On Jan.4 1945, Gerhard Barkhorn claimed a Soviet YAk9 fighter plane for his 300th victory in WWII. He survived the war with a total of 301 victories, making him the second highest Ace in history. Post-war Barkhorn was one of the few noted Luftwaffe Experten who escaped being imprisoned by the Russians. However, he did become a prisoner of war of the Allies, finally being released by them in September 1945. He joined the Bundesluftwaffe in 1956, commanded JaboG 31-Boelcke and rose to the rank of Generalleutnant. He retired in 1976. On 6 January 1983, during a winter storm on an autobahn near Koln, Barkhorn and his wife, Christl, were involved in a serious automobile accident. Christl died at the scene but Gerhard lingered in a hospital for two days before passing away on the 8th of January. This image was created using screenshots from a flight sim game.

This image created was based on a real-life story.