Fighter aces in World War II had tremendously varying kill scores, affected as they were by many factors: the pilot's skill level, the performance of the airplane the pilot flew and the planes they flew against, how long they served, their opportunity to meet the enemy in the air (Allied to Axis disproportion), whether they were the formation's leader or a wingman, the standards their air service brought to the awarding of victory credits, et cetera.
Aces
List of World War II aces by victory count:
This background, along with the symbol "†", indicates that the pilot was killed in action, missing in action, died of wounds, or was killed in a flying accident during World War II.
| Name | Country | Service(s) | Aerial victories | Other aerial victories | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karol Pniak |  Poland
|
Polish Air Force; Royal Air Force |
6.75 | ||
| Basil Gerald "Stapme" Stapleton |  South Africa
|
Royal Air Force | 6.66 | ||
| Richard Edward Fowler |  United States
|
U.S. Navy | 6.5 | ||
| Howard Peter Blatchford † |  Canada
|
Royal Canadian Air Force | 6.5 | ||
| Lloyd Chadburn † | Canada
|
Royal Canadian Air Force | 6.5 | ||
| James Douglas Lindsay | Canada
|
Royal Canadian Air Force | 6.5 | +2 in Korean War | |
| Willard Eder | United States
|
U.S. Navy | 6.5 | ||
| Russell Foskett |  Australia
|
Royal Australian Air Force | 6.5 | ||
| Wacław Łapkowski | Poland
|
Polish Air Force; Royal Air Force |
6.33 | ||
| Alan Peart |  New Zealand
|
Royal New Zealand Air Force | 6.33 | ||
| Horia Agarici |  Kingdom of Romania
|
Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Florin Alexiu | Kingdom of Romania
|
Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Andreas Antoniou |  Greece
|
Royal Hellenic Air Force | 6 | ||
| GianLino Baschirotto |  Kingdom of Italy
|
Regia Aeronautica | 6 | +5 in Spanish Civil War | Ace in each of two wars |
| Livio Bassi | Kingdom of Italy
|
Regia Aeronautica | 6 | ||
| Wolfrath Bauer † |  Germany
|
Luftwaffe | 6 | Night fighter ace | |
| Henry S. Bille | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+4 ground kills) | |
| Scrappy Blumer | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | Ace in a day (fifteen minutes) | |
| Yekaterina Budanova |  Soviet Union
|
Soviet Air Force | 6 | possibly 11, +5 shared | |
| Harry C. Crim | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+5.25 damage) 531st Fighter Squadron, PTO | |
| James B. Dalglish | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+3 V-1 flying bombs) | |
| František Doležal |  Czechoslovakia
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| Bryan Draper † |  United Kingdom
|
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve | 6 | ||
| Urban L. Drew | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
| Josef Dygrýn-Ligotický † | Czechoslovakia
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| Stanislav Fejfar † | Czechoslovakia
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| Guido Fibbia | Kingdom of Italy
|
Regia Aeronautica | 6 | +3 in Spanish Civil War | |
| Carlos Faustinos |  Mexico
|
Mexican Air Force | 6 | Also known as Charlie Foster. | |
| Ervin Flóznik † |  Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Andrew J. Evans Jr. | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
| James W. Griffis | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | 3 probable all with 1st FG, 94th SQ, 15th AF | |
| Clayton Kelly Gross | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | 355th FS, 354th FG, ETO | |
| Fred R. Haviland Jr. | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+6 ground kills) | |
| Michael Herrick † | New Zealand
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| Horace B. Moranville | United States
|
U.S. Navy | 6 | ||
| James P. Hagerstrom | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
| Stefan Janus | Poland
|
Polish Air Force; Royal Air Force |
6 | ||
| Oskar Köstler † | Germany
|
Luftwaffe | 6 | ||
| Fritz Kruse † | Germany
|
Luftwaffe | 6 | Night fighter ace | |
| Kenneth Lake | United States
|
U.S. Navy | 6 | ||
| Mihály Karátsonyi | Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Lajos Kracsenics | Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Raymond Lallemant |  Belgium
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| Joseph Larichelière † | Canada
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| Mátyás Lőrincz † | Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| János Mátyás | Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Robert Mcwherter | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | First Three kill with 17th PS in the PTO, other three with 363rd FS in ETO | |
| György Michna | Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Norman W. Mollard, Jr. | United States
|
U.S. Navy | 6 | ||
| Kálmán Nánási † | Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Norman E. Olson | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+2 ground kills) | |
| Theo Osterkamp | Germany
|
Luftwaffe | 6 | +32 in World War I | Ace in each of two wars |
| Edward Cobb Outlaw | United States
|
U.S. Navy | 6 | Ace in a day | |
| Imre Pánczél † | Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Ludwik Witold Paszkiewicz | Poland
|
Polish Air Force; Royal Air Force |
6 | ||
| Jacques Philippart † | Belgium
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| Eduard M. Prchal | Czechoslovakia
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| John F. Pugh | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | 357th FG, 362nd Fighter Squadron, ETO | |
| Leonard R. Reeves | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | DFC, 530th Fighter Squadron, CBI | |
| Radu Reinek | Kingdom of Romania
|
Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Thomas J. Rennemo | United States
|
U.S. Navy | 6 | ||
| W. R. Scheible | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+3 ground kills) | |
| Pál Szikora | Hungary
|
Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Harry Steere † | United Kingdom
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | (+5 shared) | |
| Raymond Thorold-Smith † | Australia
|
Royal Australian Air Force | 6 | (+1 shared) | |
| Owen Tracey † | New Zealand
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
| Gheorghe Tutuianu | Kingdom of Romania
|
Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Constantin Ursachi | Kingdom of Romania
|
Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Bram van der Stok |  Netherlands
|
Royal Netherlands Air Force; Royal Air Force |
6 | ||
| Remy Van Lierde | Belgium
|
Royal Air Force | 6 | (+44 V-1 flying bombs) | |
| Ioan Vornica | Kingdom of Romania
|
Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
| Ralph Wandrey | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | 49th FG, 9th Fighter Squadron, PTO | |
| James Henry Whalen † | Canada
|
Royal Canadian Air Force | 6 | ||
| William E. Whalen | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+2 ground kills) | |
| Lynn E. Witt, Jr. | United States
|
U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
| Yue Yi-Chin / Yue Yiqin |  China
|
Chinese Nationalist Air Force | 6 | ||
| Yoshio Yoshida |  Japan
|
Imperial Japanese Army | 6 | (+1 probable) |
References
Citations
- Shores & Williams 1994, p. 564.
- Shores & Williams 1994, p. 169.
- Shores & Williams 1994, p. 490.
- Shores & Williams 1994, p. 232.
- Shores & Williams 1994, p. 324.
- Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1503.
- Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1504.
- Shores & Williams 1994, pp. 388–389.
- Obermaier 1989, p. 177.
- Shores & Williams 1994, pp. 566–567.
- Shores & Williams 1994, p. 588.
- Shores & Williams 1994, pp. 591–592.
Bibliography
- Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 4 S–Z. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-21-9.
- Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
- Shores, Christopher; Williams, Clive (1994). Aces High. London: Grub Street. ISBN 1-898697-00-0.