List of World War I aces credited with 10 victories
The term ace (now commonly flying ace) was first used by French newspapers during World War I, describing Adolphe Pégoud as l'as ('the ace'), after he downed five German aircraft. When aircraft began to shoot or force down other aircraft, systems to count "air victories" were subsequently developed. The American qualification of five victories eventually became the standard, even though other air services had previously used differing figures.[1]
![A young male in Royal Air Force uniform wearing matching hat](../I/Arthur_Roy_Brown_from_imperial_war_museum.jpg.webp)
While "ace" status was most often won by fighter pilots, bomber and reconnaissance crews, and observers in two-seater aircraft such as the Bristol F.2b ("Bristol Fighter"), also destroyed enemy aircraft. If a two-seater aircraft destroyed an aircraft, both crew members were credited with a victory. Because pilots usually teamed with differing observer/gunners in two-seater aircraft, an observer might be an ace when his pilot was not, and vice versa.[2] The few aces among combat aviators have historically accounted for the majority of air-to-air victories in military history.[3]
Loss of records by mischance and the passage of time complicates reconstructing the actual count for given aces. The scores presented in the list cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best available sources of information.[4] Aces are listed after verifying the date and location of combat, and the foe vanquished, for every victory accredited by an aviator's home air service using their own aerial victory standards. Those victories for which the evidence is unavailable or fragmentary have been excluded from the victory count.
Aces
This list is complete. Notable aces are linked to their biographies.
cell coloured along with the symbolic dagger †, indicates that the pilot was known to be either killed in action, missing in action, died of wounds, or killed in a flying accident during World War I.
Name | Country | Air service(s) | Victories |
---|---|---|---|
Laurence W. Allen | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[5] |
Edgar O. Amm | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Leopold Anslinger | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Gordon Apps | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Edward Dawson Atkinson | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Paul Aue | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Dietrich Averes | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Herbert H. Beddow | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Hilliard Brooke Bell | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Hans Berr† | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Robert A. Birkbeck | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Maurice Bizot | ![]() | Aéronautique Militaire | 10[8] |
Franz Brandt | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Otto Brauneck† | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Lloyd S. Breadner | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force | 10[6] |
Arthur Roy Brown | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Frederick Elliott Brown | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Sydney Carlin | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Robert L. Chidlaw-Roberts | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Cecil Clark | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Adrian Cole | ![]() | Australian Flying Corps, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force | 10[6] |
Valentine Collins† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[5] |
Jack Armand Cunningham | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Douglas Arthur Davies | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Edgar G. Davies | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Martin Dehmisch† | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Pruett Dennett† | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Robert Dodds | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Aubrey Ellwood | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
William H. Farrow | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Karl Gallwitz | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Cecil Gardner† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Lucien Gasser | ![]() | Aéronautique Militaire | 10[8] |
Thomas Gerrard | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Gerald Gibbs | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Stanley Goble | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Justus Grassmann | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Lloyd Hamilton† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, US Army Air Service | 10[6] |
George Stacey Hodson | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Will Hubbard | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force | 10[6] |
William Edward Jenkins† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps | 10[6] |
Duerson Knight | ![]() | US Army Air Service | 10[6] |
Alfred Michael Koch | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Auguste Lahoulle | ![]() | Aéronautique Militaire | 10[8] |
Patrick Anthony Langan-Byrne† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps | 10[6] |
Oliver Colin LeBoutillier | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Paul Lotz† | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
John Joseph Malone† | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service | 10[6] |
Rudolf Matthaei† | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Alfred E. McKay† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps | 10[6] |
Guy Borthwick Moore† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Max Ritter von Mulzer† | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Alfons Nagler | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Miroslav Navratil alias Friedrich Navratil | ![]() | Luftfahrtruppen | 10[5] |
Gordon Olley | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
John Paynter† | ![]() | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Jean Andre Pezon | ![]() | Aéronautique Militaire | 10[8] |
Croye Pithey | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[5] |
Charles Quette† | ![]() | Aéronautique Militaire | 10[8] |
Arthur Randall | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Harold Redler† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Harry Robinson | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Indra Lal Roy† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Laurent B. Ruamps | ![]() | Aéronautique Militaire | 10[8] |
John Rudkin | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[5] |
Reginald H. Rusby | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Hans Schuez | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Alfred Shepherd† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps | 10[6] |
Werner Steinhäuser† | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Raoul Stojsavljevic | ![]() | Luftfahrtruppen | 10[5] |
Jacques Swaab | ![]() | US Army Air Service | 10[8] |
Saint Cyprian Tayler† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Frank Harold Taylor | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Edmond Thieffry | ![]() | Aviation Militaire Belge | 10[9] |
Erich Thomas | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
John Henry Tudhope | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force | 10[6] |
Paul Turck | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Stanley Wallage | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
William Lewis Wells† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force | 10[6] |
Paul Wenzel | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Russell Winnicott† | ![]() | Royal Flying Corps | 10[6] |
Hans Wolff† | ![]() | Luftstreitkräfte | 10[7] |
Notes
- Maksel, Rebecca (7 April 2008). "What does it take to become an "ace"?". Need to Know. Air & Space Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
- Franks, Bailey & Guest 1993, p. 10
- Dunnigan 2003, p. 149
- Shores, Franks & Guest 1990, p. 7
- Franks, Guest & Alegi 1997
- Shores, Franks & Guest 1990
- Franks, Bailey & Guest 1993 .
- Franks & Bailey 1992
- Guttman, 2001. p. 70.
References
Bibliography
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- Durkota, Allen; Darcey, Thomas; Kulikov, Victor (1995). The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War I. Mountain View: Flying Machines Press. ISBN 978-0-060090-12-8.
- Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell (1993). Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.
- Franks, Norman (2005). Sopwith Pup Aces of World War I. Aircraft of the Aces, No. 67. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-841768-86-1.
- Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell; Alegi, Gregory (1997). Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-898697-56-5.
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- Newton, Dennis (1996). Australian Air Aces: Australian Fighter Pilots in Combat. Motorbooks International. ISBN 978-1-875671-25-0.
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- Shores, Christopher (2001). British and Empire Aces of World War I. Aircraft of the Aces, No. 45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-377-4.
- Shores, Christopher; Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell (1990). Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-19-9.
- Shores, Christopher; Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell (1996). Above the Trenches Supplement: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces. Oxford: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-898697-39-8.