On 14 August, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for 60 victories, and on 30 August he became an "ace-in-a-day" by shooting down six Soviet aircraft. On 31 August, Bär was shot down by an Ilyushin Il-2 some behind Soviet lines, near Novgorod-Seversky. He suffered injuries to his back and feet while bailing out. Bär evaded Soviet patrols which rushed to the crash site. Bär remained in hiding through to the following night. He turned his leather jacket inside-out and discarded his flying boots to present himself as a Russian peasant. Vanity prevented him from throwing away the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves and he hid the items. Bär eventually made it to German lines but aggravated his injuries and spent two months in hospital.