Hermann Göring and report on this battle. When Göring asked him what he was thinking about while in the water, Bär immediately replied, "Your speech, Herr Reichsmarschall, in which you said that England is no longer an island!", alluding to an address that Göring had made before the German fighter pilots. Incidents like this are testimony to his often blatant disregard for higher authority. His outspokenness frequently landed him in trouble with Göring. In early 1941, he was credited with an additional four aerial victories against the Royal Air Force (RAF), bringing his total to 17. Eastern Front In June 1941, JG 51 was transferred east to take part in Operation Barbarossa with 1. Staffel. On the morning of 22 June, Bär and his wingman Oberfeldwebel Heinrich Höfemeier were escorting a damaged Heinkel He 111 over German lines when they made contact with 18 Tupolev SB bombers from the 39 SBAP (Skorostnoy Bombardirovohchnyy Aviatsionny Polk—high speed bomber aviation regiment) and 10 SAD (Smeshannaya Aviatsionnaya Diviziya—composite aviation regiment). The German pilots attacked; Höfemeier claimed four, Bär two—though the former was wounded in the arm. The Germans noted the vulnerability of the Soviet aircraft which lacked self-sealing fuel tanks and had a propensity to burst into flames. More JG 51 Bf 109s appeared and claimed six more. None of the 18 bombers returned home. Bär had achieved his 19th and 20th victories. JG 51 at the time was part of Fliegerkorps II, operating in the central sector of the Eastern Front. Bär claimed five aerial victories on 30 June 1941, bringing his total to 22. On that day JG 51 was credited with 113 aerial victories in total, among them their 1,000th aerial victory—the first unit to reach this figure—and Oberst Werner Mölders, with 82 aerial victories, surpassed Manfred von Richthofen in number of victories. The Geschwader recorded 24 separate engagements in a 14-hour period and lost five Bf 109s. Bär's opponents included Ilyushin DB-3 bombers from the 42nd and 52nd DBA (Dal'me-Bombardirovochnaya Aviatsiya—long range aviation bomber regiment). Five Tupolev TB-3s from the 3rd TBAP were also claimed. Within two weeks of combat against the Soviet Air Force, Bär's tally rose to 27, which earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 2 July, followed by his promotion to Oberleutnant on 1 August 1941. On 5 July, Bär or Mölders may also have shot down the Soviet fighter ace