The following is a list of flying aces from the United States of America who served in World War I
Even before the United States entry into World War I in April 1917, many Americans volunteered to serve in the armed forces of Great Britain and France. Many eventually found their ways into the Royal Flying Corps and Aéronautique Militaire (French Air Service). The British integrated the Americans into their existing squadrons, while the French set up separate American squadrons such as the Lafayette Escadrille and then the Lafayette Flying Corps, as well as integrated the pilots into existing squadrons.
When American Air Service units began reaching England and France in the fall of 1917, many of the Americans serving in British and French squadrons transferred to the American units, but not all. This list is separated such that American pilots who served in the Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force) squadrons and Aéronautique Militaire are listed as such, while those who served only in the Air Service, United States Army Aero Squadrons are listed separately. Known American air aces that chose to remain with their British or French squadrons are also listed.
The British and French documented aerial victories in different ways. The British decided early in the war that since the majority of air combat occurred behind enemy lines, confirmation of aerial victories would be made by witnesses mostly in the front line trenches. If an aircraft was seen going down "out of control", then the pilot would be given credit for a victory as it was presumed the plane crashed in enemy territory.
The French implemented a strict system of victories being confirmed by independent observers, and an enemy plane had to be seen to fall in flames and crash; or be destroyed in the air. Unconfirmed victories were also noted if the enemy plane was seen to spin out of control but the final end was not observed. These unconfirmed victories were noted, but not included in a pilots score.
The Americans generally used the French rules of scoring aerial victories with the exception of the 17th and 148th Aero Squadrons, which were under British control until October, 1918. The pilots flying in those squadrons were scored under British rules. "Shared" victories were noted when two or more pilots attacked an enemy plane, and it could not be determined precisely which pilot shot down the aircraft.
Pilots who scored five or more aerial victories were classified as "air aces". The lists below show the names; military rank; units in which they served, and miscellaneous notes along with the known decorations which they received.
Name | Rank | Units | Notes |
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William Terry Badham | Lieutenant | Escadrille AR.214 Escadrille BR.40 Escadrille BR.210 91st Aero Squadron | 5 victories (all shared) Flew as observer/gunner Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, December, 1917 [1] Awarded:
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Paul Frank Baer | Lieutenant | Escadrille N.124 (Lafayette Escadrille) Escadrille SPA.80 103d Aero Squadron | 9 victories (2 shared) Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, February, 1918 [1] Awarded:
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Frank Leaman Baylies | Lieutenant | Escadrille SPA.73 Escadrille SPA.3 | 12 victories (3 shared) Killed in action: 17 June 1918 [1] Awarded:
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James Dudley Beane | Lieutenant | Escadrille SPA.69 22d Aero Squadron | 6 victories (4 shared) Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, August, 1918 [1] Awarded:
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Charles John Biddle | Major | Escadrille N.124 (Lafayette Escadrille) Escadrille SPA.73 13th Aero Squadron 103d Aero Squadron | 7 victories (4 shared); 1 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, February, 1918 [1] Awarded:
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Thomas Gantz Cassady | Captain | Escadrille SPA.157 Escadrille SPA.163 28th Aero Squadron 103d Aero Squadron | 9 victories (5 shared); 3 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, July, 1918 [1] Awarded:
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James Alexander Connelly Jr. | Adjutant | Escadrille SPA.157 Escadrille SPA.163 | 7 victories (5 shared); 2 unconfirmed. [1] Awarded:
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Charles Gossage Grey | Captain | Escadrille SPA.93 Lafayette Flying Corps 213th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (3 shared) [1] Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, March, 1918 Awarded:
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Lansing Colton Holden Jr. | Lieutenant | Escadrille N.461 95th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (1 shared) [1] Awarded:
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Gorman DeFreest Larner | Captain | Escadrille SPA.86 103d Aero Squadron | 7 victories (4 shared) [1] Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, June, 1918 Awarded:
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Gervais Raoul Lufbery | Major | Escadrille VB.106 Escadrille N.124 (Lafayette Escadrille) 94th Aero Squadron | 16 victories (3 shared); 3 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, April, 1918; Killed in action: 17 June 1918 [1] Awarded:
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Edwin Charles Parsons | Lieutenant | Escadrille N.124 (Lafayette Escadrille) Escadrille SPA.3 | 8 victories (2 shared) Awarded:
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David McKelvey Peterson | Major | Escadrille N.124 (Lafayette Escadrille) 103d Aero Squadron 94th Aero Squadron 95th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (1 shared) [1] Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, February, 1918 [1] Awarded:
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William Thomas Ponder | Lieutenant | Escadrille SPA.67 Escadrille SPA.163 103d Aero Squadron | 6 victories (4 shared) [1] Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, February, 1918 [1] Awarded:
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David Endicott Putnam | Lieutenant | Escadrille SPA.38 Escadrille SPA.94 Escadrille SPA.156 139th Aero Squadron | 13 victories (2 shared); 16 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, May, 1918; Killed in action: 12 September 1918 [1] Awarded: |
William Thaw II | Lieutenant Colonel | Escadrille D.6 Escadrille C.42 Escadrille N.65 Escadrille N.124 (Lafayette Escadrille) 103d Aero Squadron 3d Pursuit Group (Commander) | 5 victories (3 shared); 2 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, June, 1918 [1] Awarded:
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Remington D. B. Vernam | Lieutenant | Escadrille SPA.96 17th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (2 shared) [1] Awarded:
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Name | Rank | Units | Notes |
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Clayton Lawrence Bissell | Captain | 22d Aero Squadron 148th Aero Squadron | 6 victories [1] Awarded: * Squadron attached to RAF July–October 1918 |
Arthur Raymond Brooks | Captain | 22d Aero Squadron 139th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Harold Robert Buckley | Captain | 95th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Howard Burdick | Lieutenant | 17th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: * Squadron attached to RAF June–October 1918 |
Douglas Campbell | Lieutenant | 94th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (1 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Reed McKinley Chambers | Major | 94th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (2 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Everett Richard Cook | Captain | 91st Aero Squadron | 5 victories (all shared with observer/gunner) [1] Awarded: |
Harvey Weir Cook | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (2 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Hamilton Coolidge | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (3 shared) Killed in Action: 27 October 1918 [1] Awarded: |
Jesse Orin Creech | Lieutenant | 148th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (2 shared) [1] Awarded: * Squadron attached to RAF July–October 1918 |
Edward Peck Curtis | Lieutenant | 95th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (5 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Charles Rudolph d'Olive | Captain | 93d Aero Squadron 141st Aero Squadron | 5 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: |
William Portwood Erwin | Lieutenant | 1st Aero Squadron | 8 victories (all shared), Flew as observer/gunner [1] Awarded: |
George Willard Furlow | Lieutenant | 103d Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Harold Huston George | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Murray Kenneth Guthrie | Lieutenant | 13th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Edward Meeker Haight | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Leonard Coombes Hammond | Captain | 91st Aero Squadron | 6 victories (all shared); Flew as observer/gunner [1] Awarded: |
Frank Kerr Hays | Lieutenant | 13th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
James Andrew Healy | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Donald Hudson | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (5 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Frank O'Driscoll Hunter | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron 103d Aero Squadron | 9 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Clinton Leonard Jones Jr. | Lieutenant | 22d Aero Squadron | 3 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Howard Clayton Knotts | Lieutenant | 17th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (1 shared) [1] Awarded: * Squadron attached to RAF June–October 1918 |
James Knowles Jr. | Lieutenant | 95th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (1 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Robert Opie Lindsay | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (5 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Frank Luke Jr. | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 18 victories (4 shared) [1] Killed in Action: 29 September 1918 Awarded: |
John Knox MacArthur | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (3 shared) [1] Killed in Action: 20 July 1918 Awarded: |
James Armand Meissner | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron 147th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Zenos Ramsey Miller | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 5 victories** [1] Awarded:
* Became Prisoner of War, 20 July 1918 after shooting down two enemy aircraft during combat. Air Ace status confirmed in November 1918 after release |
Ralph Ambrose O'Neill | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared) [1] Awarded: |
John Sidney Owens | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared) [1] |
Kenneth Lee Porter | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron | 26 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Wendel Archibald Robertson | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (6 shared) [1] |
Leslie Jacob Rummell | Lieutenant | 93d Aero Squadron | 7 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Karl John Schoen | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (7 shared) [1] Killed in action: 29 October 1918 Awarded: |
John Joseph Seerley Jr. | Lieutenant | 13th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared) [1] |
Sumner Sewall | Captain | 95th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (4 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Francis May Simonds | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Martinus Stenseth | Lieutenant | 28th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: |
William Howard Stovall | Lieutenant | 13th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Victor Herbert Strahm | Major | 91st Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared with observer/gunner) [1] Awarded: |
Jacques Michael Swaab | Lieutenant | 22d Aero Squadron | 10 victories (3 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Edgar Gardner Tobin | Lieutenant | 103d Aero Squadron | 2 victories (2 shared), 1 unconfirmed [1] Awarded: |
Robert Miles Todd | Lieutenant | 17th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (2 shared) [1] |
Jerry Cox Vasconcells | Captain | 27th Aero Squadron 185th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (1 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Joseph Frank Wehner | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (3 shared) [1] Killed in Action: 18 September 1918 Awarded: |
Wilbert Wallace White | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (2 shared) [1] Killed in action: 10 October 1918 Awarded: |
Chester Ellis Wright | Lieutenant | 93d Aero Squadron | 9 victories (5 shared) [1] Awarded: |
Frank Luke Jr. was an American fighter ace credited with 19 aerial victories, ranking him second among United States Army Air Service pilots after Captain Eddie Rickenbacker during World War I. Luke was the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor and first USAAS ace in a day. Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, a United States Air Force pilot training installation since World War II, is named in his honor.
Lieutenant Gerald Alfred Birks was a Canadian First World War fighter ace credited with twelve aerial victories while serving in the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force.
Oberleutnant Eduard Ritter von DostlerPlM, MOMJ was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 26 victories. On three consecutive assignments during World War I, Dostler was entrusted with the combat leadership of German jagdstaffeln.
Leutnant Georg von Hantelmann was a German fighter ace credited with winning 25 victories during World War I. It was notable that these victories included three opposing aces shot down within the same week in September 1918–David Putnam, Maurice Boyau, and Joseph Wehner.
Leutnant Wilhelm Fahlbusch was an early World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories, shared with his observer Hans Rosencrantz.
Sergente Cesare Magistrini began his lengthy aviation career as a World War I flying ace credited with six confirmed and four unconfirmed aerial victories.
MarescialloGuido Nardini (1881-1928) was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.
Offiziersstellvertreter Edmund Nathanael was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories. He flew both two-seater reconnaissance aircraft and single-seater fighter craft. He scored all his victories while flying for Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 5, and received a rare award of the House Order of Hohenzollern for his valor. He was killed in action while serving the German Empire.
The 103rd Aero Squadron was an aviation pursuit squadron of the U.S. Air Service that served in combat in France during World War I. Its original complement included pilots from the disbanded Lafayette Escadrille and Lafayette Flying Corps. One of those pilots, Paul F. Baer, became the first ace of an American unit in World War I.
The 139th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
OberleutnantHans Berr was a German professional soldier and World War I flying ace. At the start of the First World War, he served in a scout regiment until severely wounded; he then transferred to aviation duty. Once trained as a pilot, he helped pioneer the world's first dedicated fighter airplane, the Fokker Eindecker "flying gun". Flying one, Berr shot down two enemy airplanes in March 1916 as his contribution to the Fokker Scourge. Berr was then chosen to command one of the world's original fighter squadrons, Jagdstaffel 5. Leading his pilots by example, Berr scored eight more victories in a four week span in October - November 1916 while his pilots began to compile their own victories. Hans Berr was awarded Germany's highest military honor, the Pour le Merite, on 4 December 1916. During a 6 April 1917 dogfight, Berr and his wingman mortally collided.
Captain Noel William Ward Webb was a British World War I flying ace credited with fourteen aerial victories. He also claimed the life of German ace Leutnant Otto Brauneck for his ninth victory.
Harold Alan Hamersley MC was an Australian World War I flying ace credited with 13 confirmed aerial victories. He later went on to serve in the Royal Air Force following the war, serving in India and reaching the rank of group captain before retiring.
Royal Württemberg Jagdstaffel 28, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 28, was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 100 verified aerial victories. The Jasta would pay a blood price for its success: nine pilots killed in action, three wounded in action, one injured in a collision, and one prisoner of war.
Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 24 was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 89 verified aerial victories.
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 26 was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 177 verified aerial victories, including four observation balloons destroyed. The Jasta would pay a bloody price for its success: five pilots killed in action, nine wounded in action, and one prisoner of war.
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 36, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 36, was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 123 confirmed aerial victories during the war, including 11 enemy observation balloons. In turn, they would suffer 13 killed in action, 15 wounded in action, two injured in flying accidents, and two taken prisoner of war.
LeutnantHermann Habich (1895–?) was one of the original pilots in the Imperial German Air Service, having earned his brevet two months before World War I began. He is noted for having killed French aviation pioneer Roland Garros. Habich scored seven victories in all, becoming a flying ace. He joined the Luftwaffe in the 1930s and served in World War II.
Lieutenant Valentine St. Barbe Collins was a World War I British flying ace credited with ten aerial victories who served with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force.
Flaminio Avet was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. Although born in Nice, France, he served in the Italian military as Italy entered World War I. After a transfer from Lancers to aviation, he trained as a pilot. He began his aerial combat career on 27 November 1918, and would stake a dozen victory claims, eight of which would be verified. He ended the war having won the Silver Medal for Military Valor three times. He returned to Nice postwar, and died there on 21 August 1928.