Flying ace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the video game, see Fighter Ace. For the film see The Flying Ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft, during aerial combat.
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[edit] History
[edit] World War I
- See also: List of World War I air aces
Use of the term ace in military aviation circles began in World War I (1914–18), when French newspapers described Adolphe Pegoud, as l’as (French for "ace") after he became the first pilot to down five German aircraft. The term had been popularized in prewar French newspapers when referring to sports stars such as football (soccer) players and bicyclists.
The German Empire instituted the practice of awarding the Pour le Mérite ("Der blaue Max"/"The blue Max"), its highest award for gallantry, to aviators who had destroyed eight Allied aircraft.[1] In addition, German pilots who had achieved 10 kills were publicised. Qualification for the Pour la Mérite was later raised to 16 kills.[2]
In 1914–16, the British Empire did not have a centralised system of recording aerial victories, and did not publish official statistics on the successes of its pilots, although some pilots did become famous through press coverage.[3] However, after 1916, an automatic award of a Military Cross was made to a pilot with five official victories.
In 1914–18, different air services also had different methods of assigning credit for kills. The German Luftstreitkräfte credited only one pilot for each victory, and only for enemy planes assessed as destroyed or captured. Most other nations adopted the French Armee de l'Air system of granting full credit to every pilot or aerial gunner participating in a victory, which could sometimes be six or seven individuals. The British furthermore credited "moral victories", when enemy planes were seen to be "driven down", "forced to land", and "out of control". The United States Army Air Service followed a similar practice. For example, Eddie Rickenbacker's 26 victories included ten planes "out of control", several "dived east", and two observation balloons. None of those would have been credited in later wars. By contrast, a two-member British bomber crew, who performed remarkable feats of flying and aerial gunnery, when they attacked 30 German Fokker D.VIIs on 23 August 1918, are not regarded as aces. The Bermudian pilot, Lt Arthur Spurling destroyed three D.VIIs with his DH-9's fixed, forward-firing machine guns, and gunner Sgt Frank Bell downed two with his rear gun. Spurling was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross as a result of his actions.
[edit] World War II
- See also: List of World War II air aces
In World War II, many air forces credited fractional shares of aerial victories, resulting in fractions or decimal scores, such as 11½ 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 IJN stopped crediting individual victories in 1943. The German Luftwaffe continued the tradition of "one pilot, one kill."
The Soviet Air Force had the world's only female aces. During World War II, Katya Budanova achieved 11 and Lydia Litvyak scored 12 victories.
The huge tallies of many German World War II aces, such as Erich Hartmann's all time record of 352 kills, are partly explained by the obsolescent aircraft and poorly-trained pilots often fielded by the Allies, especially the Soviets. In addition, Luftwaffe pilots generally flew many more sorties than their Allied counterparts. Additionally, national policies differed; Axis pilots tended to return to the cockpit over and over again until killed, while very successful Allied pilots were routinely rotated back to training bases to educate cadet flyers, in hopes that the younger pilots would absorb enough knowledge from the experienced aces to survive battle.
[edit] Vietnam War
- See also: List of Vietnam War flying aces
Despite official figures, very few recognized aces actually shot down as many aircraft as credited to them. The primary reason for inaccurate victory claims is the inherent confusion of three-dimensional, high speed combat, but competitiveness and the desire for recognition also figure in. Consequently, errors of 50 to 100% and more are common in air combat. In World War II, the aircraft gun camera came into general usage, partly in hope of alleviating the inaccurate victory claims. In the Korean War, both the U.S. and Communist air arms claimed a 10 to 1 victory-loss ratio. Vietnam produced the last U.S. aces of the 20th century: Lieutenant Randall H. "Duke" Cunningham (aircraft commander) and Lt (j.g.) Willie P. Driscoll (RIO), USN, and Captains Richard S. Ritchie (aircraft commander) and Charles B. DeBellevue (WSO), USAF.
[edit] Accuracy
The most accurate figures usually belong to the air arm fighting over its own territory, where wrecks can be counted. It is for this reason that Manfred von Richthofen is known to have shot down at least 73 of the 80 planes credited to him.
The word ace is also used to refer to non-aviators who have distinguished themselves by sinking ships and destroying tanks. (See, for example the article Aces of the Deep.)
[edit] Ace in a day
The term ace in a day is used to designate a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day. During World War II 68 U.S. pilots —43 U.S. Army Air Forces, 18 U.S. Navy, and 7 U.S. Marine Corps — were credited the feat, including Joe Foss, Chuck Yeager, and David McCampbell, who destroyed nine Japanese planes in a single mission.
Notable pilots of other nations to have claimed the title include Antoni Glowacki in the Battle of Britain and numerous Luftwaffe aces. Most notable was Ltn. Hans-Joachim Marseille, credited with downing 17 British fighters in just three sorties on September 1, 1942.
Probably the last pilot credited with the feat was Pakistani ace Muhammed M. Alam during the 1965 war with India, though his claims have been revised downward no where justifying the accreditation.
[edit] See also
- List of World War II aces by country
- List of Korean War aces
- List of Vietnam War flying aces
- List of flying aces in Arab-Israeli wars
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ [http://web.westernfrontassociation.com/thegreatwar/articles/individuals/mannock.htm Dr David Payne (no date), "Major 'Mick' Mannock, VC: Top Scoring British Flying Ace in the Great War". (Western Front Association website.)
- ^ Payne, ibid.
- ^ Payne, ibid.
[edit] References
- Kari Stenman & Kalevi Keskinen: Finnish Aces of World War 2, Osprey Aircraft of the Aces, number 23, Osprey Publishing (1998), ISBN 952-5186-24-5
- Fighter ace list (10,000+ names)
- Toliver & Constable. Horrido!: Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe (Aero 1968)
- Toperczer, Istvan: MIG-17 And MIG-19 Units of the Vietnam War, Osprey Combat Aircraft, number 25. (2001).
- Toperczer, Istvan: MIG-21 Units of the Vietnam War, Osprey Combat Aircraft, number 29. (2001).
- Hobson, Chris: Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, USN, USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961–1973. (2001). ISBN 1-85780-1156
