On 11 May, Bär was transferred from IV./JG 51 on the Moscow front to take command of I. "Gruppe" of Gordon Gollob's "Jagdgeschwader" 77 (JG 77) flying wing. Bär replaced Herbert Ihlefeld who had been transferred. JG 77 was tasked with supporting the hard fighting in the Crimean Campaign over the Kerch Strait on the Crimean Peninsula. Led by the flying aces ("Experten") Gollob and Bär, JG 77 took over the air space above Kerch-Taman as Gollob and Bär shot down two and three LaGG-3s respectively, raising Bär's victory total to 93. Mutual animosity between the two men, Gollob, a disciplinarian pro-Nazi, and Bär, an anti-authoritarian, ensured an intense rivalry. On 19 May 1942, Bär claimed five further aerial victories—including a Polikarpov R-5 in the morning and four Polikarpov I-16s in one afternoon mission: his victory total now stood at 103. He was the 9th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. That same day, Inspector of Fighters ("General der Jagdflieger") Adolf Galland arrived to inspect Bär's I./JG 77 and JG 77 surpassed 2,000 victories. This flying achievement earned Bär a second mention in the daily "Wehrmachtbericht" on 20 May 1942.