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.
Wilhelm Balthasar was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and wing commander during World War II. As a fighter ace, he is credited with seven aerial victories during the Spanish Civil War and further 40 aerial victories on the Western Front of World War II. He flew about 300 combat missions during World War II in addition to 465 in Spain.
Walter "Gulle" Oesau was a German fighter pilot during World War II. A fighter ace, he served in the Luftwaffe from 1934 until his death in 1944. He rose to command Jagdgeschwader 1, which was named in his honor after his death.
Walter Adolph was a German Luftwaffe military aviator in the Spanish Civil War and a fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 25 aerial victories, including one in Spain, achieved in 79 combat missions. All his World War II victories were claimed over the Western Front.
The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics and Naval Aeronautics, the Republican Air Force became the Air Forces of the Spanish Republic, also known as Arma de Aviación, after it was reorganized following the restructuring of the Republican Armed Forces in September 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. This defunct Air Force is largely known for the intense action it saw during the Civil War, from July 1936 till its disbandment in 1939.
Reinhard Seiler was a Nazi German Luftwaffe Major and ace of the Spanish Civil War and World War II, commander of Jagdgeschwader 104 and a winner of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves; for the fighter pilots, it was a quantifiable measure of skill and combat success. Reinhard Seiler was credited with 100 victories during World War II, over the course of about 500 combat missions. He recorded an additional 9 victories during the Spanish Civil War.
Wolfgang Lippert was a World War II Luftwaffe Flying ace. Lippert was credited with 30 victories, five of which were scored in the Spanish Civil War.
Walter Grabmann was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Grabmann was credited with 7 aerial victories during the Spanish Civil War claimed in 137 combat missions.
CapitanoGuido Masiero was a World War I flying ace credited with five confirmed and ten unconfirmed aerial victories. He was a prewar lancer who used his civilian engineering expertise to wrangle a transfer to aviation duty.
Lionel Alexandre Pierre de Marmier was a World War I flying ace credited with six confirmed aerial victories in World War I. He remained involved in aviation postwar, setting flying records and serving in the Spanish Civil War. At the start of World War II, he returned to his nation's service, shooting down at least one German plane. He died in an air crash on 30 December 1944. He was posthumously promoted to General.
Captain-Commandant Fernand Maximillian Leon Jacquet was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He was the first Belgian pilot to score an aerial victory, on 17 April 1915, and became the first Belgian ace on 1 February 1917. He was also the first Belgian pilot to fly the Belgian king Albert I to the front, in 1917. Additionally, he was the only Belgian honored by the British with a Distinguished Flying Cross.
Brigadier General Ferruccio Ranza began his military career as a World War I flying ace credited with seventeen confirmed victories and eight unconfirmed ones. Postwar, he rose to command of several area commands of the resurgent Italian Air Force. He served through the end of World War II.
Horst Tietzen was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.
Johann Schmid was an Austrian-born Luftwaffe military aviator during the World War II, a fighter ace listed with 45 enemy aircraft shot down. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. All of his aerial victories were claimed over Western Front of World War II.
Rolf Pingel was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. He is credited with six aerial victories during the Spanish Civil War and further 22 aerial victories on the Western Front of World War II. He flew about 550 combat missions, including approximately 200 in Spain.
Wolfgang Ewald was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Joseph D. Elsberry (April 25, 1921 – March 31, 1985) was a U.S. Army Air Force officer and a prolific African-American World War II fighter pilot in the 332nd Fighter Group's 301st Fighter Squadron, best known as the famed Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or “Schwartze Vogelmenschen” among enemy German pilots. Elsberry destroyed three enemy aircraft over France in a single mission on July 12, 1944, and a fourth aircraft in July 20, 1944, becoming the first African American fighter pilot in history to do so. He is only one of four Tuskegee Airmen to have earned three aerial victories in a single day of combat: Clarence Lester, Lee Archer (pilot), and Harry Stewart.