During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.
The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces (pilots with at least five victories to their credit) often cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best available sources of information. Loss of records (especially records of casualties and lost aircraft, which are at their best a very good guide to the degree of over-claiming), by mischance and the passage of time – and the detail to which such records were kept in the first place – often complicates the reconstruction of the actual count for a given ace. [1] Additionally, the German victory confirmation system began to buckle in February 1918; after August 1918, such records as survived were unit records. [2]
World War I began the historical experience that has shown that approximately five percent of combat pilots account for the majority of air-to-air victories in warfare, thus showing the importance of flying aces. [3]
Enemy aircraft had to fall within friendly lines in a nation partially occupied by the enemy, or be seen by friendly ground troops falling within German lines, to be counted. Confirmation by fellow friendly pilots was not allowed. [4] Thus, unconfirmed claims outnumbered official victories. [5]
Although the Belgian system of counting victories supposedly mirrored the French system more than the British one, victory lists for Belgian aces still contain confirmed claims for FTL (forced to land) and OOC (out of control) victories. Inspection of the Belgian pilots' victory lists also show victories being shared without being fractionally divided. [6]
French victory confirmation standards were strict. Credit was given only for the destruction of an enemy aircraft, and the destruction had to be witnessed by an independent witness, such as an artillery observer, infantryman, or another pilot. The victories certified generally fell into one of four categories of destruction:
Probable victories would not count on a pilot's score, although they would be noted. Examples of probable victories could be enemy aircraft falling out of control but not seen to impact, or a claim lacking independent confirmation. [7]
Observers as well as pilots could become aces. Victories could be shared, and counted as an addition of one to the score of each 'victor' rather than being divided fractionally. In some cases, a single destroyed German or Austro-Hungarian aircraft could add to the scores of half a dozen or more French fliers. [8]
Counting of "aerial victories" by the British was shaped by the high command's determination to sustain an ongoing aerial offensive, as well as the prevailing westerly winds on the Western Front. From the start, the British counted actions that foiled German intentions as victorious. Their count system was skewed toward recognizing the moral victory of thwarting enemy offensive actions as well as the physical one of destroying his aircraft. [9]
Pilots from the USA had their victory totals defined several different ways. If and when they served with British aviation, their victories were determined via British methods; indeed, no fewer than 40 American aces served solely in British units. It was equally true that Americans serving in French units were evaluated via French standards; there were just four American aces who served solely in French units. [14]
The US Army Air Service would adopt French standards for evaluating American victories scored for the USAAS, with one exception–during the summer of 1918, while flying under operational control of the British, the 17th Aero Squadron and the 148th Aero Squadron naturally used British standards. [7]
American observers could become aces. Victories could be shared between aviators. USAAS records, which tracked only those victories scored by Americans in the USAAS, showed 1,513 victories were credited to individual pilots or observers for the destruction of 756 German airplanes and 76 observation balloons; 341 of the victories were shared to some extent, proving that the sharing of victories was common enough to be the norm. However, the USAAS did not track victories won by Americans in other countries' air forces. [15]
In 1916, the Romanian General Headquarters decided that an air victory would correspond to a downed aircraft. If several aviators shot down the same airplane, only the one considered to have delivered the coup de grâce would be granted the victory. In the case of a collective victory in which it was not known who gave the coup de grâce, the victory was attributed to the squadron or group to which the involved aviators belonged. [16]
The Russian Empire had no known victory standards.
Every aircrew member significantly contributing to the defeat of an enemy aircraft was credited with a full victory. All victories counted equally, whether the aviator scored them as a fighter pilot, a reconnaissance pilot, or an aerial observer/gunner. [17]
For six to eight months in early 1918, the rules were tightened to allow only one verified victory per combat claim. This restriction was later revoked, and the former rule of shared victories reinstated. [18]
Austro-Hungarian authorities did credit enemy aircraft that were forced to land as actual victories. This can be noted throughout the victory records of their aces. [19]
At the start of the era of the Fokker Scourge in July 1915, no dedicated "fighter" aviation units existed within what was then called the Fliegertruppe serving the German Army — the pioneering Fokker Eindecker fighters were distributed singly or in pairs, to protect the six two-seat aircraft that each Feldflieger Abteilung Army aerial observation unit used for front-line reconnaissance. When future "ace" pilots like Leutnant Kurt Wintgens and Leutnant Otto Parschau began accumulating victories over Allied aircraft from their early Eindecker fighters, the downed Allied aircraft had to fall on the German side of the front lines to be counted as a "confirmed" aerial victory, or be seen to fall from the sky by either fellow Fliegertruppe aviators aloft with the fighter pilots, or fellow army ground observers. [20] On 15 July 1915 Wintgens achieved the first confirmed German victory over a Morane-Saulnier Type L "parasol" monoplane, despite his previous pair of victories on 1 and 4 July against other French-flown Type L "parasol" two-seaters, both of which fell on the Allied side of the lines, and thus not counting as "confirmed" aerial victories by official German standards of the time.
The two most famous 1915–16 era aces of the German Empire's Fliegertruppe, Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann would achieve a six-victory total each to earn the House Order of Hohenzollern by early November 1915 for those confirmed victories, and when each of their totals reached eight, the much-coveted Pour le Mérite was awarded to each ace on the same day, 12 January 1916. [21]
The Germans did not use the term 'ace' but referred to German pilots who had achieved 10 kills as Kanone ("big gun")[ citation needed ] and publicized their names and scores, for the benefit of civilian morale – this term is not known to have come into use before May 1916, however, as when a pilot before that time achieved a total of four confirmed victories, they were most likely to start being cited in official Army communiqués. [22] As mentioned previously, the German military's verification methods for scoring a "confirmed" aerial victory were rigorous, and became more so later in the war. By 1916, as the dedicated Jasta fighter squadrons were forming within the newly named Luftstreitkräfte in October 1916, every victory had to be claimed in a combat report to his commanding officer. The report was passed up the chain of command for evaluation. Downed enemy aircraft that landed behind the German lines of trenchwork were easily confirmed. Those that fell behind enemy lines had to be verified by a German observer. All victories were credited to a single specific pilot. In case of insoluble disagreement over a given victim, the victory would be credited to a unit, but not to an individual. [23] The sole exception to this was the awarding of a victory each to the pilot and observer of a successful two-seater.[ citation needed ]
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually considered to be five or more.
World War I was the first major conflict involving the large-scale use of aircraft. Tethered observation balloons had already been employed in several wars, and would be used extensively for artillery spotting. Germany employed Zeppelins for reconnaissance over the North Sea and Baltic and also for strategic bombing raids over Britain and the Eastern Front.
Erich Loewenhardt was a German soldier and military aviator who fought in the First World War and became a fighter ace credited with 54 confirmed aerial victories. Originally enlisting in an infantry regiment even though he was only 17, he fought in the Battle of Tannenberg, winning a battlefield commission on 2 October 1914. He would serve in the Carpathians and on the Italian Front before being medically discharged in mid-1915. Following a five month recuperation, Loewenhardt joined the Imperial German Air Service in 1916. After serving as an aerial observer and reconnaissance pilot, he underwent advanced training to become a fighter pilot with Jagdstaffel 10 in March 1917. Between 24 March 1917 and 10 August 1918, Loewenhardt shot down 45 enemy airplanes, as well as destroying nine observation balloons. Shortly after his final victory, he was killed in a collision with another German pilot.
Robert Alexander Little,, a World War I fighter pilot, is generally regarded as the most successful Australian flying ace, with an official tally of forty-seven victories. Born in Victoria, he travelled to England in 1915 and learned to fly at his own expense before joining the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Posted to the Western Front in June 1916, he flew Sopwith Pups, Triplanes and Camels with No. 8 Squadron RNAS, achieving thirty-eight victories within a year and earning the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Distinguished Service Cross and Bar, and the French Croix de guerre. Rested in July 1917, he volunteered to return to the front in March 1918 and scored a further nine victories with No. 3 Squadron RNAS before he was killed in action on the night of 27 May, aged twenty-two.
LeutnantFriedrich Theodor Noltenius was a German flying ace during the First World War, with a total of 21 official victories. From July 1914 to July 1917, he served with distinction as an artilleryman. He transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte and became a fighter pilot. After his aerial combat career began with a horrifying incident, Noltenius began shooting down enemy observation balloons and airplanes on 10 August 1918. His battle claims were sometimes unsuccessfully disputed with other pilots, including his commanding officers. Despite the resulting transfers between units, Noltenius continued his success, being credited with his 21st victory on 4 November 1918. Only the war's end a week later barred him from receiving Germany's highest award for valor, the Pour le Mérite.
Jean Marie Dominique Navarre was a French aviator during World War I. As one of the pioneer flying aces, he was credited with twelve confirmed aerial victories and fifteen unconfirmed ones.
The following are lists of World War I flying aces. Historically, a flying ace was defined as a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The term was first used by French newspapers, describing Adolphe Pégoud as l'as, after he downed seven German aircraft.
Major Josef Mai Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter pilot credited with 30 victories.
Doctor OberleutnantOtto Schmidt HOH, IC was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories, including eight against enemy observation balloons. He commanded three different jagdstaffeln (squadrons) as well as a jagdgruppe.
Wing Commander Allan Runciman Brown was an Australian World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. During World War II, he was a Wing Commander for the Royal Australian Air Force.
Károly Kaszala was an Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories, thus winning his nation's highest honor, the Gold Medal for Bravery. Joining the military in 1914, he volunteered for aviation duty after recruit training. After pilot's training, he was posted to Fliegerkompanie 14, where he refused to fly his assigned aircraft. He was transferred for his insubordination; as he gained experience in his new unit, he and his observers managed to score three aerial victories from his reconnaissance two-seater. He was then upgraded to single-seat fighters, winning four more victories by the end of 1917. He was then posted to test pilot duties until war's end. In addition to the Gold Medal for Bravery, he had won three Silver Medals for Bravery and a German Iron Cross.
Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein HOH, Bavaria's MMO was a World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories.
Captain Guy Borthwick Moore (1895-1918) was a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.