Fighter aces in World War II had tremendously varying kill scores, affected as they were by many factors: the pilot's skill level, the performance of the airplane the pilot flew and the planes they flew against, how long they served, their opportunity to meet the enemy in the air (Allied to Axis disproportion), whether they were the formation's leader or a wingman, the standards their air service brought to the awarding of victory credits, et cetera.
Name | Country | Service(s) | Aerial victories | Other aerial victories | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Karol Pniak | ![]() | Polish Air Force; Royal Air Force | 6.75 | ||
Basil Gerald "Stapme" Stapleton | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6.66 [1] | ||
Richard Edward Fowler | ![]() | U.S. Navy | 6.5 | ||
Howard Peter Blatchford † | ![]() | Royal Canadian Air Force | 6.5 | ||
Lloyd Chadburn † | ![]() | Royal Canadian Air Force | 6.5 [2] | ||
James Douglas Lindsay | ![]() | Royal Canadian Air Force | 6.5 | +2 in Korean War | |
Willard Eder | ![]() | U.S. Navy | 6.5 | ||
Russell Foskett | ![]() | Royal Australian Air Force | 6.5 | ||
Wacław Łapkowski | ![]() | Polish Air Force; Royal Air Force | 6.33 | ||
Alan Peart | ![]() | Royal New Zealand Air Force | 6.33 [3] | ||
Horia Agarici | ![]() | Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
Florin Alexiu | ![]() | Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
Andreas Antoniou | ![]() | Royal Hellenic Air Force | 6 | ||
GianLino Baschirotto | ![]() | Regia Aeronautica | 6 | +5 in Spanish Civil War | Ace in each of two wars |
Livio Bassi | ![]() | Regia Aeronautica | 6 | ||
Wolfrath Bauer † | ![]() | Luftwaffe | 6 | Night fighter ace | |
Henry S. Bille | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+4 ground kills) | |
Scrappy Blumer | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | Ace in a day (fifteen minutes) | |
Yekaterina Budanova | ![]() | Soviet Air Force | 6 | possibly 11, +5 shared | |
Harry C. Crim | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+5.25 damage) 531st Fighter Squadron, PTO | |
James B. Dalglish | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+3 V-1 flying bombs) | |
František Doležal | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
Bryan Draper † | ![]() | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve | 6 [4] | ||
Urban L. Drew | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
Josef Dygrýn-Ligotický † | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
Stanislav Fejfar † | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
Guido Fibbia | ![]() | Regia Aeronautica | 6 | +3 in Spanish Civil War | |
Carlos Faustinos | ![]() | Mexican Air Force | 6 | Also known as Charlie Foster. | |
Ervin Flóznik † | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
Andrew J. Evans Jr. | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
James W. Griffis | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
Clayton Kelly Gross | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | 355th FS, 354th FG, ETO | |
Fred R. Haviland Jr. | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+6 ground kills) | |
Michael Herrick † | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 [5] | ||
Horace B. Moranville | ![]() | U.S. Navy | 6 | ||
James P. Hagerstrom | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
Stefan Janus | ![]() | Polish Air Force; Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
Oskar Köstler † | ![]() | Luftwaffe | 6 [6] | ||
Fritz Kruse † | ![]() | Luftwaffe | 6 [7] | Night fighter ace | |
Kenneth Lake | ![]() | U.S. Navy | 6 | ||
Mihály Karátsonyi | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
Lajos Kracsenics | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
Raymond Lallemant | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
Joseph Larichelière † | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 [8] | ||
Mátyás Lőrincz † | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
János Mátyás | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
Robert Mcwherter | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | First Three kill with 17th PS in the PTO, other three with 363rd FS in ETO | |
György Michna | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
Norman W. Mollard, Jr. | ![]() | U.S. Navy | 6 | ||
Kálmán Nánási † | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
Norman E. Olson | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+2 ground kills) | |
Theo Osterkamp | ![]() | Luftwaffe | 6 [9] | +32 in World War I | Ace in each of two wars |
Edward Cobb Outlaw | ![]() | U.S. Navy | 6 | Ace in a day | |
Imre Pánczél † | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
Ludwik Witold Paszkiewicz | ![]() | Polish Air Force; Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
Eduard M. Prchal | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
John F. Pugh | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | 357th FG, 362nd Fighter Squadron, ETO | |
Leonard R. Reeves | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | DFC, 530th Fighter Squadron, CBI | |
Radu Reinek | ![]() | Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
Thomas J. Rennemo | ![]() | U.S. Navy | 6 | ||
W. R. Scheible | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+3 ground kills) | |
Pál Szikora | ![]() | Royal Hungarian Air Force | 6 | ||
Harry Steere † | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 [10] | (+5 shared) | |
Raymond Thorold-Smith † | ![]() | Royal Australian Air Force | 6 [11] | (+1 shared) | |
Owen Tracey † | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 [12] | ||
Gheorghe Tutuianu | ![]() | Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
Constantin Ursachi | ![]() | Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
Bram van der Stok | ![]() | Royal Netherlands Air Force; Royal Air Force | 6 | ||
Remy Van Lierde | ![]() | Royal Air Force | 6 | (+44 V-1 flying bombs) | |
Ioan Vornica | ![]() | Royal Romanian Air Force | 6 | ||
Ralph Wandrey | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | 49th FG, 9th Fighter Squadron, PTO | |
James Henry Whalen † | ![]() | Royal Canadian Air Force | 6 | ||
William E. Whalen | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | (+2 ground kills) | |
Lynn E. Witt, Jr. | ![]() | U.S. Army Air Forces | 6 | ||
Yue Yi-Chin / Yue Yiqin | ![]() | Chinese Nationalist Air Force | 6 | ||
Yoshio Yoshida | ![]() | Imperial Japanese Army | 6 | (+1 probable) |
Walter Wolfrum was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he flew 424 combat missions and claimed 137 aerial victories—that is, 137 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft. This ties him for 43rd place among highest scoring fighter aces. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Helmut Lipfert was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Lipfert ranks as the world's thirteenth fighter ace. Lipfert was credited with 203 victories achieved in 687 combat missions. All his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front and included a P-51 Mustang, 41 Yakovlev Yak-1, 41 Yakovlev Yak-9 fighters, two four-engine bombers and 39 Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. He was shot down fifteen times, without being injured.
August Lambert was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and ground-attack pilot during World War II. As a fighter ace, he is credited with 116 aerial victories claimed in approximately 350 combat missions for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. All of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front as a ground attack pilot in a Schlachtgeschwader, not as a fighter pilot in a Jagdgeschwader. He is the highest scoring ground attack pilot.
Otto Schulz was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace in World War II. He is credited with 51 aerial victories claimed in over 450 combat missions whilst flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109. He claimed 48 aerial victories against the Western Allies and three over the Eastern Front.
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Robert-Ludwig Becker was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 44 aerial victories claimed in 165 combat missions, making him one of the more successful nocturnal fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe. All of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in Defense of the Reich missions against the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Bomber Command.
Eckart-Wilhelm von Bonin was a German World War II night fighter pilot who served in the Luftwaffe. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He is credited with shooting down 37 enemy aircraft claimed during 150 combat missions.
Dr. Horst Patuschka was a Luftwaffe night fighter 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. Horst Patuschka was killed on 6 March 1943 after his Junkers Ju 88 crashed near Bizerte, Tunisia due to engine failure. During his career he was credited with 23 aerial victories all of them at night. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 10 May 1943.
Heinz-Horst Hißbach was a Luftwaffe night fighter 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. Heinz-Horst Hißbach claimed 34 aerial victories, all of them at night.
Fritz Paul Lüddecke was a Luftwaffe fighter ace from Brakel, Germany. He was the recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Fritz Lüddecke was credited with 50 kills all in the Eastern Front. In 1944 he was killed in action over Wilkowischken, Lithuania.