, Barkhorn was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (). On 22 December, II.
Gruppe was ordered to
Leeuwarden Airfield where they were tasked with flying fighter patrols along the Dutch
North Sea coast. On 15 January 1941, the
Gruppe moved to
Ypenburg Airfield where they stayed until 10 February. Barkhorn's 6.
Staffel also used a forward airfield at
Haamstede. From this airfield, Barkhorn flew many escort missions for German shipping. On 10 February, II.
Gruppe moved to
Berck-sur-Mer. From this airfield, the
Gruppe again patrolled the English Channel and missions to England. Barkhorn flew two more patrols on 12 February. Three days later, he participated on a mission to
Dover-
Dungeness. On 6 March, II.
Gruppe was ordered to
Maldegem, where they were joined by
Walter Krupinski, someone Barkhorn had befriended during training, having completed his training with the
Ergänzungsgruppe. Until 24 March, Barkhorn flew further combat air patrols, mostly in the area of
Ostend to
Calais followed by a shipping escort mission on 27 March. On 15 April, the
Gruppe moved again, this time to
Raversijde. On 27 April, II.
Gruppe was ordered to an airfield near
Katwijk aan Zee, west-northwest of
Leiden, where they received the new Bf 109 F variant. On 24 May, the
Gruppe returned again to Raversijde. During this time, Barkhorn flew many training and patrol missions on the Bf 109 F-2 until 20 April when he received the
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Silver (). II.
Gruppe was withdrawn from the Channel on 9 June and headed east.
Operation Barbarossa In preparation of
Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II.
Gruppe of JG 52, without a period of replenishment in Germany, was ordered to airfields close to the German-Soviet
demarcation line. While the
Gruppenstab (group headquarters unit) and 4.
Staffel were based at
Suwałki in northeastern Poland, 5. and 6.
Staffel were transferred to a forward airfield at
Sobolewo. For the invasion, II.
Gruppe of JG 52 was subordinated to the
Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of
Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). The
Geschwader was part of the
VIII. Fliegerkorps commanded by
Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen which supported the northern wing of
Army Group Centre. On 22 June, the German forces launched the attack on the Soviet Union which opened the
Eastern Front. That day, Barkhorn flew five combat missions in support of the invasion. On his third mission, he was credited with a ground victory over a
Polikarpov I-15 fighter aircraft during a
strafing attack on a Soviet airfield. Barkhorn claimed his first aerial victory by shooting down a
Red Air Force Ilyushin DB-3 bomber on 2 July, flying his 120th combat sortie. That day, II.
Gruppe claimed 19 aerial victories in combat near
Barysaw. The next day, II.
Gruppe moved further east to an airfield at Sloboda, east of
Minsk where they stayed for two days. The
Gruppe then moved to
Lyepyel where they supported
Panzergruppe 2 and
3 in their advance to
Vitebsk and
Polotsk. On 12 July, the
Gruppe moved to Kamary, an airfield in the western parts of Vitebsk. Barkhorn flew many combat missions during this period without claiming a further aerial victory. On 16 July, he was tasked with shuttling a Bf 109 back to
Werneuchen in Germany for repairs, a task normally given to junior pilots. Ten days later, he returned to the Eastern Front. By this time, II.
Gruppe had advanced to Andrejewka airfield near
Smolensk. On 28 July, Barkhorn claimed his second aerial victory over a
Polikarpov I-16 fighter. The following day, he was credited with the destruction of a DB-3 bomber, his third aerial victory. On 5 August, II.
Gruppe was ordered to relocate to
Soltsy, west of
Lake Ilmen, in support of the
16th Army and
Army Group North. In the following days, Barkhorn flew many
ground support, combat air patrols and
Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber escort missions to the combat area near
Shimsk and
Veliky Novgorod. He claimed the destruction of an I-18 fighter, an early German designation for a
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter, on 19 August. The next day, II.
Gruppe was ordered to an airfield at Spasskaya Polist, south of
Chudovo and north of Lake Ilmen. Two days later, Barkhorn escorted a
Focke-Wulf Fw 189 aerial reconnaissance aircraft to Chudovo on his first mission of the day. On his second mission that day, he claimed a
Vultee V-11 attack aircraft, but the victim was actually an
Ilyushin Il-2 attack aircraft. On 25 August, Barkhorn was credited with two aerial victories, a
Polikarpov I-153 fighter on his first mission of the day and later an I-18 fighter. On 27 August, Barkhorn's Front Flying Clasp was upgraded to Gold (). On 2 September, II.
Gruppe moved to
Lyuban, staying there until the end of September. From there, the
Gruppe flew missions against
Shlisselburg,
Mga and
Leningrad. II.
Gruppes subordination to JG 27 ended on 20 October and they came under the command of the
Stab of JG 52. Barkhorn was promoted to
Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 November 1941. He claimed his tenth and last aerial victory in 1941 on a meteorological reconnaissance mission () over an I-61, an early German designation for a
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter, on 30 November. On 24 January 1942, having been withdrawn from the Eastern Front, II.
Gruppe arrived in Jesau near Königsberg, present-day Kaliningrad in Russia, for a period of recuperation and replenishment. In Jesau, the
Gruppe received many factory new Bf 109 F-4 aircraft. On 14 April, II.
Gruppe received orders to move to
Pilsen, present-day Plzeň in the Czech Republic, for relocation to the Eastern Front.
Squadron leader While II.
Gruppe was based at Jesau, Barkhorn was appointed
Staffelkapitän of 4.
Staffel of JG 52 on 1 March 1942. He succeeded Steinhoff in this capacity who had been given command of II.
Gruppe of JG 52. The unit then moved to
Wien-Schwechat on 24 April before flying to Zürichtal, present-day Solote Pole, a village near the urban settlement of
Kirovske in the
Crimea. There, II.
Gruppe participated in Operation
Trappenjagd, a German counterattack during the
Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, launched on 8 May. On 16 May, II.
Gruppe relocated to Artyomovsk, present-day
Bakhmut, where JG 52 supported the German forces fighting in the
Second Battle of Kharkov. On 22 June, German forces launched Operation Fridericus II, the attack on
Kupiansk, a preliminary operation to
Case Blue, the strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. That day, Barkhorn for the first time became "
ace-in-a-day", claiming five
Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighters shot down, taking his total to 26 aerial victories. Barkhorn again became an "ace-in-a-day" on 19 July, flying four missions that day, he shot down six Soviet fighters taking his total to 51 aerial victories. His claims that day include two
Hawker Hurricanes, three LaGG-3s and an I-16 shot down. The following day, he increased his total number of aerial victories to 56, again an "ace-in-a-day" achievement. With
Leutnant Waldemar Semelka as his wingman, Barkhorn shot down five LaGG-3 fighters. On 22 July, II.
Gruppe moved to an airfield named Nowy Cholan, approximately northeast of
Rostov-on-Don. On 24 July, Barkhorn transferred to an airfield named Nikolajewskaja, approximately 15 minutes flying time closer to front lines. During this day, Barkhorn claimed three further aerial victories, increasing his total to 64. The following day, he flew on an escort mission for a
Fieseler Fi 156 Storch heading for the front lines. His Bf 109 F-4/R1 (
Werknummer 13388—factory number) took a hit from
anti-aircraft artillery, resulting in a
forced landing near Morosow. Despite the aircraft sustaining only minor damage, Barkhorn suffered a severe injury to his lower leg and had to be evacuated by air. He was taken to a makeshift hospital installed at the
Olympiapark Berlin. During his convalescence, Barkhorn was temporarily replaced by Semelka who was killed in action on 21 August. Command was then given to
Leutnant Otto Leicher who was also killed in action. In consequence, Krupinski was transferred from 6.
Staffel, taking command of 4.
Staffel on 10 September. In July 1942, Barkhorn had destroyed 30 Soviet aircraft. While hospitalized, on 21 August 1942, he was awarded the
German Cross in Gold () and two days later the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (). In late September, following his convalescence, Barkhorn returned to his 4.
Staffel. By this time II.
Gruppe, having made several relocations, had been based at
Maykop since 21 September. On 2 October, he logged his first brief maintenance flight after returning to the front. On 7 October, Barkhorn, with
Unteroffizier Werner Quast as his wingman, claimed a LaGG-3 fighter shot down north of
Tuapse. Later that day, he claimed three further LaGG-3 fighters destroyed. On 19 December 1942, Barkhorn had raised his score to 101 victories. That day, he became the 32nd Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. Barkhorn came to respect the Soviet pilots. On one occasion he was involved in a forty-minute dogfight with a LaGG-3. "Sweat was pouring off me just as though I had stepped out of the shower", he recalled: despite having a faster aircraft he was simply unable to get a bead on the Russian pilot. On 9 January 1943, Barkhorn claimed his 105th aerial victory. His victims included Lieutenant Vasiliyev, and
Hero of the Soviet Union Podpolkovnik Lev Shestakov of the 236 IAP (Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk— or Fighter Aviation Regiment) Barkhorn hit their
Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters until they caught fire. Both pilots survived. On 11 January 1943, Barkhorn was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (). Barkhorn claimed his 120th aerial victory on 27 February, four days later he went on home leave. During his vacation, he was presented the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross and married his fiancé, Christine Tischer, also known as Christl, in
Tegernsee. The marriage produced three daughters, Ursula born 1943, Eva born 1945 and Dorothea born 1954. During his leave, Barkhorn was promoted to
Hauptmann (captain) on 1 April. Barkhorn returned to his unit on 23 April. At the time, II.
Gruppe was based at
Anapa located on the northern coast of the
Black Sea near the
Sea of Azov and was fighting in the
Battle of the Caucasus. During his absence, Steinhoff as commander of II.
Gruppe had been replaced by
Hauptmann Helmut Kühle. On 28 April, Barkhorn claimed his 121st aerial victory, a LaGG-3 fighter. Barkhorn's 157 aerial victory, claimed on 23 August, was also II.
Gruppes 2,000th aerial victory in total. From 4 to 30 August, Barkhorn temporarily led I.
Gruppe of JG 52. The acting commander of I.
Gruppe,
Hauptmann Johannes Wiese had fallen ill on 1 August and needed to be replaced during his recovery.
Group commander Barkhorn was appointed
Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II.
Gruppe of JG 52 on 1 September 1943. He replaced Kühle who was transferred. Command of 4.
Staffel was passed on to
Leutnant Heinrich Sturm. On 5 September, he shot down Hero of the Soviet Union and Soviet fighter pilot Nikolay Klepikov, an ace with 10 personal and 32 shared victories. These two
Lavochkin La-5s shot down by Barkhorn were his 165th and 166th aerial victories. This was offset by the loss of II.
Gruppes 173-victory ace
Oberleutnant Heinz Schmidt. Barkhorn reached the 200 mark on 30 November 1943. This achievement earned him a named reference in the
Wehrmachtbericht on 2 December. That day, he also became an "ace-in-a-day" for the fourth time in combat near
Tuzla Island. On 28 December, he yet again became an "ace-in-a-day", taking his total number of aerial victories to 222. The following day, he claimed II.
Gruppes 2,500th aerial victory in total. On 23 January 1944, Barkhorn became the first German pilot to fly 1,000 combat missions. At the time, Barkhorn's regular
wingman was
Heinz Ewald. The main German fighter unit covering the Crimea and
Kuban was his II.
Group of 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 aerial victories. Barkhorn was the third pilot to reach this total, earning him a second named reference in the
Wehrmachtbericht on 14 February. For several days, Barkhorn was grounded and did not fly any further combat missions. He claimed his next aerial victory on 25 February over a
Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber. On 2 March 1944, he was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (). The presentation of the Swords was made at the
Führerhauptquartier (Führer Headquarter) on 24 March. Barkhorn took an overnight train to the
Führerhauptquartier from the
Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin. On the train he met fellow JG 52 pilots Krupinski, Wiese and Hartmann, who were to receive the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. At the
Führerhauptquartier they joined
Kurt Bühligen,
Horst Ademeit,
Reinhard Seiler,
Hans-Joachim Jabs, Dr.
Maximilian Otte,
Bernhard Jope and
Hansgeorg Bätcher from the bomber force, and the Flak officer
Fritz Petersen, all destined to receive the Oak Leaves. The travelers assumed that they were heading for the
Wolf's Lair in East Prussia but the train was heading for the
Berghof in
Berchtesgaden. On the train, all of them got drunk on cognac and champagne. Supporting each other and unable to stand, they arrived at Berchtesgaden.
Major Nicolaus von Below, Hitler's Luftwaffe adjutant, was shocked. After some sobering up, they were still intoxicated. Hartmann took a German officer's hat from a stand and put it on, but it was too large. Von Below became upset, told Hartmann it was Hitler's and ordered him to put it back. Barkhorn was sent on a propaganda tour in Germany, visited
Jagdgeschwader 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing) at
Wunstorf Airfield and was promoted to
Major (major) on 1 April 1944. He returned to his II.
Gruppe in late April, which was then based at
Chersonesus at
Sevastopol. Barkhorn was credited with shooting down three
Yakovlev Yak-7 fighters on 26 April, a further Yak-7 the following day, and again three Yak-7 fighters on 28 April. Barkhorn thus surpassed
Walter Nowotny who at the time was credited with 256 aerial victories. On 25 May, Barkhorn was ordered to transfer one
Staffel to the west in
Defense of the Reich. Barkhorn selected
Leutnant Hans Waldmann's 4.
Staffel which was officially assigned to the II.
Gruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), at the time under the command of
Hauptmann Hans-Ekkehard Bob, and later by
Hauptmann Herbert Kutscha. Two days later, II.
Gruppe was moved to
Huși. On 30 May, Barkhorn was credited with shooting down two
Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters. The following day, he claimed his 273rd aerial victory and was shot down by Soviet fighters and hospitalized for four months. On that day, Barkhorn was escorting Ju 87 dive bombers from III.
Gruppe of
Schlachtgeschwader 2 (SG 2—2nd Ground Attack Wing) headed by
Major Hans-Ulrich Rudel on a ground support mission to the combat area at the
Prut. Barkhorn claimed two P-39 fighters, an Il-2 ground attack aircraft and a Yak-9 fighter. He was then shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (
Werknummer 163195) by a P-39 fighter. Severely wounded in his right arm and leg, he made a forced landing near
Iași. It had been his sixth mission of the day and he was attacking Soviet bombers when he was attacked from behind. Following immediate treatment at a field hospital in Huși, he was evacuated to
Bad Wiessee for convalescence. With Barkhorn sidelined, Hartmann surpassed his total, taking his total to 301 aerial victories. Following this achievement, Hartmann was sent on home leave and married at Bad Wiessee on 10 September. Barkhorn, who was still recovering in Bad Wiessee at the time, attended the wedding and became Hartmann's best man. During his convalescence, Barkhorn had temporarily been replaced by
Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert until September, and by
Hauptmann Heinrich Sturm until Barkhorn's return to II.
Gruppe in October. 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. Barkhorn claimed his 275th victory on 14 November. Over the next few weeks Barkhorn added another 26 victories, scoring his 301st and final aerial victory on 5 January 1945.
Defense of the Reich On 1 January 1945, the Luftwaffe launched
Operation Bodenplatte, a failed attempt to gain
air superiority during the stagnant stage of the
Battle of the Bulge. In this attack,
Jagdgeschwader 6 (JG 6—6th Fighter Wing) lost its
Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander),
Oberstleutnant Johann Kogler, who was taken
prisoner of war. Following Operation Bodenplatte, JG 6 relocated from the Western Front to the Eastern Front where it was based at
Tschenstochau, present-day Częstochowa in southern Poland. On or near 23 January, Barkhorn took command of JG 6, the
Geschwaderstab had just moved from
Schroda, present-day Środa Wielkopolska, to
Sorau, present-day Żary. At the time, the
Geschwaderstab was equipped with the
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 and A-9. While the three groups of JG 6 were equipped with the Bf 109 G-14 and the Fw 190 A, the
Geschwaderstab was equipped with Fw 190 D-9 in February. Barkhorn led this unit until the end-March 1945. During his ten weeks tenure as
Geschwaderkommodore of JG 6, he did not claim any aerial victories. He had difficulties adjusting to the Fw 190 D-9. He later stated that he would have needed 50 more flights to master the aircraft. It is unclear whether Barkhorn flew the Fw 190 D-9 in combat. Nevertheless, on 11 February, he was presented the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant "1,100" (). Shortly after 23 March, Barkhorn was relieved of command. His wingman later stated that Barkhorn was forced to leave for medical reasons. At the time he was suffering from severe physical and mental strain after four years of combat. Following the dismissal of
Generalleutnant Adolf Galland as
General der Jagdflieger (Inspector of Fighters), Galland was given the opportunity by Hitler to prove his ideas about the
Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. He had hoped that the Me 262 would compensate for the numerical superiority of the
Allies. In consequence, Galland formed
Jagdverband 44 (JV 44—44th Fighter Detachment) at
Brandenburg-Briest on 24 February 1945. Galland was also given carte blanche with respect to staffing and began recruiting his pilots. On 31 March, JV 44 had relocated to
Munich-Riem. Galland and Steinhoff, who had also joined JV 44, drove to Bad Wiessee where Barkhorn and Krupinski were recovering. Both pilots accepted Galland's offer and joined JV 44. Barkhorn 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 1,104th 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
North American P-51 Mustang 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 on the Me 262 A, flipped open to starboard, like a Bf 109's did – prior to crash landing, slammed shut on his neck. On 4 May, JV 44 surrendered to U.S. forces at
Maxglan, near
Salzburg. Barkhorn and other pilots were taken to a makeshift prisoner of war camp near
Bad Aibling. Five days later, a U.S. officer was looking for JV 44 pilots and Barkhorn, Krupinski,
Karl-Heinz Schnell,
Erich Hohagen and
Waldemar Wübke stepped up. The men were then taken to
Heidelberg,
Wiesbaden-Erbenheim and flown to England for interrogation near London. In June, Barkhorn was taken to
Southampton and then with a ship to
Cherbourg where he was interned in a prisoner of war camp near
Foucarville. ==Later life and service==