Jagdgeschwader 51 was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 51's pilots won more awards than any other fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, and operated in all major theatres of war. Its members included Anton Hafner, Heinz Bär, Karl-Gottfried Nordmann, and Günther Schack.
Four Bf 109 of JG 51 in France 1940
Aircraft of 8./JG 51 being armed.
Oscar-Heinrich "Pritzl" Bär 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.
Heinrich Bär
Tail of Bär's Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 with the Stab I./JG 77
Bär inspecting his 184th aerial victory, a Boeing B-17F of 91st Bomb Group on 21 February 1944. His wingman Leo Schuhmacher is standing to his right.
Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a – EJG 2 – Major Heinz Bär