Editing Flying ace

{{Short description|Distinction given to fighter pilots}}
{{Other uses|Flying Ace (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Pegoud croix de guerre.jpg|thumb|The "first French ace", Frenchman [[Adolphe Pégoud]] being awarded the ''[[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de guerre]]'']]
[[File:Mohammad Mahmood Alam 1965.jpg|thumb|[[MM Alam]], the only ace-in-a-day achiever in the jet age]]
A '''flying ace''', '''fighter ace''' or '''air ace''' is a [[military aviation|military aviator]] credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during [[aerial combat]]; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace varies, but is usually considered to be five or more.

The concept of the "[[Ace (military)|ace]]" emerged in 1915 during [[World War I]], at the same time as aerial [[dogfight]]ing. It was a propaganda term intended to provide the home front with a cult of the hero in what was otherwise a [[Attrition warfare|war of attrition]]. The individual actions of aces were widely reported and the image was disseminated of the ace as a chivalrous knight reminiscent of a bygone era.<ref>Robertson, pp. 100&mdash;103.</ref> For a brief early period when air-to-air combat was just being invented, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies. For most of the war, however, the image of the ace had little to do with the reality of air warfare, in which fighters fought in formation and [[air superiority]] depended heavily on the relative availability of resources.<ref>Belich 2001.</ref> The use of the term ace to describe these pilots began in World War&nbsp;I, when French newspapers described [[Adolphe Pégoud]], as {{langx|fr|label=none|l'As}} (the ace) after he became the first pilot to down five German aircraft. The British initially used the term "star-turns" (a show business term).{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The successes of such German ace pilots as [[Max Immelmann]] and [[Oswald Boelcke]], and especially [[Manfred von Richthofen]], the most victorious fighter pilot of the First World War, were well-publicized for the benefit of civilian morale, and the ''[[Pour le Mérite]]'', Prussia's highest award for gallantry, became part of the uniform of a leading German ace. In the ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'', the ''Pour le Mérite'' was nicknamed ''Der blaue Max''/The Blue Max, after Max Immelmann, who was the first pilot to receive this award. Initially, German aviators had to destroy eight [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] aircraft to receive this medal.<ref name=Payne>Payne, David. [http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-at-sea-in-air/the-aces/283-mick-mannock.html "Major 'Mick' Mannock, VC: Top Scoring British Flying Ace in the Great War."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621135215/http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-at-sea-in-air/the-aces/283-mick-mannock.html |date=2017-06-21}} ''[[Western Front Association]]'', May 21, 2008.</ref> As the war progressed, the qualifications for ''Pour le Mérite'' were raised,<ref name= Payne /> but successful German fighter pilots continued to be hailed as national heroes for the remainder of the war.

The few aces among combat aviators have historically accounted for the majority of air-to-air victories in military history.<ref name="Dunnigan, p. 149">Dunnigan 2003, p. 149.</ref>

==History==
===World War&nbsp;I===
{{See also|Lists of World War&nbsp;I flying aces|Aerial victory standards of World War&nbsp;I|Balloon buster}}
[[File:Manfred von Richthofen.jpg|thumb|left|upright|German Captain [[Manfred von Richthofen]], known as the "Red Baron", scored the most officially accepted kills (80) in World War&nbsp;I and is arguably the most famous flying ace of all time.]]

World War&nbsp;I introduced the systematic use of true single-seat fighter aircraft, with enough speed and agility to catch and maintain contact with targets in the air, coupled with armament sufficiently powerful to destroy the targets. Aerial combat became a prominent feature with the [[Fokker Scourge]], in the last half of 1915. This was also the beginning of a long-standing trend in warfare, showing statistically that approximately five percent of combat pilots account for the majority of air-to-air victories.<ref name="Dunnigan, p. 149"/>

As the [[Jagdstaffeln|German fighter squadrons]] usually fought well within German lines, it was practicable to establish and maintain very strict guidelines for the official recognition of victory claims by German pilots. Shared victories were either credited to one of the pilots concerned or to the unit as a whole – the destruction of the aircraft had to be physically confirmed by locating its wreckage, or an independent witness to the destruction had to be found. Victories were also counted for aircraft forced down within German lines, as this usually resulted in the death or capture of the enemy aircrew.

Allied fighter pilots fought mostly in German-held airspace<ref>Shores et al. 1990, p. 6.</ref><ref>Guttman 2009, p. 39.</ref> and were often not in a position to confirm that an enemy aircraft had  crashed, so these victories were frequently claimed as "driven down", "forced to land", or "out of control" (called "probables" in later wars). These victories were usually included in a pilot's totals and citations for decorations.<ref>Shores, Franks and Guest, 1990, p. 8.</ref>

[[File:René Fonck 02.jpg|thumb|upright|French Colonel [[René Fonck]], to this day the highest-scoring Allied flying ace with 75 victories]]

The British high command considered the praise of fighter pilots to be detrimental to equally brave bombers and reconnaissance aircrew – so that the British air services did not publish official statistics on the successes of individuals. Nonetheless, some pilots did become famous through press coverage,<ref name = Payne /> making the British system for the recognition of successful fighter pilots much more informal and somewhat inconsistent.  One pilot, [[Arthur Lee (RAF officer)|Arthur Gould Lee]], described his own score in a letter to his wife as "Eleven, five by me solo — the rest shared", adding that he was "miles from being an ace".<ref>Lee 1968, p. 208.</ref> This shows that his [[No. 46 Squadron RAF]] counted shared kills, but separately from "solo" ones&mdash;one of a number of factors that seems to have varied from unit to unit. Also evident is that Lee considered a higher figure than five kills to be necessary for "ace" status. Aviation historians credit him as an ace with two enemy aircraft destroyed and five driven down out of control, for a total of seven victories.<ref>Shores et al. 1990, pp. 236–237.</ref>

Other Allied countries, such as France and Italy, fell somewhere in between the very strict German approach and the relatively casual British one. They usually demanded independent witnessing of the destruction of an aircraft, making confirmation of victories scored in enemy territory very difficult.<ref name = "Over 6">Franks and Bailey 1992, p. 6.</ref> The Belgian crediting system sometimes included "out of control" to be counted as a victory.<ref>Pieters 1998, pp. 34, 85.</ref>

The [[United States Army Air Service]] adopted French standards for evaluating victories, with two exceptions – during the summer 1918, while flying under the operational control of the British, the [[17th Weapons Squadron|17th Aero Squadron]] and the 148th Aero Squadron used British standards.<ref name = "Over 6" /> American newsmen, in their correspondence to their papers, decided that five victories were the minimum needed to become an ace.<ref>Farr 1979, p. 55.</ref>

While "ace" status was generally won only by fighter pilots, bombers and reconnaissance crews on both sides also destroyed some enemy aircraft, typically in defending themselves from attack. The most notable example of a non-pilot ace in World War&nbsp;I is [[Charles George Gass]] with 39 accredited aerial victories.<ref>Franks et al. 1997, pp. 18–19.</ref>

===Between the world wars===
{{Main|List of Spanish Civil War flying aces|List of Flying Tigers pilots}}

Between the two world wars two conflicts produced flying aces, the [[Spanish Civil War]] and the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]].

The [[Spanish people|Spanish]] ace [[Joaquín García Morato]] scored 40 victories for the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. Part of the outside intervention in the war was the supply of "volunteer" foreign pilots to both sides. Russian and American aces joined the Republican air force, while the Nationalists included Germans and Italians.

The [[Soviet Volunteer Group]] began operations in the Second Sino-Japanese War as early as December 2, 1937, resulting in 28 Soviet aces.<ref>[http://wio.ru/spain/china-a.htm "Allied aces of War in China and Mongol-Manchurian border"] ''Wio.ru'' Retrieved: October 10, 2014.</ref> The [[Flying Tigers]] were American military pilots who were recruited [[sub rosa]] to aid the [[Chinese Nationalists]]. They spent the summer and autumn of 1941 in transit to China, and did not begin flying combat missions until December 20, 1941.

===World War&nbsp;II===
{{Main|List of World War&nbsp;II flying aces|Confirmation and overclaiming of aerial victories during World War II}}
[[File:Erich Hartmann voor zijn Bf 109 (G-6).jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Erich Hartmann]], with 352 official kills, by far the highest scoring fighter pilot of all time]]

In [[World War&nbsp;II]] many air forces adopted the British practice of crediting fractional shares of aerial victories, resulting in fractions or decimal scores, such as {{frac|11|1|2}} or 26.83. Some U.S. commands also credited aircraft destroyed on the ground as equal to aerial victories. The Soviets distinguished between solo and group kills, as did the Japanese, though the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] stopped crediting individual victories (in favor of squadron tallies) in 1943.{{citation needed|date = May 2014}}

The [[Soviet Air Forces]] has the top Allied pilots in terms of aerial victories, [[Ivan Kozhedub]] credited with 66 victories and [[Alexander Pokryshkin]] scored 65 victories. It also claimed the only female aces of the war: [[Lydia Litvyak]] scored 12 victories and [[Yekaterina Budanova]] achieved 11.<ref>Bergström 2007, p. 83.</ref> The highest scoring pilots from the Western allies against the German Luftwaffe were [[Johnnie Johnson (RAF officer)|Johnnie Johnson]] ([[Royal Air Force|RAF]], 38 kills) and [[Gabby Gabreski]] ([[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]], 28 kills in the air and 3 on the ground).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Sims|first=Edward H.|title=The Greatest Aces|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|year=1976|isbn=9780345253309|location=London|pages=17}}</ref> In the Pacific theater [[Richard Bong]] became the top American fighter ace with 40 kills. In the Mediterranean theater [[Pat Pattle]] achieved at least 40 kills, mainly against Italian planes, and became the top fighter ace of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] in the war. Fighting on different sides, the French pilot [[Pierre Le Gloan]] had the unusual distinction of shooting down four German, seven Italian and seven British aircraft, the latter while he was flying for [[Vichy France]] in [[Syria]].{{citation needed|date = May 2014}}

[[File:Ilmari Juutilainen 26.6.1942.jpg|thumb|[[Ilmari Juutilainen]], the top Finnish flying ace with 94 confirmed kills]]

The German [[Luftwaffe]] continued the tradition of "one pilot, one kill", and now referred to top scorers as ''Experten''.{{refn|For the award of decorations, the Germans initiated a points system to equal up achievements between the aces flying on the Eastern front with those on other, more demanding, fronts: one for a fighter, two for a twin-engine bomber, three for a four-engine bomber; night victories counted double; Mosquitoes counted double, due to the difficulty of bringing them down.<ref>Johnson 1967, p. 264.</ref>|group=N}} Some Luftwaffe pilots achieved very high scores, such as [[Erich Hartmann]] (352 kills) or [[Gerhard Barkhorn]] (301 kills).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mitcham|first=Samuel W.|title=Eagles of the Third Reich - Men of the Luftwaffe in World War&nbsp;II|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2007|isbn=9780811734059|pages=217}}</ref> There were 107 German pilots with more than 100 kills. Most of these were won against the [[Soviet Air Forces|Soviet Air Force]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murray|first=Williamson|title=The Luftwaffe, 1933-45 - Strategy for Defeat|publisher=Brassey's|year=1996|isbn=9781574881257|pages=82}}</ref> The highest scoring fighter ace against Western allied forces were [[Hans-Joachim Marseille]] (158 kills)<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Heaton |first1=Colin D. |author2=Anne-Marie Lewis |title=The Star of Africa - The Story of Hans Marseille, the Rogue Luftwaffe Ace Who Dominated the WWII Skies|publisher=MBI Publishing Company|year=2012|isbn=9780760343937}}</ref> and [[Heinrich Bär|Heinz Bär]] (208 kills, of which 124 in the west). Notable are also [[Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer]], with 121 kills the highest-scoring [[Night fighter|night-fighter]] ace, and [[Werner Mölders]], the first pilot to claim more than 100 kills in the history of [[aerial warfare]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Jackson|first=Robert|title=Air Aces of World War&nbsp;II|publisher=Airlife|year=2003|isbn=9781840374124}}</ref> Pilots of other Axis powers also achieved high scores, such as [[Ilmari Juutilainen]] ([[Finnish Air Force]], 94 kills), [[Constantin Cantacuzino (aviator)|Constantin Cantacuzino]] ([[Romanian Air Force]], 69 kills) or [[Mato Dukovac]] ([[Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia|Croatian Air Force]], 44 kills). The highest scoring Japanese fighter pilot was [[Tetsuzō Iwamoto]], who achieved 216 kills. 

[[File:Ivan_Kozhedub_1.jpg|thumb|[[Ivan Kozhedub]], the top Soviet and Allied flying ace in the war, with 60 solo victories to his credit]]

A number of factors probably contributed to the very high totals of the top German aces. For a limited period (especially during [[Operation Barbarossa]]), many Axis victories were over obsolescent aircraft and either poorly trained or inexperienced Allied pilots.<ref>Shores 1983, pp. 94–95.</ref> In addition, Luftwaffe pilots generally flew many more individual [[sortie]]s (sometimes well over 1000) than their Allied counterparts. Moreover, they often kept flying combat missions until they were captured, incapacitated, or killed, while successful Allied pilots were usually either promoted to positions involving less combat flying or routinely rotated back to training bases to pass their valuable combat knowledge to younger pilots.{{citation needed|date = May 2014}} An imbalance in the number of targets available also contributed to the apparently lower numbers on the Allied side, since the [[Luftwaffe serviceable aircraft strengths (1940–45)|number of operational Luftwaffe fighters]] was normally well below 1,500, with the total aircraft number never exceeding 5,000, and [[World War II aircraft production|the total aircraft production of the Allies being nearly triple that of the other side]]. A difference in tactics might have been a factor as well; [[Erich Hartmann]], for example, stated "See if there is a straggler or an uncertain pilot among the enemy... Shoot him down",<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Toliver |first1=Raymond F. |last2=Constable |first2=Trevor J. |author-link2=Trevor James Constable |year=1986 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4LrKkp7ynFcC |title=The Blond Knight of Germany |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-8306-8189-1}}</ref> which would have been an efficient and relatively low-risk way of increasing the number of kills. At the same time, the Soviet 1943 "Instruction For Air Combat" stated that the first priority must be the enemy commander, which was a much riskier task, but one giving the highest return in case of a success.

===Post-World War&nbsp;II aces===
====Korean War====
{{Main|List of Korean War flying aces}}

The [[Korean War]] of 1950–53 marked the transition from [[piston-engine]]d propeller driven aircraft to more modern jet aircraft. As such, it saw the world's first jet-vs-jet aces. The highest scoring ace of the war is considered to be the Soviet pilot [[Nikolai Sutyagin]] who claimed 22 kills.

====Vietnam War====
{{Main|List of Vietnam War flying aces}}
[[File:Capt. Richard S. Ritchie, in South Vietnam - 1972.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Capt. [[Richard Stephen Ritchie]], 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, pictured beside the aircraft in which he became the first Air Force ace of the Vietnam War]]

The [[Vietnam People's Air Force]] had begun development of its modern air-forces, primarily trained by Czechoslovak and Soviet trainers since 1956.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O88vDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT4|title=MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War|last=Toperczer|first=István|date=2017-09-21|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781472823571|language=en}}</ref> The outbreak of the largest sustained bombardment campaign in history prompted rapid deployment of the nascent air-force, and the first engagement of the war was in April 1965 at [[Thanh Hóa Bridge]] which saw relatively outdated subsonic [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17|MiG-17]] units thrown against technically superior [[Republic F-105 Thunderchief|F-105 Thunderchief]] and [[Vought F-8 Crusader|F-8 Crusader]], damaging 1 F-8 and killing two F-105 jets.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O88vDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT4|title=MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War|last=Toperczer|first=István|date=2017-09-21|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781472823571|pages=4|language=en}}</ref> The MiG-17 generally did not have sophisticated radars and missiles and relied on dog-fighting and maneuverability to score kills on US aircraft.<ref name=":0"/> Since US aircraft heavily outnumbered North Vietnamese ones, the Warsaw Pact and others had begun arming North Vietnam with [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]] jets.<ref name=":0"/> The VPAF had adopted a strategy of "guerrilla warfare in the sky" utilizing quick hit-and-run attacks against US targets, continually flying low and forcing faster, more heavily armed US jets to engage in dog-fighting where the MiG-17 and MiG-21 had superior maneuverability.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KrOhDAAAQBAJ|title=MiG-17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War|last=Toperczer|first=István|date=2016-10-20|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781472812575|language=en}}</ref>  The VPAF had carried out the first air-raid on US ships since WW2, with two aces including [[Nguyễn Văn Bảy]] attacking US ships during the [[Battle of Đồng Hới]] in 1972. Quite often air-to-air losses of US fighter jets were re-attributed to [[surface-to-air missiles]], as it was considered "less embarrassing".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mikoyan MiG-21|last=E.|first=Gordon|date=2008|publisher=Midland|others=Dexter, Keith., Komissarov, Dmitriĭ (Dmitriĭ Sergeevich)|isbn=9781857802573|location=Hinckley|oclc=245555578}}</ref> By the war's end, the US had nevertheless confirmed 249 air-to-air US aircraft losses<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://myplace.frontier.com/~anneled/usloss.html|title=US Air-to-Air Losses in the Vietnam War|website=myplace.frontier.com|access-date=2018-06-19}}</ref> while the figures for North Vietnam are disputed, ranging from 195 North Vietnamese aircraft from US claims<ref>{{Cite book|title=Air warfare: an international encyclopedia|date=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|editor=Boyne, Walter J. |isbn=978-1576073452|location=Santa Barbara, CA|pages=679|oclc=49225204}}</ref> to 131 from Soviet, North Vietnamese and allied records.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-03-15|title=Kafedra i klinika urologii pervogo sankt-peterburgskogo gosudarstvennogo meditsinskogo universiteta im. akad. I. P. Pavlova: vchera, segodnya, zavtra|journal=Urologicheskie Vedomosti|volume=5|issue=1|pages=3|doi=10.17816/uroved513-6|issn=2225-9074|doi-access=}}</ref>

American air-to-air combat during the Vietnam War generally matched intruding United States [[fighter-bomber]]s against radar-directed integrated North Vietnamese air defense systems. American [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4 Phantom II]], F-8 Crusader and F-105 fighter crews usually had to contend with [[surface-to-air missiles]], [[anti-aircraft artillery]], and machine gun fire before opposing fighters attacked them.{{citation needed|date = May 2014}}  The long-running conflict produced 22 aces: 17 North Vietnamese pilots, two American pilots, three American weapon systems officers or WSOs (WSO is the USAF designation, one of the three was actually a US Naval aviator, with an equivalent job, but using the USN designation of Radar Intercept Officer or RIO).<ref>[http://aces.safarikovi.org/victories/usa-v1.html "Aces."] ''Safari Kovi''. Retrieved October 10, 2014.</ref>

====Arab–Israeli war====
{{Main|List of Egyptian flying aces|List of Israeli flying aces|List of Syrian flying aces}}
[[File:Giora_Epstein.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Giora Epstein]], the highest scoring flying ace in the [[Israeli Air Force]] with 17 aerial victories]]

The series of wars and conflicts between Israel and its neighbors began with Israeli independence in 1948 and continued for over three decades.

====Iran–Iraq war====
[[File:Jalil Zandi-.jpg|thumb|upright|Brig. General [[Jalil Zandi]], an ace fighter pilot in the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force|Iranian Air Force]]. The most successful [[F-14 Tomcat]] pilot ever with eight confirmed kills during the Iran-Iraq war.]]

Brig. General [[Jalil Zandi]] (1951–2001) was an ace [[fighter pilot]] in the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force]], serving for the full duration of the [[Iran–Iraq War]]. His record of eight confirmed and three probable<ref>{{cite journal | last=Herbert | first=Adam | title=Air Power Classics |journal=Air Force Magazine |date=January 2015| page=76}}</ref> victories against Iraqi combat aircraft qualifies him as an ace and the most successful pilot of that conflict and the most successful [[Grumman F-14 Tomcat]] pilot worldwide.<ref>[http://www.iiaf.net/iiafmisc/announcements/announcements.html "Imperial Iranian Air Force: Samurai in the skies."] IIAF, August 22, 1980. Retrieved October 10, 2014.</ref><ref name="Fire">Cooper, Tom and Farzad Bishop. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051029123320/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_214.shtml "Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982."]}} ACIG, September 9, 2003. Retrieved October 10, 2014.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cieldegloire.com/as_45_00_victoires.php |title=As 45-00 victoires |access-date=2015-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017182246/http://www.cieldegloire.com/as_45_00_victoires.php#zandi |archive-date=2013-10-17 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_210.shtml |title=Iranian Air-to-Air Victories 1976-1981 |access-date=2018-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323174414/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_210.shtml |archive-date=2010-03-23 |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_211.shtml |title=Iranian Air-to-Air Victories, 1982-Today |access-date=2011-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323174626/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_211.shtml |archive-date=2010-03-23 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Brig. General [[Shahram Rostami]] was another Iranian ace. He was also an F-14 pilot. He had six confirmed kills. His victories include one [[MiG-21]], two [[MiG-25]]s, and three [[Mirage F1]]s.<ref>{{citation|title=Fighter Aces: Knights of the Skies|publisher=Casemate Publishers|page=21|year=2017|isbn=9781612004839|author=John Sadler|author2=Rosie Serdville}}</ref>

Colonel [[Mohommed Rayyan|Mohammed Rayyan]] was an Iraqi ace fighter pilot who shot down 10 Iranian aircraft, mostly [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4 Phantoms]] during the war.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Nicolle|first1=David|title=Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat|last2=Cooper|first2=Tom|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2004}}</ref>

==== Indo-Pakistan War ====
Air Commodore [[Muhammad Mahmood Alam]] was an ace fighter pilot in the [[Pakistan Air Force]]. During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], Alam claimed to have downed five aircraft in a single sortie on 7 September 1965 with four downed in less than a minute, establishing a world record. These claims, however, have been widely contested but never substantiated by Indian Air Force officials.<ref name="defencejournal">{{cite web|last=Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail|author-link=Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail|title=Alam's Speed-shooting Classic|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/september/alam.htm|access-date=15 November 2011|publisher=Defencejournal.com|archive-date=27 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927040737/http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/september/alam.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Fricker">{{cite book|last=Fricker|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPttAAAAMAAJ|title=Battle for Pakistan: the air war of 1965|year=1979|pages=15–17|publisher=I. Allan |isbn=9780711009295}}</ref><ref name="Polmar">{{cite book|last1=Polmar|first1=Norman|url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_v6d0|title=One hundred years of world military aircraft|last2=Bell|first2=Dana|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=2003|isbn=978-1-59114-686-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_v6d0/page/354 354]|quote=Mohammed Mahmood Alam claimed five victories against Indian Air Force Hawker Hunters, four of them in less than one minute! Alam, who ended the conflict with 9 kills, became history's only jet "ace-in-a-day."|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Nordeen's Indo-Pak 1965 Conflict">{{cite book|last=O' Nordeen|first=Lon|url=https://archive.org/details/airwarfareinmiss00nord|title=Air Warfare in the Missile Age|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-87474-680-8|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/airwarfareinmiss00nord/page/84 84–87]|url-access=registration}}</ref>

==== Russo-Ukrainian War====

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, during the fighting in Ukraine, Lieutenant Colonel [[Ilya Sizov]] "destroyed 12 Ukrainian aircraft (3 [[Sukhoi Su-24|Su-24]] aircraft, 3 [[Sukhoi Su-27|Su-27]] aircraft, 3 [[Mikoyan MiG-29|MiG-29]] aircraft, 2 [[Mil Mi-24|Mi-24]] helicopters, 1 [[Mil Mi-14|Mi-14]] helicopter) and two [[Buk-M1]] anti-aircraft missile complexes.<ref> {{cite web |url= https://www.key.aero/article/how-sophisticated-russias-air-defence-network |title= How Sophisticated Russia's Air Defence Network ? |date= 18 October 2022 |publisher= Key Publishing Ltd |work= Key.Aero}} </ref>

==Accuracy==
Realistic assessment of enemy casualties is important for [[Military intelligence|intelligence]] purposes, so most air forces expend considerable effort to ensure accuracy in victory claims.{{cn|date=October 2024}} In World War&nbsp;II, the aircraft [[gun camera]] came into general usage by the Luftwaffe as well as the RAF and USAAF, partly in hope of alleviating inaccurate victory claims.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

=== World War I aerial victory accuracy ===
{{main|Aerial victory standards of World War I}}
In World War&nbsp;I the [[Aerial victory standards of World War I|standards for confirmation of aerial victories]] were developed. The most strict were the German and French ones which required both the existence of traceable wrecks or observations of independent observers. In contrast to this, the British system also accepted single claims of the pilots and deeds such as enemy planes "out of control", "driven down" and "forced to land".<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Shores|first=Christopher F.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22113328|title=Above the trenches : a complete record of the fighter aces and units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920|date=1990|publisher=Fortress|others=Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest|isbn=0-948817-19-4|location=Ontario|oclc=22113328}}</ref> Aerial victories were also divided among different pilots.{{cn|date=October 2024}} This led to vast overclaims on the British and partially on the US American side. Some air forces, such as the USAAF, also included kills on the ground as victories.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

The most accurate figures usually belong to the air arm fighting over its own territory, where many wrecks can be located, and even identified, and where shot down enemy aircrews are either killed or captured. It is for this reason that at least 76 of the 80 aircraft credited to [[Manfred von Richthofen]] can be tied to known British losses.<ref>Robinson 1958, pp. 150–155.</ref> The German [[Jagdstaffeln]] flew defensively, on their own side of the lines, in part due to General [[Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard|Hugh Trenchard]]'s policy of offensive patrol.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

=== World War II aerial victory accuracy ===
{{See also|Confirmation and overclaiming of aerial victories during World War&nbsp;II}}
In World War&nbsp;II overclaims were a common problem. Nearly 50% of [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) victories in the [[Battle of Britain]], for instance, do not tally statistically with recorded German losses; but at least some of this apparent over-claiming can be tallied with known wrecks, and German aircrew known to have been in British [[Prisoner of war|PoW]] camps.{{sfn|Lake|2000|p=122}} An overclaim of about 2-3{{clarification needed|date=October 2024|reason=What does that mean? A 2:3 ratio, e.g. 2 out of 3 claims were valid, or invalid? An overclaim by twice or three times the facts, i.e. 200% or 300%? This is way too vague.}} was common on all sides,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Caldwell| first=Donald|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/884646530|title=Day Fighters in Defence of Reich : a Way Diary, 1942-45.|date=2012|publisher=Frontline Books|isbn=978-1-78383-415-0|location=Havertown|oclc=884646530}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bergström|first=Christer|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/141238674|title=Barbarossa : the air battle July-December 1941|date=2007|publisher=Midland/Ian Allan|isbn=978-1-85780-270-2|location=Hersham, Surrey|oclc=141238674}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Campion|first=Garry|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/918616186|title=The Battle of Britain, 1945-1965: The Air Ministry and the Few|date=2015|isbn=978-0-230-28454-8|location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire|oclc=918616186}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Campion|first=Garry|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/319175944|title=The good fight : Battle of Britain propaganda and the few|date=2009|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-22880-1|location=Basingstoke|oclc=319175944}}</ref> and Soviet overclaims were sometimes higher.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Trigg|first=Jonathan|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/953861893|title=The defeat of the Luftwaffe: The Eastern Front 1941-45, a strategy for disaster|date=2016|isbn=978-1-4456-5186-6|location=Stroud, Gloucestershire|oclc=953861893}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Morgan|first=Hugh|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/869378852|title=Soviet aces of world war 2|date=2014|publisher=Osprey Pub|isbn=978-1-4728-0057-2|location=London|oclc=869378852}}</ref> The claims of the Luftwaffe pilots are considered as mostly reasonable and more accurate than those according to the British and American system.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Toliver, Constable|first=Raymond F., Trevor J.|title=Horrido! Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe|publisher=Barker|year=1968|isbn=9780213763817}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kaplan|first=Philip|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/74525151|title=Fighter aces of the Luftwaffe in World War&nbsp;II|date=2007|publisher=Pen & Sword Aviation|isbn=978-1-84415-460-9|location=Barnsley|oclc=74525151}}</ref>

To quote an extreme example, in the [[Korean War]], both the U.S. and Communist air arms claimed a 10-to-1 victory/loss ratio.<ref>[http://wio.ru/korea/korea-a.htm "Korean Air War: Korean air war statistics from sources of USA and USSR."] ''Wio'' (RU). Retrieved: October 10, 2014.</ref><ref>Shores 1983, pp. 161–167.</ref>

==Non-pilot aces==
[[File:Capt C DeBellevue.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Charles B. DeBellevue]], the first USAF [[weapon systems officer]] to become a flying ace]]

While aces are generally thought of exclusively as fighter pilots, some have accorded this status to gunners on bombers or [[reconnaissance aircraft]], [[Air observer|observers]] in two-seater fighters such as the early [[Bristol F.2 Fighter|Bristol F.2b]], and [[Weapon systems officer|navigators/weapons officers]] in jet aircraft such as the [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]]. Because pilots often teamed with different air crew members, an observer or gunner might be an ace while his pilot is not, or vice versa. Observer aces constitute a sizable minority in many lists. 

In World War&nbsp;I, the observer [[Gottfried Ehmann]] of the German ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'' was credited with 12 kills,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Imrie|first=Alex |title=Pictorial history of the German Army Air Service 1914-1918|date=1971|publisher=Allan|isbn=0-7110-0200-2|location=London|oclc=213232}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Treadwell|first=Terry C. |title=German fighter aces of World War One|date=2003|publisher=Tempus|author2=Alan C. Wood|isbn=0-7524-2808-X|location=Stroud|oclc=52531842}}</ref> for which he was awarded the Golden [[Military Merit Cross (Prussia)|Military Merit Cross]]. In the Royal Flying Corps the observer [[Charles George Gass]] tallied 39 victories, of which 5 were actually confirmed.<ref>Franks et al. 1997, p. 18.</ref> The spread was caused by the lavish British system of aerial victory confirmation.<ref name=":2" />

In World War&nbsp;II, [[United States Army Air Forces]] S/Sgt. Michael Arooth, a [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]] tail gunner serving in the [[379th Air Expeditionary Wing|379th Bombardment Group]], was credited with 19 kills<ref>[http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=22831 "Hall of Valor: Michael Arooth."] ''Military Times''. Retrieved: October 10, 2014.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The history of enlisted aerial gunnery, 1917-1991 : the men behind the guns|date=1994|publisher=Turner |author=Albert E. Conder |isbn=1-56311-167-5|edition=Limited |location=Paducah, KY|oclc=55871021}}</ref> and the [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] gunner Arthur J. Benko ([[374th Strategic Missile Squadron|374th Bombardment Squadron]]) with 16 kills. The Royal Air Force's leading bomber gunner, [[Wallace McIntosh]], was credited with eight kills while serving as a rear turret gunner on [[Avro Lancaster]]s, including three on one mission. [[Flight Sergeant]] F. J. Barker contributed to 12 victories while flying as a gunner in a [[Boulton Paul Defiant]] turret-equipped fighter piloted by Flight Sergeant [[Ted Thorn (RAF officer)|E. R. Thorne]].<ref>[http://www.bbm.org.uk/BarkerFJ.htm "The Airmen's Stories: Sgt. F J Barker."] {{web archive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419012913/http://www.bbm.org.uk/BarkerFJ.htm |date=2014-04-19}} ''[[Battle of Britain Monument, London|Battle of Britain London Monument]]''. Retrieved: April 17, 2014.</ref><ref>Thomas 2012, p. 55.</ref> On the German side, Erwin Hentschel, the [[Junkers Ju 87]] rear gunner of Luftwaffe pilot and anti-tank ace [[Hans-Ulrich Rudel]], had 7 confirmed kills. The crew of the bomber pilot Otto Köhnke from [[Kampfgeschwader 3|''Kampfgeschwader'' 3]] is credited with the destruction of 11 enemy fighters (6 French, 1 British, 4 Soviet).

With the advent of more advanced technology, a third category of ace appeared. [[Charles B. DeBellevue]] became not only the first U.S. Air Force [[weapon systems officer]] (WSO) to become an ace but also the top American ace of the [[Vietnam War]], with six victories.<ref>[http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person.asp?dec=&pid=123006474 "Col. Charles DeBellevue."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912041103/http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person.asp?dec=&pid=123006474 |date=2009-09-12}} ''U.S. Air Force official web site''. Retrieved: May 22, 2010.</ref> Close behind with five were fellow WSO [[Jeffrey Feinstein]]<ref>[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=18114 "USAF Southeast Asia War Aces."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220153730/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=18114 |date=2013-12-20}} ''[[National Museum of the United States Air Force]]'', March 30, 2011. Retrieved: June 29, 2012.</ref> and [[Naval Flight Officer|Radar Intercept Officer]] [[William P. Driscoll]].<ref>[http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=69 "USS Constellation (CV 64)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926195327/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=69 |date=2012-09-26}} ''[[United States Navy]]''. Retrieved: June 29, 2012.</ref>

==Ace in a day==
{{Main|Aviators who became ace in a day}}
[[File:Julius Arigi.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Julius Arigi]], the first "ace in a day"]]
[[File:Mohammad Mahmood Alam 1965.jpg|thumb|upright|right|M.M Alam poses with his F-86 Sabre. ace-in-a-day [[Indo-Pakistani war of 1965|on 7 September 1965]].]]

The first military aviators to score five or more victories on the same date, thus each becoming an "ace in a day", were pilot [[Julius Arigi]] and observer/gunner [[Johann Lasi]] of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] air force, on August 22, 1916, when they downed five Italian aircraft.<ref>O'Connor 1986, pp. 190–91, 272, 324.</ref> The feat was repeated five more times during World War&nbsp;I.<ref>Franks et al. 1993, p. 70.</ref><ref>Shores et al. 1990, pp. 368, 390.</ref><ref>Franks and Bailey 1992, p. 161.</ref>

Becoming an ace in a day became relatively common during World War&nbsp;II.  A total of 68 U.S. pilots (43 [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]], 18 [[United States Navy|Navy]], and seven [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] pilots) were credited with the feat, including legendary test pilot [[Chuck Yeager]].

In the [[Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive|Soviet offensive of 1944]] in the [[Karelian Isthmus]], Finnish pilot [[Hans Wind]] shot down 30 [[Soviet]] aircraft in 12 days with his [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Bf 109 G]].  In doing so, he obtained "ace in a day" status three times.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Pakistani pilot [[Muhammad Mahmood Alam]] claimed to have downed five aircraft in a single sortie on 7 September 1965 with four downed in less than a minute, establishing a world record. According to some sources Alam is the only ace-in-a-day achiever in the jet age. These claims, however, have been contested by the [[Indian Air Force]].<ref name="defencejournal" /><ref name="Fricker" /><ref name="Polmar" /><ref name="Nordeen's Indo-Pak 1965 Conflict" />

==See also==
* [[Fighter aircraft]]
* [[Iraqi aerial victories during the Iran–Iraq war]]
* [[Light fighter]]
* [[List of aces of aces]]
* [[List of Egyptian flying aces]]
* [[List of German World War&nbsp;II jet aces]]
* [[List of Iranian aerial victories during the Iran–Iraq war]]
* [[List of Israeli flying aces]]
* [[List of Korean War flying aces]]
* [[List of Spanish Civil War flying aces]]
* [[List of Syrian flying aces]]
* [[List of Vietnam War flying aces]]
* [[List of World War&nbsp;I flying aces]]
* [[List of World War&nbsp;II flying aces]]
* [[Lists of flying aces in Arab–Israeli wars]]
* [[Panzer ace]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=N}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
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* [[Norman Franks|Franks, Norman]] and Frank W. Bailey. ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918''. London: Grub Street, 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-948817-54-0}}.
* [[Norman Franks|Franks, Norman]], Frank W. Bailey and Russell Guest. ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. London: Grub Street, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0-94881-773-1}}.
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* Galland, Adolf ''The First and the Last'' London, Methuen, 1955 (''Die Ersten und die Letzten'' Germany, Franz Schneekluth, 1953).
* {{Cite book |first=Nicole-Melanie |last=Goll |chapter=Godwin von Brumowski (1889–1936): The Construction of an Austro-Hungarian War Hero during World War&nbsp;I |pages=139–56 |editor1= Marija Wakounig |editor2=Karlo Ruzicic-Kessler |year=2011 |title=From the Industrial Revolution to World War&nbsp;II in East Central Europe |publisher=[[LIT Verlag]] |isbn=978-3643901293}}
* Guttman, Jon. ''Pusher Aces of World War 1''. London: Osprey, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-84603-417-6}}.
* Hobson, Chris. ''Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, USN, USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961–1973''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2001. {{ISBN|1-85780-115-6}}.
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* {{cite book |last=Lake |first=Jon |title=The Battle of Britain |publisher=Amereon Limited |publication-place=Leicester |date=2000 |isbn=1-85605-535-3}}
* [[Arthur Lee (RAF officer)|Lee, Arthur Gould]]. ''No Parachute''. London: Jarrolds, 1968.
* O'Connor, Martin. ''Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 1914–1918''. Boulder, Colorado: Flying Machine Press, 1986. {{ISBN|978-1-89126-806-9}}.
* Pieters, Walter M. ''Above Flanders' Fields: A Complete Record of the Belgian Fighter Pilots and Their Units During the Great War, 1914–1918''. London: Grub Street, 1998. {{ISBN|978-1-898697-83-1}}.
* Robertson, Linda R. (2005). ''The Dream of Civilized Warfare: World War&nbsp;I Flying Aces and the American Imagination ''. University of Minnesota Press. {{ISBN|0816642710}}, {{ISBN|978-0816642717}}
* Robinson, Bruce (ed.) ''von Richthofen and the Flying Circus''. Letchworth, UK: Harleyford, 1958.
* Shores, Christopher. ''Air Aces''. Greenwich Connecticut: Bison Books, 1983. {{ISBN|0-86124-104-5}}
* {{Citation | last1 = Shores | first1 = Christopher | first2 = Norman | last2 = Franks | first3 = Russell | last3 = Guest | title = Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920 | place = London | publisher = Grub Street | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-0-948817-19-9 | author-mask = 3}}.
* Stenman, Kari and Kalevi Keskinen. ''Finnish Aces of World War 2'' (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces, number 23). London: Osprey Publishing. 1998. {{ISBN|952-5186-24-5}}.
* Thomas, Andrew. ''Defiant, Blenheim and Havoc Aces''. London: Osprey Publishing, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-84908-666-0}}.
* Toliver, Raymond J. and Trevor J. Constable. ''Horrido!: Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe''. London: Bantam Books, 1979. {{ISBN|978-0-55312-663-1}}.
* Toperczer, Istvan. ''MIG-17 and MIG-19 Units of the Vietnam War'' (Osprey Combat Aircraft, number 25). London: Osprey, 2001. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-162-6}}.
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{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Flying aces}}
{{Wiktionary pipe|ace#Etymology_1_4|ace}}
* [http://users.accesscomm.ca/magnusfamily/airaces1.htm Air Aces Homepage (A. Magnus)]
* [http://aces.safarikovi.org/ Air Aces Website (Jan Šafařík)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110405001755/http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/ Air Combat Information Group Website]
* [http://wio.ru/korea/korea-a.htm All aces of Korean air war]

{{Lists of flying aces}}

[[Category:Flying aces| ]]
[[Category:Military personnel|Flying aces]]