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Oskar-Heinz (Heinrich) "Pritzl" Bär (; 25 May 1913 – 28 April 1957) was a German Luftwaffe flying ace who served throughout World War II in Europe.〔Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.〕 Bär flew more than one thousand combat missions, and fought in all major German theaters of the war, including the Western, Eastern and Mediterranean fronts. On 18 occasions he survived being shot down, and he was credited with 220 or 221 aerial victories,〔Schaulen 2003, p. 26.〕 around 16 of which were in a jet fighter. Bär, a Saxon with a strong accent, joined the Reichswehr in 1934 and transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935. Serving first as a mechanic, then as a pilot on transport aircraft, he was informally trained as a fighter pilot. He claimed his first aerial victory in September 1939 on the French border. By the end of the Battle of Britain, his tally of victories had increased to 17. Transferred to the Eastern Front to participate in Operation Barbarossa, he quickly accumulated further kills, a feat that earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern'') for 90 aerial victories in February 1942. During the remainder of World War II, Bär was credited with 130 other aerial victories, including 16 while flying one of the first jet fighters, the Me 262, an achievement which would normally have earned him the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten'').〔Kurowski 1996, p. 122.〕〔Toliver & Constable 1998, p. 360.〕 Hermann Göring's personal dislike of Bär, coupled with Bär's insubordinate character and lack of military discipline, deprived him of this award.〔Kurowski 1996, pp. 103–105.〕 After World War II, Bär continued his career as an aviator. He was killed in a flying accident on 28 April 1957 near Braunschweig. ==Early life== Bär was born on 25 May 1913 in Sommerfeld near Leipzig in the Kingdom of Saxony, a federated state of the German Empire. His parents were farmers, and in 1916, his father was killed in action on the Western Front of World War I. Bär attended the ''Volksschule'', a combined primary and lower secondary school, in Sommerfeld. Initially, he planned on taking over the family farm in Engelsdorf and following graduation attended the agriculture school in Wurzen. Aged 15, he became a glider pilot, joining the glider club on the "''Schwarzer Berg''" (Black Mountain) at Taucha.〔 Bär then wanted to become a forester, for everything associated with wildlife and forests interested him. His first sight of a Junkers transport aircraft changed his mind and convinced him that he should become an aviator.〔Kurowski 1996, p. 73.〕 As a teenager, he had ambitions to become an airline pilot with Deutsche Luft Hansa.〔Toliver & Constable 1998, p. 358.〕 He acquired the nickname ''Pritzl'' because of his affection for Pritzl candy bars.〔Bergström & Mikhailov 2000, p. 86.〕 The Great Depression prevented Bär from gaining a civil pilot license. In 1934, he joined the Reichswehr and was assigned to the ''Kraftfahrabteilung 4'' as a mechanic. He served in this position until the following year, when he was transferred to a combat unit of the Luftwaffe. A few months later, he was accepted for pilot training, receiving his transport aircraft pilot's license in 1937. He was transferred to I./Jagdgeschwader 135, the core of the future Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51), on 1 September 1938, usually flying the Junkers Ju 86.〔 The Squadron Leader (''Staffelkapitän'') Douglas Pitcairn noticed Bär's flying talents and tried to convince Bär to become a fighter pilot. Initially Bär refused, but after he illegally conducted some aerobatics in the Ju 86 leading to an engine failure, he reluctantly accepted and became a fighter pilot.〔Aders & Held 1993, pp. 29,30.〕〔Toliver & Constable 1998, p. 359.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Heinrich Bär」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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