Flying ace

A flying ace is a military aviator who has shot down five or more enemy aircraft. The term originated in World War I in France, when French newspapers described Adolphe Pegoud as a flying ace after he became the first pilot to shoot down five German aircraft. Ace is also used to refer to non-aviators who have distinguished themselves by sinking ships, destroying tanks, etc. (i.e. U-boat ace). During WWI the Central Powers as well as the United Kingdom specified an ace as someone who had 10 or more confirmed "kills".

Contents

World War I

Aces of World War I
NameCountryServiceVictoriesNotes
Manfred von RichthofenGermanyLuftstreitkräfte80"The Red Baron"
René FonckFranceAéronautique Militaire75Top Allied
Billy BishopCanadaRoyal Flying Corps72Top British Empire
Ernst UdetGermanyLuftstreitkräfte62
Raymond CollishawCanadaRoyal Naval Air Service61Top RNAS
James McCuddenUKRoyal Flying Corps57
Erich LöwenhardtGermanyLuftstreitkräfte54
William BarkerCanadaRoyal Flying Corps53
Georges GuynemerFranceAéronautique Militaire53
Edward "Mickey" MannockUKRoyal Flying Corps50
Roderic DallasAustraliaRoyal Naval Air Service50Top Australia[1] (http://www.australianflyingcorps.org/2004_2002/people/aces/dallasroderic.html)
Werner VossGermanyLuftstreitkräfte48
George McElroyUKRoyal Flying Corps47
Robert LittleAustraliaRoyal Naval Air Service47
Albert BallUKRoyal Flying Corps44
Charles NungesserFranceAéronautique Militaire43
Oswald BoelckeGermanyLuftstreitkräfte40
Lothar von RichthofenGermanyLuftstreitkräfte40
Francesco BaraccaItalyCorpo Aeronautico Militare34Top Italy
A. H. "Harry" CobbyAustraliaAustralian Flying Corps (AFC)29Top AFC
Eddie RickenbackerUSAUS Army Air Service26Top US
William C. LambertUSARoyal Flying Corps21.5
Frank LukeUSAUS Army Air Service18Medal of Honor
Raoul LufberyFrance & USAEscadrille Lafayette &
US Army Air Service
17
Max ImmelmannGermanyLuftstreitkräfte15"The Blue Max"
James WhiteCanadaRoyal Naval Air Service12
Christopher DraperUKRoyal Naval Air Service9"The Mad Major"
Cyril LoweUKRoyal Flying Corps9

Spanish Civil War


Aces of Spanish Civil War
Name Country Service Victories
Alois Vasatko Czechoslovakia Republican Air Force 17
Mario Bonzano Italy Nationalist Air Force 15
Brunetto di Montegnacco Italy Nationalist Air Force 14
Werner Mölders Germany Condor Legion 14
Guido Presel Italy Nationalist Air Force 13
Wolfgang Schellman Germany Condor Legion 12
Harro Harder Germany Condor Legion 11
Abel Guides France Republican Air Force 10


World War II


Aces of World War II
NameCountryServiceVictories
Erich "Bubi" Hartmann Germany Luftwaffe 352
Gerhard Barkhorn Germany Luftwaffe 301
Günther Rall Germany Luftwaffe 275
Otto Kittel Germany Luftwaffe 267
Walter Nowotny Germany Luftwaffe 258
Wilhelm Batz Germany Luftwaffe 237
Erich Rudorffer Germany Luftwaffe 222
Heinz Bär Germany Luftwaffe 220
Hermann Graf Germany Luftwaffe 212
Heinrich Ehrler Germany Luftwaffe 208
Theodor Weissenberger Germany Luftwaffe 208
Hans Philipp Germany Luftwaffe 206
Walter Schuck Germany Luftwaffe 206
Anton Hafner Germany Luftwaffe 204
Helmut Lipfert Germany Luftwaffe 203
Walter Krupinski Germany Luftwaffe 197
Anton Hackl Germany Luftwaffe 192
Joachim Brendel Germany Luftwaffe 189
Max Stotz Germany Luftwaffe 189
Joachim Kirschner Germany Luftwaffe 188
Kurt Brändle Germany Luftwaffe 180
Günther Josten Germany Luftwaffe 178
Johannes Steinhoff Germany Luftwaffe 178
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert Germany Luftwaffe 174
Günther Schack Germany Luftwaffe 174
Emil Lang Germany Luftwaffe 173
Heinz Schmidt Germany Luftwaffe 173
Horst Ademeit Germany Luftwaffe 166
Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke Germany Luftwaffe 162
Hans-Joachim Marseille Germany Luftwaffe 158
Heinrich Sturm Germany Luftwaffe 158
Gerhard Thyben Germany Luftwaffe 157
Hans Beisswenger Germany Luftwaffe 152
Peter Düttmann Germany Luftwaffe 152
Gordon M. Gollob Germany Luftwaffe 150
Fritz Tegtmeier Germany Luftwaffe 146
Albin Wolf Germany Luftwaffe 144
Kurt Tanzer Germany Luftwaffe 143
Friedrich-Karl Müller Germany Luftwaffe 140
Karl Gratz Germany Luftwaffe 138
Heinrich Setz Germany Luftwaffe 138
Rudolf Trenkel Germany Luftwaffe 138
Walter Wolfrum Germany Luftwaffe 137
Horst-Günther von Fassong Germany Luftwaffe 136
Otto Fönnekold Germany Luftwaffe 136
Karl-Heinz Weber Germany Luftwaffe 136
Joachim Muencheberg Germany Luftwaffe 135
Hans Waldmann Germany Luftwaffe 134
Alfred Grislawski Germany Luftwaffe 133
Franz Schall Germany Luftwaffe 133
Johannes Wiese Germany Luftwaffe 133
Adolf Borchers Germany Luftwaffe 132
Adolf Dickfeld Germany Luftwaffe 132
Erwin Clausen Germany Luftwaffe 132
Wilhelm Lemke Germany Luftwaffe 131
Gerhard Hoffmann Germany Luftwaffe 130
Franz Eisenach Germany Luftwaffe 129
Walther Dahl Germany Luftwaffe 129
Heinrich Sterr Germany Luftwaffe 129
Franz Dörr Germany Luftwaffe 128
Rudolf Rademacher Germany Luftwaffe 126
Josef Zwernemann Germany Luftwaffe 126
Dietrich Hrabak Germany Luftwaffe 125
Wolf Ettel Germany Luftwaffe 124
Herbert Ihlefeld Germany Luftwaffe 123
Wolfgang Tonne Germany Luftwaffe 122
Heinz Marquardt Germany Luftwaffe 121
Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer Germany Luftwaffe 121
Robert Weiss Germany Luftwaffe 121
Erich Leie Germany Luftwaffe 121
Friedrich Obleser Germany Luftwaffe 120
Franz-Josef Beerenbrock Germany Luftwaffe 117
Hans-Joachim Birkner Germany Luftwaffe 117
Jakob Norz Germany Luftwaffe 117
Walter Oesau Germany Luftwaffe 117
Heinz Wernicke Germany Luftwaffe 117
August Lambert Germany Luftwaffe 116
Werner Mölders Germany Luftwaffe 115
Wilhelm Crinius Germany Luftwaffe 114
Werner Schroer Germany Luftwaffe 114
Hans Dammers Germany Luftwaffe 113
Berthold Korts Germany Luftwaffe 113
Helmut Lent Germany Luftwaffe 113
Kurt Bühligen Germany Luftwaffe 112
Kurt Ubben Germany Luftwaffe 110
Franz Woidich Germany Luftwaffe 110
Reinhard Seiler Germany Luftwaffe 109
Emil Bitsch Germany Luftwaffe 108
Hans Hahn (pilot) Germany Luftwaffe 108
Bernhard Vechtel Germany Luftwaffe 108
Viktor Bauer Germany Luftwaffe 106
Werner Lucas Germany Luftwaffe 106
Günther Lützow Germany Luftwaffe 105
Adolf Galland Germany Luftwaffe 104
Eberhard von Boremski Germany Luftwaffe 104
Heinz Sachsenberg Germany Luftwaffe 104
Hartmann Grasser Germany Luftwaffe 103
Siegfried Freytag Germany Luftwaffe 102
Friedrich Geisshardt Germany Luftwaffe 102
Egon Mayer Germany Luftwaffe 102
Max-Hellmuth Ostermann Germany Luftwaffe 102
Josef Wurmheller Germany Luftwaffe 102
Rudolf Miethig Germany Luftwaffe 101
Josef Priller Germany Luftwaffe 101
Ulrich Wernitz Germany Luftwaffe 101
Rudolf Müller Germany Luftwaffe 101
Ilmari Juutilainen Finland Finnish Air Force 94
Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Germany Luftwaffe 83
Hans Wind Finland Finnish Air Force 75
Saburo Sakai Japan Imperial Japanese Navy 64
Iwan Koschedub Soviet Union VVS 62
Constantine Cantacuzine Romania 60
Aleksandr Ivanovich Pokryshkin Soviet Union VVS 59
Grigori Reschkalow Soviet Union VVS 58
Eino Luukkanen Finland Finnish Air Force 56
Alexandru Serbanescu Romania 56
Wilhelm-Ferdinand Galland Germany Luftwaffe 55
Richard I. Bong USA Army Air Forces 40
Johnnie Johnson UK Royal Air Force 38
Thomas McGuire USA Army Air Forces 38
David McCampbell USA Navy 34
Pierre Clostermann France Royal Air Force 33
Adolph Malan South Africa Royal Air Force 32
Clive Caldwell Australia Royal Australian Air Force 28.5
Francis "Gabby" Gabreski USA Army Air Forces 28
Robert S. Johnson USA Army Air Forces 28
Cecil E. Harris USA Navy 23
Stanislaw Skalski Poland Polish Air Force 22
Karel Kuttelwascher Czechoslovakia Royal Air Force 20
Josef Frantisek Czechoslovakia Polish Air Force 17
Chuck Yeager USA Army Air Forces 12.5
Lydia Litvak Soviet Union Soviet Air Force 12

Korean War

Aces of Korean War
Name Country Service Victories
Nikolay Sutyagin Soviet Union VVS 21
Yevgeny Pepelyaev Soviet Union VVS 19
Capt. Joseph C. McConnell USA Air Force 16
Major James Jabara USA Air Force 15
Capt. Manuel J. "Pete" Fernandez USA Air Force 14 1/2
Maj. George A. Davis USA Air Force 14
Lev Shchukin Soviet Union VVS 13
Sergei Kramarenko Soviet Union VVS 13

Vietnam War

Aces of Vietnam War
Name Country Service Victories
Nguyen Toon, aka "Colonel Tomb" (disputed - reportedly shot down by "Duke" Cunningham and William Driscoll on May 10, 1972) North Vietnam Air Force 13
Nguyen Van Coc North Vietnam Air Force 9
Mai Van Cuong North Vietnam Air Force 8
Randall "Duke" Cunningham/William Driscoll USA Navy 5
Charles B. DeBellevue USA Air Force 6
Vadim Petrovich Shchbakov Soviet Union PVO Strany (1) 6

1. Advisor to NVPAF

Other conflicts

Aces of Arab-Israeli Wars
Name Country Service Victories
Col. (Res.) Giora Epstein Israel Air Force 17
Yiftah Spector Israel Air Force 15
Amir Nahumi Israel Air Force 15
Djur Abid Adib Syria Air Force 5
Majad Halabi Syria Air Force 5
Majid Zugbi Syria Air Force 6
Aces and Highest Number of Victories in Indo-Pakistani Wars. These are technically no aces, as they don't get over 5 kills.
Name Country Service War Victories
Muhammad Shams-ul-Haq Pakistan Air Force 1971 4
Syed Sa'ad Akhtar Hatmi Pakistan Air Force 1971 3
Highest Number Victories of Persian Gulf War
Name Country Service Victories

Note: There were no aces in the Persian Gulf War of 1991. The pilots with the greatest number of victories is included Two F-15 Eagle pilots were credited with three victories each.

See also

de:Fliegerasse fr:Liste des as de l'aviation it:Asso dell'aviazione no:Flyveress pl:As myśliwski sl:Letalski as

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