Bf109 F4, W.Nr. 13376, Hauptmann Heinz Bar Stab I./JG77, Comiso, Sicily, July 1942.

February 10

Oscar-Heinrich "Pritzl" Bär (25 May 1913 – 28 April 1957) was a German Luftwaffe flying ace who served throughout World War II in Europe. Bär flew more than one thousand combat missions, and fought in the Western, Eastern and Mediterranean theatres. On 18 occasions he survived being shot down, and according to records in the German Federal Archives, he claimed to have shot down 228 enemy aircraft and was credited with 208 aerial victories, 16 of which were in a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Sources credit him with 220 – 96 on Eastern Theatre and 124 on Western Theatre – up to 222 aerial victories may also be possible.

In late June 1942, JG 77 was relocated from the Crimea to Comiso Airbase in Sicily. By this time Bär had scored 113 victories. He was now the leading fighter ace in the Luftwaffe and took part in the air battles over Malta before relocating again to Tunisia and participating in the North African campaign.

It was difficult to figure out this skin as there are no color photos available and I could only find a handful of B/W period photos. There are many artist and modelers impressions which differ more than usual and generally speaking, seem to have less common ground than I expected. Here are the photos and artist picture I focussed on and deemed most relevant.