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Ace of aces is a title accorded to the top active ace within a branch of service in a nation's military in time of war. The title is most closely associated with fighter aces, though there are other types, such as tank aces, and submarine aces.

Fighter Aces

Ace of aces is a title accorded to the top flying ace/fighter ace of a nation's air force during time of war.

Persons accorded the title Ace of aces

Person	Country of service	War	Time
Adolphe Pégoud	Third Republic (France)	World War I	28 April 1915 – 31 August 1915	The first flying ace in aerial warfare history.
Georges Flachaire	Third Republic (France)	World War I
Jean Navarre	Third Republic (France)	World War I	– 17 June 1916	On 17 June 1916, Navarre is shot down and then grounded for the rest of the war due to injury.
Georges Guynemer	Third Republic (France)	World War I	– 11 September 1917
Charles Nungesser	Third Republic (France)	World War I	11 September 1917 –	Succeeded Guynemer on his death.
René Fonck	Third Republic (France)	World War I	– end of World War I	All-time Allied Ace of Aces, with 75 confirmed aerial victories.
Max Immelmann	Imperial Germany	World War I	– 18 June 1916	Before his death, Boelcke and Immelmann swapped the title several times.
Oswald Boelcke	Imperial Germany	World War I	18 June 1916 – 28 October 1916	Before the death of Immelmann, Boelcke and Immelmann swapped the title several times. Succeeded Immelmann on his death.
Manfred von Richthofen	Imperial Germany	World War I	– 21 April 1918	Known as the Red Baron, his 80 victories made him the highest scoring ace of the First World War.
Erich Loewenhardt	Imperial Germany	World War I	– 10 August 1918
Ernst Udet	Imperial Germany	World War I	– end of World War I
Albert Ball	United Kingdom	World War I	– 7 May 1917	Was also the ace of aces and highest scoring ace for the Western allies.
Keith Park	New Zealand ( No. 48 Squadron RAF)	World War I	1917	Keith Park's ability as a fighter ace was overshadowed by his later successes as the commander of No. 11 Group RAF during the Battle of Britain and commander of the air defence of Malta. The Luftwaffe nicknamed him the "Defender of London".
Billy Bishop	Canada ( No. 85 Squadron RAF)	World War I	8 April 1917 – 19 June 1918	Billy Bishop was officially credited with 72 victories, making him Canada's all time top ace, and according to some sources, the top ace of the British Empire.
Raymond Collishaw	Canada ( No. 203 Squadron RAF)	World War I	1916 – 1918	Raymond Collishaw was the highest scoring Royal Naval Air Service flying ace and the second highest scoring Canadian pilot of the First World War. First pilot of the British Empire to claim six victories in one day (6 July 1917).
Edward Mannock	United Kingdom	World War I	12 August 1917 – 26 July 1918	Edward Mannock may have been the highest-scoring ace within the British Empire of all time and is regarded as one of the greatest fighter pilots of the war.
Raoul Lufbery	United States ( Escadrille Lafayette)	World War I	October 1916 – 15 May 1918
Paul Frank Baer	United States ( Escadrille Lafayette)	World War I	15 May 1918 – 18 May 1918	Succeeded Lufbery on his death.
Frank Bayliss	United States ( L'armee de l'air de France)	World War I	18 May 1918 – 12 June 1918	Succeeded Baer on his death.
David E. Putnam	United States ( Escadrille Lafayette)	World War I	12 June 1918 – 12 September 1918	Succeeded Bayliss on his capture.
Frank Luke	United States	World War I	– 29 September 1918
Eddie Rickenbacker	United States	World War I	29 September 1918 – end of World War I	Succeeded Luke on his death. Was the US ace of aces for overall aerial victories
Edgar James "Cobber" Kain	New Zealand ( No. 53 Squadron RAF)	World War II	October 1939 – May 1940	First RAF air ace of WWII during the Battle of France.
Josef Frantisek	Czechoslovakia ( 303 Squadron)	World War II	September 1940;	Credited as the top scoring RAF ace during the Battle of Britain. He refused to fly in formation but was allowed to fly as a "guest" of RAF 303 (Polish) squadron. In the air he would break off and patrol areas by himself where he knew enemy aircraft would be.
Eric Lock	( No. 41 Squadron RAF)	World War II	September 1940;	The top British ace during the Battle of Britain and along with Brian Carbury credited with the highest number of Bf 109 kills during this period.
Brian Carbury	New Zealand ( No. 603 Squadron RAF)	World War II	September 1940;	One of the Ace Of Aces during the Battle of Britain, scored the most kills (along with Eric Lock) against Bf 109s and shot down 5 aircraft in one day to become an Ace in a Day.
Witold Urbanowicz	Poland ( No. 303 Squadron RAF)	World War II	September 1940;	The top Polish ace during the Battle of Britain. 303 (Polish) Sqn entered the Battle of Britain later due to language barriers but went on to become one of the top scoring squadrons due to the Polish pilots' previous experience and determination.
Antoni Glowacki	Poland ( No. 501 Squadron RAF)	World War II	September 1940;	One of only two RAF pilots (along with Brain Carbury) during the Battle of Britain to become an Ace in a Day by shooting down 5 aircraft in one day.
James E. "Johnnie" Johnson	United Kingdom	World War II	September 1941-1945 –	Top RAF ace of WWII.
William R. Dunn	United States ( Eagle Squadron)	World War II	August 1941 –	First American ace, First American to have a shot down another plane.
Joe Foss	United States	World War II	1942-1944	The U.S. Marine Corps' top ace, credited with 26 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor.
Richard Bong	United States	World War II	1942-1944	aka "Ace of Aces." U.S. pilot credited with at least 40 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor.
Lee Archer	United States	World War II	1944	U.S. fighter pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen credited with four confirmed downed aircraft and a share of a fifth. Recognized as the war's only African American ace pilot.
Hiroyoshi Nishizawa	Imperial Japan	World War II	1942-1944	Japan's top navy fighter pilot ace, credited with at least 80 confirmed downed aircraft in the Pacific war.
Werner Mölders	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	– 22 November 1941	First pilot to achieve 100 aerial victories on 15 July 1941
Gordon Gollob	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II		First pilot to achieve 150 aerial victories
Hermann Graf	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II		First pilot to achieve 200 aerial victories
Walter Nowotny	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II		First pilot to achieve 250 aerial victories Commanded one of the first Me 262 jet fighter squadrons.
Erich Hartmann	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	– end of World War II	To be accurate, Hartmann is the "Ace of the Aces of Aces." with 352 aerial victories, first pilot to achieve 300 aerial victories on 24 August 1944 and first to achieve 350 aerial victories on 17 April 1945
Alfred Schreiber	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	28 October 1944	First jet ace in aviation history
Kurt Welter	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	– end of World War II	Highest scoring jet ace in aviation history
Lydia Litvyak	Soviet Union	World War II		Highest scoring female ace in aviation history
James Jabara	United States	Korean War	20 May 1951 –	First Jet ace for Jet-vs-Jet combat.
George A. Davis	United States	Korean War	– Friday 13 March 1953	Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat.
Royal N. Baker	United States	Korean War	Friday 13 March 1953 –	Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat. Succeeded Davis on his death.
Joseph C. McConnell	United States	Korean War	– end of Korean War	Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat.
Sergei Kramarenko	Soviet Union ( Democratic People's Republic of Korea)	Korean War	29 July 1951 –	First Jet-vs-Jet ace of the Korean War.
Duke Cunningham	United States	Vietnam War		First American ace of the Vietnam War.
Jalal Zandi	Iran	Iran-Iraq War	1980–1988	Iran's most successful fighter pilot ever, with 12 claimed and 9 confirmed aerial victories. The most successful F-14 Tomcat pilot.
M M Alam	Pakistan	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965	1960–1982	Pakistan's most successful fighter pilot with 9 confirmed kills and 2 probables.
Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan	Iraq	Iran-Iraq War	1980–1986	Iraq's most successful fighter pilot ever, with 10 claimed and 4 confirmed aerial victories. The most successful MiG-25 pilot.
Giora Epstein	Israel	Six Day War, War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War	1956–1998	Israel's most successful fighter pilot with 17 kills to his name as well as history's highest scoring supersonic jet ace.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2009)

Submarine aces

Ace of aces is a title accorded to the top subsea ace/undersea ace/submarine ace of a nation's submarine force during time of war.

Persons accorded the title ace of aces

Person	Country of service	War	Time
Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere	Imperial Germany	World War I
Dudley W. Morton	United States	World War II	– September 1943	Died
Dick O'Kane	United States	World War II	– 25 October 1944	Was captured and made Prisoner of war.
Eugene Fluckey	United States	World War II
Malcolm David Wanklyn	United Kingdom	World War II	– 14 April 1942
Ben Bryant	United Kingdom	World War II	– end of World War II
Takakazu Kinashi	Imperial Japan	World War II
Otto Kretschmer	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	– March 1941	Was captured and made a Prisoner of war by the Royal Navy.
Reinhard Suhren	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II		A U-boat ace.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2009)

Submarine hunters

Persons accorded the title ace of aces

Person	Country of service	War	Time
Otto Pollmann	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II		Credited with the sinking of 14 submarines

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (December 2009)

Tank aces

This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (April 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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Ace of aces is a title accorded to the top tank ace of a nation's tank corps during time of war. Not all nations recognised the term ‘tank ace’ during World War 2.

Persons accorded the title ace of aces

Person	Country of service	War	Time	Kill statistics
Lafayette G. Pool	United States	World War II	– 19 September 1944	12 Tanks, 246 AFVs/trucks
Michael Wittmann	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	– 8 August 1944	138 Tanks, 132 Anti tank guns, unknown other.	A panzer ace.
Kurt Knispel	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	– 28 April 1945	168 tanks	The top Panzer ace of the war.
Johannes Bölter	Third Reich (Germany)	World War II	28 April 1945 – end of World War II	139 tanks	The top surviving Panzer ace of the war who wasn't captured.
Sydney V. Radley-Walters	Canada	World War II	– end of World War II	18 tanks	Top aces of the western allies
Dmitriy Lavrinenko	Soviet Union	World War II	– 1941	Between 52 and 57 tanks.	The top Allied tank ace of the war

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2009)

References

1. Aviation History, "World's First Ace", Jon Guttman, Volume 20, Number 3, January 2010, pp.19
2. ^ New York Times, "Saw 40 Air Foes After Guynemer", Thursday 27 September 1917
3. ^ Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation, "Hispano-Suiza Aeronautical Engines", Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation, 1918
4. Taylor & Francis, "The European Powers in the First World War", Spencer Tucker, Laura Matysek Wood, Justin D. Murphy, ISBN 0815303998
5. The Lowell Sun, "Record by French "Ace Of Aces" Never Equalled", Associated Press, Friday 21 June 1918
6. Doubleday, "Ace of Aces", René Fonck, 1967
7. New York Times, "Immelmann Fell 6,000 Feet To Death", 25 June 1916
8. New York Times, "A Talk With Boelcke On The Day Of His Death", Sunday 28 January 1917
9. Osprey Publishing, "Richthofen's Circus", Greg VanWyngarden, 2005
10. University of Nebraska Press, "Impossible missions?: German economic, military, and humanitarian efforts in Africa", Nina Berman, 2004
11. National Geographic Society, "Volume XXXIII", National Geographic Magazine, 1918
12. ^ Stokes, "Fighting the Flying Circus", Eddie Rickenbacker, 1919, (accessed 18 April 2009)
13. Osprey Publishing, "American Aces of World War I", Norman Franks, 2001, ISBN 1841763756
14. New York Times, "ALLIES ON SOMME TAKE 1,500 GERMANS; French Alone Captured 1,100 in Saturday's Fighting South of the River. BRITISH IMPROVE LINES Continue to Push Forward North of Thiepval and In the Region of Gucudecourt.", 15 October 1916
15. New York Times, "Putnam, American Ace, Killed Near St. Mihiel", Associated Press, 20 September 1918
16. "Fighter Pilot: The First American Ace of World War II", William R. Dunn
17. The Telegraph (London), "Joe Foss", 2 January 2003, (accessed 17 April 2009)
18. TIME, No. 1 Ace, 21 December 1942, (accessed 17 April 2009)
19. ^ Toliver & Constable 1998, p. 385. Cite error: The named reference "Toliver & Constable p385" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
20. Foreman & Harvey 1995, p. 81.
21. Samuel 2004, p. 46.
22. National Museum of the USAF, "LT. COL. JAMES JABARA", (accessed 17 April 2009)
23. ^ TIME, "Ace of Aces", Monday 23 March 1953, (accessed 17 April 2009)
24. TIME, "Fallen Ace", Monday 18 February 1952, (accessed 17 April 2009)
25. The Canberra Times, "Air Ace Ends Task", 16 March 1953, (accessed 17 April 2009)
26. TIME, "Ace's End", 6 September 1954, (accessed 17 April 2009)
27. Texas A&M University Press, "Striving for air superiority: the Tactical Air Command in Vietnam", Craig C. Hannah, 2002, ISBN 9781585441464
28. Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982, by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, Sept. 9, 2003
29. Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, 2004, Osprey Publishing, pp. 23-24
30. Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat, by David Nicolle and Tom Cooper, (2004) Osprey Publishing, p.82
31. Challenge Publications, "The U-Boat ACE of ACES", William H Langenberg, 2004
32. Sutton Publishing, "The Bravest Man", William Tuohy, 2001
33. ^ The Times (London), "Rear-Admiral Eugene Fluckey", 20 July 2007 (accessed 2009 April 20)
34. Naval Institute Press, "Soldiers Lost at Sea", James E. Wise, Scott Baron, 2003, ISBN 9781591149668
35. Bantam, "Submarine Commander", Rear Admiral Ben Bryant, 1960
36. US Naval Institute Press, "Teddy Suhren: Ace of Aces: Memoirs of a U-boat Rebel", Teddy Suhren, ISBN 978-1591148517
37. Schaulen 2004, p. 148.
38. "S/SGT. LAFAYETTE POOL, U.S. ARMY TANKER LEGEND" (accessed 22 April 2009)
39. Lynne Rienner Publishers, "Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine", Roman Johann Jarymowycz, 2001
40. Kurowski, Franz. Feldwebel Kurt Knispel. Flechsig, July 2007. ISBN 3-88189-734-8. Kurowski Pg 125

Bibliography

• Foreman, John; Harvey, S.E. (1995), Messerschmitt Combat Diary Me.262, Crecy Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-871187-30-3.
• Toliver, Raymond F. and Trevor J. Constable (1998). Die deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939 - 1945. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-193-0.
• Samuel, Wolfgang W.E. (2004). American Raiders — The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1578066492.
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2004). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe II Ihlefeld - Primozic (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-21-1.

See also

• Lists of military personnel
• Flying aces
• Submarine commanders
• Tank commanders
• Aces