List of aces of aces

Ace of aces is a title accorded to the top active ace within a branch of service in a nation's military in time of war. The title is most closely associated with fighter aces, though there are other types, such as tank aces and submarine aces.

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.

Persons accorded the title Ace of aces

Person	Country of service	War	Time	Notes
Adolphe Pégoud	Third Republic (France)	World War I	28 April 1915 – 31 August 1915	The first flying ace in aerial warfare history.[1]
Jean Navarre	Third Republic (France)	World War I	– 17 June 1916	Wounded in action on 17 June 1916.[2]
Georges Guynemer	Third Republic (France)	World War I	– 11 September 1917	[2][3]
Charles Nungesser	Third Republic (France)	World War I	11 September 1917 –	Succeeded Guynemer on his death.[3]
René Fonck	Third Republic (France)	World War I	– end of World War I	All-time Allied Ace of Aces, with 75 confirmed aerial victories.[4][5][6]
Max Immelmann	Imperial Germany	World War I	– 18 June 1916	Before his death, Boelcke and Immelmann swapped the title several times.[7]
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.[8]
Erich Loewenhardt	Imperial Germany	World War I	– 10 August 1918	[9]
Ernst Udet	Imperial Germany	World War I	– end of World War I	[10]
Manfred von Richthofen	Imperial Germany	World War I	26 April 1916 – 21 April 1918	One of the most widely recognized fighter aces of all time, Richthofen, also called "The Red Baron", achieved at most 80 air combat victories during his active flying career. Some say it was around 73, though.[11]
Raoul Lufbery	United States ( Escadrille Lafayette)	World War I	October 1916 – 15 May 1918	[12][13]
Paul Frank Baer	United States ( Escadrille Lafayette)	World War I	15 May 1918 – 18 May 1918	Succeeded Lufbery on his death.[12]
Frank Leaman Baylies	United States ( L'armee de l'air de France)	World War I	18 May 1918 – 12 June 1918	Succeeded Baer on his death.[12]
David E. Putnam	United States ( Escadrille Lafayette)	World War I	12 June 1918 – 12 September 1918	Succeeded Bayliss on his capture.[12]
Frank Luke	United States	World War I	12 September 1918 – 29 September 1918	Succeeded Bayliss on his death.[12]
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[12]
Indra Lal Roy	British Empire	World War I	1917–1918	India's most successful fighter pilot, with 12 kills (2 shared). He remains the only Indian fighter ace to this day.[14]
Richard Bong	United States	World War II	1941–1945	World War II top flying ace, credited with 40 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded Medal of Honor.[15]
Ivan Kozhedub	Soviet Union	World War II	26 March 1943 – 16 April 1945	Credited with 64 victories, Kozhedub is the top scoring Allied ace of World War II. One of the few pilots to shoot down Messerschmitt Me 262.[16][17]
William R. Dunn	United States ( Eagle Squadron)	World War II	August 1941 –	[18]
Joe Foss	United States	World War II	1942–1944	Credited with 26 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor.[19]
Werner Mölders	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	– 22 November 1941	[20]
Erich Hartmann	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	– end of World War II	Hartmann is the highest scoring ace, with 352 aerial victories, the first pilot to achieve 300 aerial victories (on 24 August 1944) and first to achieve 350 aerial victories (on 17 April 1945)[21]
Alfred Schreiber	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	28 October 1944	First jet ace in aviation history[22]
James Jabara	United States	Korean War	20 May 1951 –	First American Jet ace for Jet-vs-Jet combat.[23]
George A. Davis	United States	Korean War	– Friday 13 March 1953	Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat.[24][25]
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.[24][26]
Joseph C. McConnell	United States	Korean War	– end of Korean War	Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat.[27]
Muhammad Mahmood Alam	Pakistan	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965	1960-1982	Muhammad Mahmood Alam claimed and is credited to have shot down 9 Indian aircraft[28]
Giora Even Epstein	Israel	Six-Day War	– Tuesday 6 June 1967	A retired colonel in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets, making Epstein the ace of aces of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.[29][30]
Randy H. Cunningham	United States	Vietnam War	1968 – 1972	First American ace of the Vietnam War.[31]
Nguyen Van Coc	Democratic Republic of Vietnam	Vietnam War	1967-1969	[32] [33]
Legesse Tefera	Ethiopian Air Force	Ogaden War	1977-1978	Ethiopia's most successful pilot, and the most successful Northrop F-5 pilot, with 6 or 7 kills. [34][35][36][37]
Shahram Rostami	Iran	Iran–Iraq War	1980–1988	[38][39][40]
Jalil Zandi	Iran	Iran–Iraq War	1980–1988	Iran's most successful fighter pilot ever, with eight confirmed aerial victories. The most successful F-14 Tomcat pilot.[41][42][43]
Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan	Iraq	Iran–Iraq War	1980–1986	Iraq's most successful fighter pilot ever, with 5 confirmed aerial victories. The most successful MiG-25 pilot.[44][45]

Submarine aces

Ace of the Deep is a title accorded to the top subsea ace/undersea ace/submarine ace of a nation's submarine force during time of war.

Persons accorded the title ace of aces

Person	Country of service	War	Time	Notes
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière	Imperial Germany	World War I	1915–18	The commander of U-35, de la Periere sank a total of 194 merchant vessels and gunboats totaling 453,716 gross metric tons.[46]
Dick O'Kane	United States	World War II	– 25 October 1944	Was captured and made Prisoner of war.[47]
Eugene Fluckey	United States	World War II		[48]
Malcolm David Wanklyn	United Kingdom	World War II	– 14 April 1942	Wanklyn was the British Ace of Aces in terms of tonnage.[48][49][50]
Benjamin Bryant	United Kingdom	World War II	– end of World War II	Bryant was the British Ace of Aces.[51][52]
Reinhard Suhren	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II		A U-boat ace.[53]
Gianfranco Gazzana-Priaroggia	Italy	World War II		The highest scoring Italian submarine commander, with 11 ships sunk for a total of 90,601 tons.[54]
Carlo Fecia di Cossato	Italy	World War II		With 16 sinkings, he is credited with the most kills in the Regia Marina, as well as the second most successful Italian submarine commander with 86,545 tons.[54]

Submarine hunters

Persons accorded the title ace of aces

Person	Country of service	War	Time	Notes
John Walker	United Kingdom	World War II		Walker sank more U-boats (12 confirmed) during the Battle of the Atlantic than any other British or Allied commander.[55]

Tank aces

Person	Country of service	War	Time	Notes
Kurt Knispel	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	1940 – 28 April 1945	The most successful tank commander in history with a claimed 168 tanks destroyed.[56][57]
Otto Carius	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	1940 – 7 May 1945	Credited with over a 150 tank kills and 1 aircraft shot down.[58]
Dmitry Lavrinenko	Red Army (USSR)	World War II	1941	Dmitry Fyodorovich Lavrinenko was a Soviet tank commander and Hero of the Soviet Union. He was the highest scoring tank ace of the Allies during World War II. Lavrinenko destroyed 52 tanks in just 2.5 months of fierce fighting in 1941.
Lafayette G. Pool	United States	World War II	27 June 1944 – 15 September 1944	Widely recognised as the American tank ace of aces, with 12 confirmed tank kills and 258 armoured vehicle kills.[59][60]
Sydney Valphy Radley-Walters	Canada	World War II	October 1942 - end of World War II	The top ace of the western Allies during World War II, credited with 18 tank kills and many other armoured vehicles.[61] A unit under his command may have been responsible for the death of German tank ace Michael Wittmann.

References

1. Aviation History, "World's First Ace", Jon Guttman, Volume 20, Number 3, January 2010, pp.19
2. New York Times, "Saw 40 Air Foes After Guynemer", Thursday 27 September 1917
3. Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation, "Hispano-Suiza Aeronautical Engines", Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation, 1918
4. Taylor & Francis, "The European Powers in the First World War", Spencer Tucker, Laura Matysek Wood, Justin D. Murphy, ISBN 0-8153-0399-8
5. The Lowell Sun, "Record by French "Ace Of Aces" Never Equalled", Associated Press, Friday 21 June 1918
6. Doubleday, "Ace of Aces", René Fonck, 1967
7. New York Times, "Immelmann Fell 6,000 Feet To Death", 25 June 1916
8. New York Times, "A Talk With Boelcke On The Day Of His Death", Sunday 28 January 1917
9. Osprey Publishing, "Richthofen's Circus", Greg VanWyngarden, 2005
10. University of Nebraska Press, "Impossible missions?: German economic, military, and humanitarian efforts in Africa", Nina Berman, 2004
11. Kilduff, p. 6.
12. Stokes, "Fighting the Flying Circus", Eddie Rickenbacker, 1919, (accessed 18 April 2009)
13. Osprey Publishing, "American Aces of World War I", Norman Franks, 2001, ISBN 1-84176-375-6
14. http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/india/roy.php
15. "Dick Bong: Ace Of Aces", General George C. Kenney, 1960
16. Polak, Tomas with Christopher Shores. Stalin’s Falcon – The Aces of the Red Star. Brub Street, London, 1999. ISBN 1-902304-01-2, p.189
17. Николай Бодрихин. Советские асы. Очерки о советских летчиках
18. "Fighter Pilot: The First American Ace of World War II", William R. Dunn
19. The Telegraph (London), "Joe Foss", 2 January 2003, (accessed 17 April 2009)
20. Toliver & Constable 1998, p. 385.
21. Toliver & Constable 1998, pp. 385, 386.
22. Foreman & Harvey 1995, p. 81.
23. National Museum of the USAF, "LT. COL. JAMES JABARA" Archived 2012-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, (accessed 17 April 2009)
24. TIME, "Ace of Aces", Monday 23 March 1953, (accessed 17 April 2009)
25. TIME, "Fallen Ace", Monday 18 February 1952, (accessed 17 April 2009)
26. The Canberra Times, "Air Ace Ends Task", 16 March 1953, (accessed 17 April 2009)
27. TIME, "Ace's End", 6 September 1954, (accessed 17 April 2009)
28. "Fifth death anniversary of war hero MM Alam being observed today". Express Tribune. 18 March 2018.
29. "Desert Aces". Dogfights. Season 2. Episode 5. 2007-08-10. The History Channel. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10.
30. "CBSi". findarticles.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
31. Texas A&M University Press, "Striving for air superiority: the Tactical Air Command in Vietnam", Craig C. Hannah, 2002, ISBN 978-1-58544-146-4
32. "Vietnamese Air-to-Air Victories, Part 1". Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
33. "Vietnamese Air-to-Air Victories, Part 2". Archived from the original on 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
34. Which is Better, the F-5E Tiger II or the MiG-21? by Tom Cooper
35. Ethiopia : Hero Air Force General Passes Away
36. Air Force hero General Tefera Legese dies in Washington, DC
37. Ogaden War (Ethiopian-Somalia Conflict) 1977-1978
38. http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_210.shtml
39. http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_211.shtml
40. "Conflits Israelo-Arabes : 1948 / 1982". Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
41. Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, 2004, Osprey Publishing, pp. 23–24
42. Imperial Iranian Air Force: Samurai in the skies
43. "Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982, by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, Sept. 9, 2003". Archived from the original on 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
44. "Iraqi Air-to-Air Victories since 1967". Archived from the original on 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
45. Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat, by David Nicolle and Tom Cooper, (2004) Osprey Publishing, p.82
46. Challenge Publications, "The U-Boat ACE of ACES", William H Langenberg, 2004
47. Sutton Publishing, "The Bravest Man", William Tuohy, 2001
48. The Times (London), "Rear-Admiral Eugene Fluckey", 20 July 2007 (accessed 2009 April 20)
49. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Malcolm David Wanklyn VC, DSO, RN". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
50. Naval Institute Press, "Soldiers Lost at Sea", James E. Wise, Scott Baron, 2003, ISBN 978-1-59114-966-8
51. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Benjamin Bryant DSO, DSC, RN". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
52. Bantam, "Submarine Commander", Rear Admiral Ben Bryant, 1960
53. US Naval Institute Press, "Teddy Suhren: Ace of Aces: Memoirs of a U-boat Rebel", Teddy Suhren, ISBN 978-1-59114-851-7
54. Giorgerini, Giorgio (2002). Uomini sul fondo : storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi. Milano: Mondadori. p. 691. ISBN 8804505370.
55. http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersW.html#Walker_FJ
56. Ganz, A.Harding "Ghost Division: The 11th "Gespenster" Panzer Division and the German Armored" Stackpole Books 2016
57. Clodfelter, Micheal. "Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty" McFarland, 2017 p 456
58. George Forty "Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II" p. 103.
59. Forty, George (1997). Tank Aces: From Blitzkrieg to the Gulf War. Motorbooks Intl. ISBN 0750914475.
60. Woolner, Frank (September 22, 1944). "THE TEXAS TANKER". YANK Magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
61. Rose, Larry (April 23, 2015). "Tank Ace began stellar career at Normandy". The Globe and Mail.

Bibliography

• http://www.acesofww2.com/
• Foreman, John; Harvey, S.E. (1995), Messerschmitt Combat Diary Me.262, Crecy Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-871187-30-3.
• Toliver, Raymond F. and Trevor J. Constable (1998). Die deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939 – 1945. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-193-0.
• Samuel, Wolfgang W.E. (2004). American Raiders — The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1-57806-649-2.