Newsgroups: rec.aviation.military From: bowers@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov (Al Bowers) Subject: Re: Best fighterpilot ?!?! Message-ID: BOWERS.93Jan5122043@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal. Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 20:20:48 GMT Lines: 376
skronkvi@aton.abo.fi (Stefan Kronkvist INF) writes:
I think you have misconstrued some facts, and I also have my own nomination for greatest fighter pilot of all time…
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Most successful fighter pilot
of all times ?!?!
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Who is the most successful fighterpilot in the history? The answer may be
different depending on who you are asking.
The germans on the other hand also counted planes destroyed on the ground.
And when a german pilot shot down a 4-engine plane,he was allowed to count one
"victory"/engine.
This was untrue in WWII (the Luftwaffe). Confirmation was required to be provided by a witness seeing the aircraft _crash_. No confirmation resulted in a probable (despite the aircraft being on fire, spiralling down out of control a wing coming off, whatever). Probables were not counted in total tallies. For more info, read "Top Secret Bird" by Wolfgang Spaate. Spaate finished the war with 99 official victories, though his unofficial tally was about 122, and another dozen or so probables. This is not to say there were no abuses, as Spaate points out in his book.
Wind is less known than Jonny Johnson (38 planes),Richard Bong (40) and
Pierre Clostermann (33).
See the list below.
Manfred von Richthofen shot down 80 enemy-planes,according to the Guiness book
of Records,but 20 of theese are unconfirmed…
Not quite. Richtofen had 80 _confirmed_ kills, with 20 probables.
My personal nomination goes probably to Erich `Bubi' Hartmann (352 kills, WWII Luftwaffe), or possibly to Saburo Sakai (never lost a wingman in 64 kills, and the Japanese used `vics', a three plane element).
This is a little list that I have been compiling for a year or two now. I'm sure it is not complete, but is presented here for info. If you know of someone who _should_ be on this list, please e-mail me (with a reference if you have it). Note that I only include people who qualify for the title "ace" as used by the US (5 confirmed aerial victories, ground kills not counted).
And I expect some of the numbers to generate some controversy (especially the WWII Luftwaffe numbers), but the numbers are accurate so far as I can tell (references available).
Also, there are numerous Israeli aces, but their country considers that info classified (with some justification), and I am also aware that some Pakistani pilots are aces as well (Afghanistan war), but I cannot find the info. One last piece of information, no one became an ace involved with the Falklands Islands war or the Gulf war that I am aware of (I have a complete list of _all_ aerial kills in the Vietnam war by the US and _all_ victories on both sides in the Gulf war).
Note that the greatest jet ace is a tie between James McConnell (Korea, F-86) and Heinrich Bar (WWII, Me 262) each with 16. Honorable mention to James Jabara (Korea, F-86) with 15 _jet_ kills and possibly to Col. Toon of Vietnam (with 17?). And note that there are two women on the list, Lily Litvak, and Katya Budanova (USSR, WWI).
name victories war country
Manfred von Richtofen 80 WWI Germany Ernst Udet 62 WWI Germany Josef Jacobs 48 WWI Germany Werner Voss 48 WWI Germany Oswald Boelcke 40 WWI Germany Lothar von Richtofen 40 WWI Germany Carl Degelow 30 WWI Germany Herman Goering 22 WWI Germany Hans Pippart 22 WWI Germany Max Immelmann 15 WWI Germany Paul Strahle 13 WWI Germany Gustav Leffer 9 WWI Germany Wolfram von Richtofen 8 WWI Germany
Rene Fonck 75 WWI France Georges Guynmeyer 58 WWI France Charles Nungesser 45 WWI France Georges Madon 41 WWI France Maurice Boyeau 35 WWI France Roland Garros 5 WWI France
Philip F. Fullard 53 WWI Great Britain Albert Ball 47 WWI Great Britain Ira Jones 40 WWI Great Britain Henry Woollett 36 WWI Great Britain Rhys-David 23 WWI Great Britain Gerald Maxwell 21 WWI Great Britain Lanoe Hawker 9 WWI Great Britain J. R. Trollope 6 WWI Great Britain Sholto Douglas 6 WWI Great Britain
William Bishop 72 WWI Canada Raymond Collishaw 62 WWI Canada Donald McLaren 54 WWI Canada William Barker 52 WWI Canada Roy Brown 13 WWI Canada
Edward Mannock 73 WWI Ireland James McCudden 57 WWI Ireland
A. Beauchamp-Proctor 54 WWI South Africa
Willy Coppens 34 WWI Belgium
Edward Rickenbacker 26 WWI United States Fredrick Libby 24 WWI United States Frank Luke 21 WWI United States Raoul Lufbery 17 WWI United States
Francesco Barraca 36 WWI Italy
Alexander Kazakov 17 WWI Russia Alexander de Seversky 13 WWI Russia
Erich Hartmann 352 WWII Germany Gerhard Barkorn 301 WWII Germany Guenther Rall 275 WWII Germany Otto Kittel 267 WWII Germany Walter Nowotny 258 WWII Germany Wilhelm Batz 237 WWII Germany Erich Rudorffer 222 WWII Germany Heinrich Bar 220 WWII Germany Herrmann Graf 211 WWII Germany Theodore Weissenburger 208 WWII Germany Hans Philip 206 WWII Germany Walter Schuck 206 WWII Germany Anton Hafner 204 WWII Germany Heinrich Ehler 204 WWII Germany Helmut Lipfert 203 WWII Germany Walter Kuprinski 197 WWII Germany Anton Hackl 190 WWII Germany Max Stotz 189 WWII Germany Joachim Brendel 189 WWII Germany Joachim Kirschner 188 WWII Germany Kurt Hans Friedrich Brandle 180 WWII Germany Gunther Josten 178 WWII Germany Johannes Steinhoff 176 WWII Germany Ernst Wilhelm Reinert 174 WWII Germany Gunther Schack 174 WWII Germany Heinz Schmidt 173 WWII Germany Emil Lang 173 WWII Germany Horst Adameit 166 WWII Germany Wolf-Dietrich Wilke 162 WWII Germany Han-Joachim Marseille 158 WWII Germany Heinrich Sturm 158 WWII Germany Gerhard Tyben 157 WWII Germany Hans Beiswenger 152 WWII Germany Peter Duttmann 152 WWII Germany Gordon Gollob 150 WWII Germany Dietrich Hrabak 125 WWII Germany Heinz Schnaufer 121 WWII Germany Werner Moelders 115 WWII Germany Adolf Galland 104 WWII Germany Hartmann Grasser 103 WWII Germany Werner Streib 60 WWII Germany
Hiroyoshi Nishizawa 113 WWII Japan Ota 80? WWII Japan Saburo Sakai 64 WWII Japan Sasai 60? WWII Japan Akamatsu 50? WWII Japan
Hasse Wind 75 WWII Finland
Ivan Kozuhedub 62 WWII USSR Aleksandr Pokryshkin 59 WWII USSR Alelyukin 40 WWII USSR Vladmir Lavrinenkov 35 WWII USSR Aleksandr Klubov 31 WWII USSR Boris F. Safnov 22 WWII USSR Stepan Suprun 15 WWII USSR Lily Litvak 7 WWII USSR Katya Budanova 6 WWII USSR
Joaquin Garcia Morato 40 WWII Spain(Na) Julio Salvador 24 WWII Spain(Fr) Andres Garcia La Calle 21 WWII Spain(Na) Angel Salas 17 WWII Spain(Na) Manuel Aguirre Lopez 16 WWII Spain(Fr)
Richard Bong 40 WWII United States Thomas McGuire 38 WWII United States Eugene Valencia 35 WWII United States Francis Gabreski 34.5 WWII United States David McCampbell 34 WWII United States Gregory Boyington 28 WWII United States George Preddy 26.9 WWII United States Joe Foss 26 WWII United States Cecil E. Harris 24 WWII United States Gerald Johnson 22 WWII United States Ken Walsh 21 WWII United States Thomas Lynch 20 WWII United States Don Gentile 19.8(27) WWII United States John Smith 19 WWII United States Marion Carl 16 WWII United States William Dunham 16 WWII United States Don Blakeslee 15 WWII United States Robin Galer 13 WWII United States Robin Olds 13 WWII United States James French 11 WWII United States Harrison Thyng 11 WWII United States Robert Scott 10 WWII United States Clinton Smith 10 WWII United States Albert G. Baumer 8 WWII United States Frank G. Tinker 8 WWII United States Harris Mitchell 6 WWII United States John Mitchell 6 WWII United States Harold Dahl 5 WWII United States Charles King 5 WWII United States Tom Lanphier 5 WWII United States Oscar Perdomo 5 WWII United States Robert Johnson
James "Johnnie" Johnson 38 WWII Great Britain Marmaduke Pattle 34 WWII Great Britain Robert Stanford Tuck 30 WWII Great Britain Robert Braham 29 WWII Great Britain Alan Deere 22.5 WWII Great Britain Douglas Bader 22 WWII Great Britain John Godfrey 16.3(18) WWII Great Britain Reade Tilley 7 WWII Great Britain
Clyde Caldwell 28.5 WWII Australia "Bluie" Truscott
Stanislaus Skalski 19 WWII Poland
Adolf Gysbert Malan 18 WWII South Africa
Le Nigen 12 WWII France(Vi) Abel Guides 10 WWII France(Fr)
Joseph Campbell 16 Korea United States James Jabara 15(16.5) Korea United States Fredrick Blesse 10 Korea United States Robin Olds 4(16) Korea United States
Charles DeBellvue 6* Vietnam United States Randy Cunningham 5 Vietnam United States William Driscoll 5* Vietnam United States Richard Ritchie 5 Vietnam United States Jeffery Feinstein 5* Vietnam United States Robin Olds 4(20) Vietnam United States
Toon (Tomb?) 17 Vietnam Vietnam
American Aces
WWI
Paul F. Baer 9 Hilbert L. Blair 5 Frank L. Baylies 12 James D. Beane 6 Louis B. Bennett 12 Charles L. Biddle 7 Clayton L. Bissell 5 Arthur R. Brooks 6 Harold R. Buckley 5 Howard R. Burdick 7 Lawrence K. Calahan 5 Douglas Campbell 6 Thomas G. Cassady 9 Reed M. Chambers 7 Henry R. Clay 8 James A. Connelly 8 Everett R. Cook 5 H. Weir Cook 7 Hamilton Coolidge 8 Jesse O. Creech 8 Edward P. Curtis 6 Charles R. D'Olive 5 John Owen Donaldson 8 William P. Erwin 8 Geroge W. Furlow 5 Harold H. George 5 Frederick W. Gillette 20 Charles G. Gray 5 John S. Griffith 9 Murray K. Guthrie 6 Edward M. Haight 5 Frank L. Hale 18 James Norman Hall 6 Lloyd A. Hamilton 9 Harold Evans Hartney 6 Frank K. Hayes 6 James A. Healy 5 Lansing C. Holden 7 Donald Hudson 6 John W. F. M. Huffer 7 Frank O. D. Hunter 8 Paul T. Iaccaci 18 Thayer A. Iaccaci 11 David Sinton Ingalls 5 Clinton Jones 8 James A. Keating 6 Field E. Kindley 12 Howard C. Knotts 6 James Knowles 5 Harold A. Kullberg 16 Dean I. Lamb 5 William C. Lambert 22 Reed G. Landis 10 G. DeFreest Larner 8 Fredrick Libbey 14 Robert O. Lindsey 6 Raoul G. Lufbery 17 Fredrick E. Luff 5 Frank Luke 18 Francis P. Magoun 5 John J. Malone 20 Alexandre Matthews 5 John K. McArthur 6 David M. McClure 6 James A. Meissner 8 Ewart S. Miller 5 Zenes R. Miller 5 Ralph A. O'Neill 5 J. Sidney Owens 5 W. J. Pace 5 Edwin C. Parsons 8 David M. Peterson 5 William T. Ponder 6 Kenneth L. Porter 6 Norman Prince 5 David E. Putnam 12 Orville A. Ralston 5 Edward V. Rickenbacker 26 E. M. Roberts 7 Frank A. Robertson 6 Wendel A. Robertson 7 Bogart Rogers 5 Oren J. Rose 16 S. C. Rosevear 23 Leslie J. Rummel 7 Karl J. Schoen 7 John J. Seerley 5 Sumner Sewall 7 Elliot White Springs 12 Martinus Stenseth 6 Victor H. Strahm 5 Jacques M. Swaab 10 William Thaw 5 William D. Tipton 5 Edgar G. Tobin 6 Robert M. Todd 5 Jerry C. Vasconcells 6 George A. Vaughn 13 Charles H. Veil 5 Remington D. B. Vernam 6 C. T. Warman 15 Joseph F. Wehner 5 F. Westing 5 Wilbur W. White 8 Alan M. Wilkinson 19 Rodney D. Williams 5 Chester E. Wright 9 – Al Bowers bowers@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov NASA F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle, Lead Aero NASA, Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California