Flying ace

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In aviation, an ace is a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more enemy planes in the air. This is considered the benchmark for excellence in aerial combat.

Contents

Scoring

According to the American system, any enemy aircraft shot down in aerial combat counts towards a pilot’s score. All kills are equal; shooting down a top-of-the-line fighter counts as much as shooting down an unarmed transport (some countries had a “point system”, with a fighter worth one point, a light bomber worth two, and a heavy bomber worth three). The condition of the enemy plane’s personnel makes no difference, therefore it’s possible (although unlikely) to score five “kills” without actually killing anyone. Partial kills are awarded as partial kills; if two or more pilots shoot down a plane together, each gets a fraction of the kill. Some countries awarded full credit for partials, inflating scores.

Ace in a Day

An “ace in a day” is any pilot who scores five or more kills in a single day. Butch O’Hare (USN) and James Swett (USMC) both became aces in a day in World War II in their first combats. Commander David McCampbell (USN) performed the feat twice, once during the Battle of the Philippine Sea (seven kills) and once during the Battle of Leyte Gulf (nine kills). The record for most planes downed in a single day is eighteen, by Luftwaffe pilot Emil Lang on the Eastern front in World War II.

The jet age had a few aces-in-a-day as well. On the first day of the Yom Kippur War, Shlomo Egozy and Ray Manoff, the crew of an Israeli F-4 Phantom, downed five Egyptian Mi-8 helicopters in a short battle.[1]

Flying Aces in History

World War I

Manfred Von Richtofen, 80 kills (Germany, most famous ace in history, Killed in Action)

Rene Fonck, 75 kills (France, highest scoring Allied ace)

Eddie Rickenbacker, 26 kills (American)

Spanish Civil War

Frank Tinker, 8 kills (American, I-15 and I-16)[2]

Werner Molders, 14 kills (Germany, Messerschmitt Bf-109, scored 101 victories in World War II)

World War II

Major Richard Ira Bong, 40 kills (USAAF, P-38 Lighning, top-scoring American ace, MOH)

Colonel Neel Kearby, 22 kills (USAAF, P-47, KIA, MOH)

Major Thomas McGuire, 38 kills (USAAF, P-38, KIA, MOH)

Boyd Wagner, 8 kills (USAAF, P-40 Warhawk and P-39 Airacobra, first American ace of the war)

George Welch, 16 kills (USAAF; P-40, P-39, and P-38)

Commander David McCampbell, 34 kills (USN, F6F Hellcat, top-scoring Navy ace, MOH)

Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, 28 kills (USMC, P-40 and F4U Corsair, score includes six while with the Flying Tigers)[3]

Robert M. Hanson, 25 kills (USMC, F4U Corsair, KIA, MOH)

Lt. StJ “Pat” Pattle, 50+ kills (South Africa, Gloster Gladiator and Hawker Hurricane, top-scoring RAF ace, KIA)

Clive Caldwell, 28 kills (Australia, P-40 and Supermarine Spitfire, ace in Mediterranean and Pacific theaters)[4]

Alexander Pokryshkin, 59 kills (Soviet Union, MiG-3 and P-39, Hero of the Soviet Union)[5]

Lilya Litvak, 12 kills (Soviet Union, Yak-1, highest scoring female ace, KIA, HSU)[6]

Erich Hartmann, 352 kills (Germany, Bf-109, highest scoring ace ever, Knight’s Cross)

Heinrich Barr, 220 kills (Germany; Bf-109, Focke-Wulf FW-190, and Me-262, KC)[7]

Mato Dukuvac, 44 kills (Croatia, Bf-109)[8]

Warrant Officer Ilmari Juutilainen, 94 kills (Finland, Brewster Buffalo and Bf-109)[9]

Tetsuzo Iwamoto[10], 80+ kills (Japan, Mitsubishi A5M and Mitsubishi Zero, 14 kills in China)[11]

Saburo Sakai, 60+ kills (Japan, A5M and Zero)

Shui-Tin (Arthur) Chin, 8.5 kills (China, Curtis Hawk and Gloster Gladiator)[12]

Korean War

George Davis, 14 kills (USAF, F-86 Saber, KIA, MOH)

Captain James Jabara, 15 kills (USAF, F-86 Saber, first American ace of the war)[13]

Captain Joseph McConnell, 16 kills (USAF, F-86 Saber)[14]

Nikolai Sutyagin, 21 kills (Soviet Union, MiG-15, score probably inflated)[15]

Vietnam War

Randall “Duke” Cunningham, 5 kills (USN, F-4 Phantom, first American ace of the war)

Nguyen Van Coc, 9 kills (North Vietnam, MiG-21)[16]

Nguyen Van Bay, 7 kills (North Vietnam, MiG-17, American sources credit him with just five kills)[17]

Israeli-Arab conflicts

Amir Nachumi, 13 kills (Israel, F-4 Phantom and F-16 Falcon)[1]

Avner Naveh, 6.5 kills (Israel, F-15 Eagle, top-scoring Eagle pilot)[18]

Major Bassam Hamshu, 7 kills (Syria, MiG-21, KIA, highest scoring Arab ace)[19]

Iran-Iraq War

Major Jalil Zandi, 9 kills (Iran; F-14 Tomcat, top-scoring F-14 pilot)[20]

Captain K. Sedghi, 5 kills (Iran; F-14 Tomcat; first ace of the war)

Flying Aces in Fiction

TV

Stringfellow Hawke (Airwolf), Shin Kazuma (Area 88), Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Battlestar Galactica), Nathan West and “Chiggy Von Richthofen” (Space: Above and Beyond)

Film

Doug Masters (Iron Eagle), Lando Calrissian (Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Rafe McCawley (Pearl Harbor), Porco (Porco Rosso)

Literature

Amy “Buns” Nakamura (Red Storm Rising), Jeff “Bronco” Winters (Clear and Present Danger), Tony “Saint” Christopher (Red Phoenix), Major Hawk Hunter (Wingman), Joe Crosetti (End of the Beginning)

Other

Snoopy!

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Israeli F-4 Phantom II Aces, by Shlomo Aloni, Osprey Publishing, 2004
  2. ↑ US Biplane Aces: Frank Tinker
  3. ↑ Some historians dispute this figure, saying that he only shot down two Japanese planes while with the Flying Tigers, which would make his total score 24.
  4. ↑ Clive Caldwell, Air Ace, article in The Australian
  5. ↑ P-39 Airacobra Aces of World War 2, by George Mellinger and John Stanaway, Osprey Publishing, 2001
  6. ↑ Lilya Litvak, the “White Rose” of Stalingrad
  7. ↑ Luftwaffe Aces: German Combat Pilots of WWII, by Franz Kurowski, Stackpole Books, 2004
  8. ↑ Croatian Aces of World War 2, by Dragon Savic and Boris Ciglic, Osprey Publishing, 2002
  9. ↑ Finnish Aces of World War 2, by Kari Stenman and Kalevi Keskinnen, Osprey Publishing, 1998
  10. ↑ All Asian names are given in Western order, with given name before family name.
  11. ↑ Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937-45, by Henry Sakaida, Osprey Publishing, 1998
  12. ↑ Chinese Biplane Fighter Aces: “Arthur” Chin Shui-Tin
  13. ↑ F-86 Sabre Aces of the 4th Fighter Wing, by Warren Thompson, Osprey Publishing, 2006
  14. ↑ F-86 Aces of the 51st Fighter Wing, by Warren Thompson, Osprey Publishing, 2006
  15. ↑ Russian Aces of the Korean War
  16. ↑ MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War, by Istvan Toperczer, Osprey Publishing, 2001
  17. ↑ North Vietnamese Aces at Acepilots.com
  18. ↑ Israeli F-15 Eagle Units in Combat, by Shlomo Aloni, Osprey Publishing, 2006
  19. ↑ Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat, by David Nicolle and Tom Cooper, Osprey Publishing, 2004
  20. ↑ Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat, by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop, Osprey Publishing, 2004
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