Günther Wolfgang Bahr (18 July 1921 – 29 April 2009) was a German Luftwaffefighterpilot and night fighterflying ace during World War II. He claimed 36 victories at night, plus one further daytime aerial victory, all of which were four-engine bombers, achieved in over 90 combat missions. He counted 37 victories over all. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Bahr died in April 2009 at the age of 87.[Note 1]
Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, bombing missions by the Royal Air Force (RAF) shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign.[3] By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector, named a Himmelbett (canopy bed), would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.[4]
In late March 1942, Bahr began training as a night fighter pilot and was then transferred to the I. Gruppe (1st group) of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing).[1] On the night of 23/24 August 1943, the RAF targeted Berlin with 727 Avro Lancaster, Handley Page Halifax, Short Stirling and de Havilland Mosquito bombers, losing 57 aircraft in the attack.[5] Defending against this mission, Bahr claimed his first nocturnal aerial victories over a Halifax and Stirling bomber.[6] On 14 October, during the second Raid on Schweinfurt, he claimed a daytime aerial victory over a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber shot down 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Schweinfurt.[7]Bomber Command targeted Hanover on the night of 18/19 October.[8] That night, Bahr claimed the destruction of a Lancaster bomber 35 kilometers (22 miles) west of Hamelin.[9] On 3/4 November, Bomber Command's main target was Düsseldorf, hit by 577 bombers and 12 Mosquitos. That night, the RAF lost 18 bombers with further 37 damaged.[10] Bahr filed claim for a Halifax bomber shot down 25 kilometers (16 miles) west of Düsseldorf.[11]
On the night of 20/21 December 1943, the RAF targeted Frankfurt am Main. Defending against this attack, Bahr claimed three Halifax bombers, two of which may have been from No. 10 Squadron.[12] On the night of 21/22 February 1945, Bahr became an "ace-in-a-day". That night, the RAF had targeted Duisburg, Worms and the Mittelland Canal. Bahr, flying a Messerschmitt Bf 110 G with his crew, radio operator Feldwebel Arno Rehmer and air gunnerUnteroffizier Kurt Riediger, were vectored to the bomber stream heading for Worms and shot down seven bombers.[13] That night, the RAF lost 34 aircraft, 26 of which were credited to Bahr, Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, Heinz Rökker and Johannes Hager.[14] Bahr was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 28 March 1945.[2]
With the German Air Force
Following World War II, Bahr rejoined military service with the German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe, in 1962. As a Major (major), he retired in 1975. Bahr died in April 2009.[6]
Summary of career
Aerial victory claims
According to Spick, Bahr was credited with 36 nocturnal aerial victories claimed in approximately 90 nocturnal combat missions, plus one further daytime claim.[15] Foreman, Mathews and Parry, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, list 36 nocturnal victory claims, numerically ranging from 2 to 37.[16] Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Bahr with 35 claims, plus two further unconfirmed claims.[17]
Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Bahr an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day. This along with the ! (exclamation mark) indicates a daytime aerial victory. This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Bahr did not receive credit. This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed in Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 and in Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer[in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN978-3-7909-0284-6.
Foreman, John; Parry, Simon; Mathews, Johannes (2004). Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN978-0-9538061-4-0.
Hinchliffe, Peter (1998). Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939–1945 [Air War at Night 1939–1945] (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN978-3-613-01861-7.
Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2014). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 1 A–F. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN978-1-906592-18-9.
Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN978-3-87341-065-7.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN978-3-931533-45-8.
Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN978-3-931533-08-3.
Richards, Denis (1994). The Hardest Victory:RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War. London, UK: Coronet Books. ISBN978-0-340-61720-5.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.