Hobby Master Archive

German Ace Gerhard “Gerd” Barkhorn didn’t score his first victory until his 120th mission on July 2, 1941 over the Eastern Front. On September 1, 1943 at Kharkov Ukraine Barkhorn became Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 52 and led it until January 15, 1945. In September 1943 he shot down 15 aircraft and by the end of 1943 had accumulated a total of 222 victories. He recorded his 301st, and last, victory on January 5, 1945 and along the way he himself was shot down 9 times and wounded twice.