Heinrich Bartels (13 July 1918 – 23 December 1944) was an Austrian-born German fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe and fought during World War II.

A fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.

He was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing) on the Channel Front which was tasked with intercepting Royal Air Force (RAF) incursions over occupied France and Belgium.

In 1943 Bartels moved to Jagdgeschwader 27 "Afrika" (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) to serve in the Mediterranean and Balkans theatres and by the years end had 73 victories.

[5] World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

[2] The Ergänzungsgruppe of JG 26, a supplementary training group, was formed on 22 June 1941 in Wevelgem under the command of Hauptmann Fritz Fromme.

Erg./JG 26, Bartels claimed his first aerial victory on 19 August, a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire shot down at the English Channel.

The objective of this operation was to give the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fighter protection in the breakout from Brest to Germany.

In support of this, the Luftwaffe, formulated an air superiority plan dubbed Operation Donnerkeil for the protection of the three German capital ships.

The flight was intercepted by Hawker Hurricane fighters from 2 GvSAP (Gvardeyskiy Smeshannyy Aviatsionnyy Polk—Guards Composite Aviation Regiment).

[11] JG 5 flew numerous fighter escort missions on 10 May resulting in aerial combat with the Soviet Air Forces (VVS).

The VVS lost eight aircraft plus further two were severely damaged that day, including a Hurricane fighter shot down by Bartels.

He claimed six aerial victories on two separate combat missions, including four Hurricanes and two MiG-3 fighters in the vicinity of Murmashi.

[24] According to Walter Schuck, the events leading to this disciplinary measure were made under the influence of large quantities of alcohol.

The events pinnacled when Bartels made a donkey empty its bladder into the company sergeant major's bed.

Flying from Gadurrà Airfield on Rhodes, he claimed two Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers, also known as Bostons, near of Kos.

In the intermediate period, two officers had led the Gruppe, Oberleutnant Dietrich Boesler, who was killed on 10 October, and by Burk, the commander of 11.

Staffel lost its Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) Burk who was shot down over sea near Cape of Rodon.

[37] At the time, he was assigned Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6/R6 (Werknummer 27 169—factory number) "Red 13" bearing the name of his wife Marga.

[38] Two days later, he was credited with two North American B-25 Mitchell bombers and a P-38 fighter following an USAAF attack on the Kalamaki Airfield.

Gruppe of JG 27, then fought in Defense of the Reich (Reichsverteidigung), defending southern Germany and Austria.

[41] Bartels claimed his first aerial victory in this theater on 11 April when he shot down a P-38 fighter 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Graz.

[42] On 23 April, Bartels shot down three Spitfire fighters in combat near Celje, approximately halfway between Maribor and Ljubljana, in Slovenia.

The following day, the USAAF Eighth Air Force targeted German airfields in southern Germany as well as the aircraft factories in Oberpfaffenhofen.

The attack on Landsberg Airfield and Oberpfaffenhofen was headed by 281 bombers of the 1st Bombardment Division escorted by North American P-51 Mustang long-range fighter aircraft.

[45] On 6 June, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-occupied Western Europe in Normandy, France.

Gruppe was immediately ordered to relocate to Champfleury-la-Perthe, an airfield approximately 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Reims.

He claimed his eleventh and last aerial victory on the invasion front on 25 June, a P-38 fighter shot down southeast of Blois.

Gruppe claimed 60 aerial victories, including eleven by Bartels, making him the most successful pilot of the unit.

[55] Some 24 years later, on 26 January 1968, Bartels' Bf 109 G-10 (Werknummer 130 359) "Yellow 13" was found near Castle Gudenau in Villip, close to Bad Godesberg.