List of World War I aces credited with 10 victories

A young male in Royal Air Force uniform wearing matching hat
Captain Arthur Roy Brown, credited with victory over the Red Baron, never lost a wingman in combat.

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]

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.

  This along with the symbolic sword †, 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  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[5]
Edgar O. Amm  Union of South Africa Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Leopold Anslinger  German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Gordon Apps United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Edward Dawson Atkinson United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Paul Aue German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Dietrich Averes German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Herbert H. Beddow United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Hilliard Brooke Bell  Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Hans Berr† German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Robert A. Birkbeck United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Maurice Bizot  France Aéronautique Militaire 10[8]
Franz Brandt German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Otto Brauneck† German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Lloyd S. Breadner Canada Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force 10[6]
Arthur Roy Brown Canada Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Frederick Elliott Brown Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Sydney Carlin United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Robert L. Chidlaw-Roberts United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Cecil Clark United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Adrian Cole  Australia Australian Flying Corps, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force 10[6]
Valentine Collins† United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[5]
Jack Armand Cunningham United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Douglas Arthur Davies United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Edgar G. Davies United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Martin Dehmisch† German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Pruett Dennett† United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Robert Dodds Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Aubrey Ellwood United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 10[6]
William H. Farrow United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Karl Gallwitz German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Cecil Gardner† United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Lucien Gasser France Aéronautique Militaire 10[8]
Thomas Gerrard United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Gerald Gibbs Australia Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Stanley Goble Australia Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Justus Grassmann German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Lloyd Hamilton†  United States Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, US Army Air Service 10[6]
George Stacey Hodson United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Will Hubbard United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force 10[6]
William Edward Jenkins† United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 10[6]
Duerson Knight United States US Army Air Service 10[6]
Alfred Michael Koch Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Auguste Lahoulle France Aéronautique Militaire 10[8]
Patrick Anthony Langan-Byrne† United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 10[6]
Oliver Colin LeBoutillier United States Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Paul Lotz† German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
John Joseph Malone† Canada Royal Naval Air Service 10[6]
Rudolf Matthaei† German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Alfred E. McKay† Canada Royal Flying Corps 10[6]
Guy Borthwick Moore† Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Max Ritter von Mulzer† German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Alfons Nagler German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Miroslav Navratil alias Friedrich Navratil  Austria-Hungary Luftfahrtruppen 10[9]
Gordon Olley United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
John Paynter† United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Jean Andre Pezon France Aéronautique Militaire 10[8]
Croye Pithey Union of South Africa Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[10]
Charles Quette† France Aéronautique Militaire 10[8]
Arthur Randall United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Harold Redler† Union of South Africa Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Harry Robinson United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Indra Lal Roy†  India Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Laurent B. Ruamps France Aéronautique Militaire 10[8]
John Rudkin United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[5]
Reginald H. Rusby United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Hans Schuez German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Alfred Shepherd† Australia Royal Flying Corps 10[6]
Werner Steinhäuser† German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Raoul Stojsavljevic Austria-Hungary Luftfahrtruppen 10[9]
Jacques Swaab United States US Army Air Service 10[11]
Saint Cyprian Tayler† United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Frank Harold Taylor Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Edmond Thieffry  Belgium Aviation Militaire Belge 10[12]
Erich Thomas German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
John Henry Tudhope Union of South Africa Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force 10[6]
Paul Turck German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Stanley Wallage United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
William Lewis Wells† United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 10[6]
Paul Wenzel German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]
Russell Winnicott† United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 10[6]
Hans Wolff† German Empire Luftstreitkräfte 10[7]

References

  1. ↑ Maksel, Rebecca (7 April 2008). "What does it take to become an "ace"?". Need to Know. Air & Space Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  2. ↑ Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918. p. 10.
  3. ↑ How to Make War, p. 149.
  4. ↑ Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. p. 7
  5. 1 2 3 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. Ace listed alphabetically by last name in section of text on British observer aces.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. Ace listed alphabetically by last name in text.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918. Ace listed alphabetically by last name in text.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918. Ace listed alphabetically by last name in section of text on French aces.
  9. 1 2 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. Ace listed alphabetically by last name in section of text on Austro-Hungarian aces.
  10. ↑ 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. Ace listed alphabetically by last name in section of text on British bomber pilot aces.
  11. ↑ Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918. Ace listed on p. 74.
  12. ↑ Spad VII Aces of World War I. p. 70.

Bibliography

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  • Franks, Norman (2005). Sopwith Pup Aces of World War I. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-841768-86-1. 
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  • Guttman, Jon (2009). Pusher Aces of World War 1. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-846034-17-6. 
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  • Shores, Christopher (2001). British and Empire Aces of World War I. 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. 
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