Fighter Aces
Ace of aces is a title accorded to the top flying ace/fighter ace of a nation's air force during time of war.
| Person | Country of service | War | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adolphe Pégoud | Third Republic (France) | World War I | 28 April 1915 – 31 August 1915 | The first flying ace in aerial warfare history. |
| Georges Flachaire | Third Republic (France) | World War I | ||
| Jean Navarre | Third Republic (France) | World War I | – 17 June 1916 | On 17 June 1916, Navarre is shot down and then grounded for the rest of the war due to injury. |
| Georges Guynemer | Third Republic (France) | World War I | – 11 September 1917 | |
| Charles Nungesser | Third Republic (France) | World War I | 11 September 1917 – | Succeeded Guynemer on his death. |
| René Fonck | Third Republic (France) | World War I | – end of World War I | All-time Allied Ace of Aces, with 75 confirmed aerial victories. |
| Max Immelmann | Imperial Germany | World War I | – 18 June 1916 | Before his death, Boelcke and Immelmann swapped the title several times. |
| Oswald Boelcke | Imperial Germany | World War I | 18 June 1916 – 28 October 1916 | Before the death of Immelmann, Boelcke and Immelmann swapped the title several times. Succeeded Immelmann on his death. |
| Manfred von Richthofen | Imperial Germany | World War I | – 21 April 1918 | Known as the Red Baron, his 80 victories made him the highest scoring ace of the First World War. |
| Erich Loewenhardt | Imperial Germany | World War I | – 10 August 1918 | |
| Ernst Udet | Imperial Germany | World War I | – end of World War I | |
| Albert Ball | United Kingdom | World War I | – 7 May 1917 | Was also the ace of aces and highest scoring ace for the Western allies. |
| Keith Park | New Zealand ( No. 48 Squadron RAF) |
World War I | 1917 | Keith Park's ability as a fighter ace was overshadowed by his later successes as the commander of No. 11 Group RAF during the Battle of Britain and commander of the air defence of Malta. The Luftwaffe nicknamed him the "Defender of London". |
| Billy Bishop | Canada ( No. 85 Squadron RAF) |
World War I | 8 April 1917 – 19 June 1918 | Billy Bishop was officially credited with 72 victories, making him Canada's all time top ace, and according to some sources, the top ace of the British Empire. |
| Raymond Collishaw | Canada ( No. 203 Squadron RAF) |
World War I | 1916–1918 | Raymond Collishaw was the highest scoring Royal Naval Air Service flying ace and the second highest scoring Canadian pilot of the First World War. First pilot of the British Empire to claim six victories in one day (6 July 1917). |
| Edward Mannock | United Kingdom | World War I | 12 August 1917 – 26 July 1918 | Edward Mannock may have been the highest-scoring ace within the British Empire of all time and is regarded as one of the greatest fighter pilots of the war. |
| Raoul Lufbery | United States ( Escadrille Lafayette) |
World War I | October 1916 – 15 May 1918 | |
| Paul Frank Baer | United States ( Escadrille Lafayette) |
World War I | 15 May 1918 – 18 May 1918 | Succeeded Lufbery on his death. |
| Frank Bayliss | United States ( L'armee de l'air de France) |
World War I | 18 May 1918 – 12 June 1918 | Succeeded Baer on his death. |
| David E. Putnam | United States ( Escadrille Lafayette) |
World War I | 12 June 1918 – 12 September 1918 | Succeeded Bayliss on his capture. |
| Frank Luke | United States | World War I | – 29 September 1918 | |
| Eddie Rickenbacker | United States | World War I | 29 September 1918 – end of World War I | Succeeded Luke on his death. Was the US ace of aces for overall aerial victories |
| Edgar James "Cobber" Kain | New Zealand ( No. 53 Squadron RAF) |
World War II | October 1939 – May 1940 | First RAF air ace of WWII during the Battle of France. |
| Josef Frantisek | Czechoslovakia ( 303 Squadron) |
World War II | September 1940; | Credited as the top scoring RAF ace during the Battle of Britain. He refused to fly in formation but was allowed to fly as a "guest" of RAF 303 (Polish) squadron. In the air he would break off and patrol areas by himself where he knew enemy aircraft would be. |
| Eric Lock | ( No. 41 Squadron RAF) |
World War II | September 1940; | The top British ace during the Battle of Britain and along with Brian Carbury credited with the highest number of Bf 109 kills during this period. |
| Brian Carbury | New Zealand ( No. 603 Squadron RAF) |
World War II | September 1940; | One of the Ace Of Aces during the Battle of Britain, scored the most kills (along with Eric Lock) against Bf 109s and shot down 5 aircraft in one day to become an Ace in a Day. |
| Witold Urbanowicz | Poland ( No. 303 Squadron RAF) |
World War II | September 1940; | The top Polish ace during the Battle of Britain. 303 (Polish) Sqn entered the Battle of Britain later due to language barriers but went on to become one of the top scoring squadrons due to the Polish pilots' previous experience and determination. |
| Antoni Glowacki | Poland ( No. 501 Squadron RAF) |
World War II | September 1940; | One of only two RAF pilots (along with Brain Carbury) during the Battle of Britain to become an Ace in a Day by shooting down 5 aircraft in one day. |
| James E. "Johnnie" Johnson | United Kingdom | World War II | September 1941–1945 – | Top RAF ace of WWII. |
| William R. Dunn | United States ( Eagle Squadron) |
World War II | August 1941 – | First American ace, First American to have a shot down another plane. |
| Joe Foss | United States | World War II | 1942–1944 | The U.S. Marine Corps' top ace, credited with 26 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor. |
| Richard Bong | United States | World War II | 1942–1944 | aka "Ace of Aces." U.S. pilot credited with at least 40 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor. |
| Lee Archer | United States | World War II | 1944 | U.S. fighter pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen credited with four confirmed victories was the highest scoring African American pilot. |
| Hiroyoshi Nishizawa | Imperial Japan | World War II | 1942–1944 | Japan's top navy fighter pilot ace, credited with at approximately 80 downed aircraft in the Pacific war. |
| Helmut Wick | Third Reich (Germany) | World War II | 28 November 1940 | Credited with 56 aerial victories. Was the leading German fighter pilot for few hours until he was shot down and went missing in action. |
| Werner Mölders | Third Reich (Germany) | World War II | – 22 November 1941 | First pilot to achieve 100 aerial victories on 15 July 1941 |
| Gordon Gollob | Third Reich (Germany) | World War II | First pilot to achieve 150 aerial victories | |
| Hermann Graf | Third Reich (Germany) | World War II | First pilot to achieve 200 aerial victories | |
| Walter Nowotny | Third Reich (Germany) | World War II | First pilot to achieve 250 aerial victories Commanded one of the first Me 262 jet fighter squadrons. | |
| Erich Hartmann | Third Reich (Germany) | World War II | – end of World War II | To be accurate, Hartmann is the "Ace of the Aces of Aces." with 352 aerial victories, first pilot to achieve 300 aerial victories on 24 August 1944 and first to achieve 350 aerial victories on 17 April 1945 |
| Alfred Schreiber | Third Reich (Germany) | World War II | 28 October 1944 | First jet ace in aviation history |
| Kurt Welter | Third Reich (Germany) | World War II | – end of World War II | Highest scoring jet ace in aviation history |
| Lydia Litvyak | Soviet Union | World War II | Highest scoring female ace in aviation history | |
| James Jabara | United States | Korean War | 20 May 1951 – | First Jet ace for Jet-vs-Jet combat. |
| George A. Davis | United States | Korean War | – Friday 13 March 1953 | Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat. |
| Royal N. Baker | United States | Korean War | Friday 13 March 1953 – | Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat. Succeeded Davis on his death. |
| Joseph C. McConnell | United States | Korean War | – end of Korean War | Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat. |
| Sergei Kramarenko | Soviet Union ( Democratic People's Republic of Korea) |
Korean War | 29 July 1951 – | First Jet-vs-Jet ace of the Korean War. |
| Duke Cunningham | United States | Vietnam War | 1968 – 1972 | First American ace of the Vietnam War. |
| Jalil Zandi | Iran | Iran-Iraq War | 1980–1988 | Iran's most successful fighter pilot ever, with 11 aerial victories. The most successful F-14 Tomcat pilot. |
| M M Alam | Pakistan | Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 | 1960–1982 | Pakistan's most successful fighter pilot with 9 confirmed kills and 2 probables. |
| Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan | Iraq | Iran-Iraq War | 1980–1986 | Iraq's most successful fighter pilot ever, with 10 claimed and 4 confirmed aerial victories. The most successful MiG-25 pilot. |
| Saiful Azam | Bangladesh | Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Six-Day War | 1958–1980 | Saiful Azam remains the only fighter pilot who has flown for three Air forces (Jordan, Iraq and Pakistan) at war, along with honor of having kills against two different air forces (India and Israel). Minimum 5 claimed aerial victories in two different wars. |
| Giora Epstein | Israel | Six Day War, War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War | 1956–1998 | Israel's most successful fighter pilot with 17 kills to his name as well as history's highest scoring supersonic jet ace. |
| Marmaduke Pattle | South Africa ( No. 80 Squadron RAF) |
World War II | 1914–1941 | Pattle was a fighter ace with a high score of >50, and is sometimes noted as being the highest-scoring British and Commonwealth pilot of the Second World War. |
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Read more about this topic: List Of Aces Of Aces
Famous quotes containing the word fighter:
“A pleasant smell of frying sausages
Attacks the sense, along with an old, mostly invisible
Photograph of what seems to be girls lounging around
An old fighter bomber, circa 1942 vintage.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)