"Those skilled in
defense hide in the deepest depths of the earth,
those skilled in the attack maneuver in the highest heights of the sky.
Therefore they can achieve complete victory."
.... Sun Tzu
"Help! Help! I'm being clobbered! I'm down here by a railway track with a 190!"
Horseback!, Horseback! If I don't get back-tell em' I got two 190's!"
.... Captain Dominic S. Gentile 336th Fighter Squadron 4th
Fighter Group. Later
became the basis for lyrics of a 4th Fighter Group song in honor of Capt. Gentile.
"I opened fire only when
the whole windscreen was filled with the enemy. Then not a single shot goes wild."
.... Erich Hartmann
Although some of the following men are not recognized as 'aces' in the true definition of the term they are honored here in that they were recipients of our nations highest award, the Medal of Honor.
| Col. Gregory Boyington, USMC | Brig. Gen. James H. Howard, USAAC | |
| Col. James Swett, USMC | Col. Neel E. Kearby, USAAC | |
| Lt. Col. Harold W. Bauer, USMC | Maj. William A. Shomo, USAAC | |
| Maj. Robert E. Galer, USMC | Maj. Richard I. Bong , USAAC | |
| Maj. John L. Smith, USMC | Major Thomas B. McGuire, USAAC | |
| Capt. Henry T. Elrod, USMC | 1st Lt. Raymond L. Knight, USAAC | |
| Capt. Richard E. Fleming, USMC | Cmdr. David McCampbell, USN | |
| Capt. Joseph J. Foss, USMC | Lt. Edward H. O'Hare, USN | |
| Capt. Jefferson J. Deblanc, USMC | Lt. (j.g.) William E. Hall, USN | |
| 1st Lt. Robert M. Hanson,USMC | ||
| 1st Lt. Kenneth A. Walsh, USMC |
U.S. Aces of World War II
| *Richard Bong 40 | J.C. Meyer 24 (2 Korea) | R. B. Westbrook 20 | D. Bochkay 13.83 |
| *Thomas B. McGuire 38 | E. A. Valencia 23 | T. J. Lynch 20 | *J. H. Howard 13 |
| *D. McCampbell 34 | R. S. Wetmore 22.59 | D. S. Gentile 20.83 | B.K. Holloway 13 |
| F. Gabreski 28 | D. C. Schilling 22.5 | A. Vraciu. 19 | R. Olds 12 (4 Vietnam) |
| *G. Boyington 28 | *N. E. Kearby 22 | M. Carl 18.5 | L.R.Chase 12 |
| R. Johnson 28 | G. R. Johnson 22 | H. Zemke 17.75 | * E. O'Hare 12 |
| C. H. MacDonald 27 | J. T. Robbins 22 | J. England 17.5 | C. Yeager 11.5 |
| G. E. Preddy 26 | F. J. Christensen 21.5 | G.W. Johnson 17 | R. Goebel 11 |
| *J. J. Foss 26 | J. J. Voll 21 | J. T. Godfrey 16.3 | C. Peterson 9 |
| * R. Hanson 25 | *K.A. Walsh 21 | C. Anderson 16.25 | |
| L. C. Wade 25 | W. M. Mahurin 20.75 (3.5 Korea) |
W.T. Wishner 15.5 | |
| C. E. Harris 24 | D. N. Aldrich 20 | B.W. Carr 15 |
* Medal of Honor awarded Brief history of the Medal of Honor
Complete WWII U.S. fighter pilot ace list
Brief history of the Knights Cross
| E. Hartmann (Ger.) 352 | H. Bar (Ger.) 220 | H. Lipfert (Ger.) 203 | J. E. Johnson (UK) 38 | M. Albert (Fr.) 23 |
| G. Barkhorn (Ger.) 301 | H. Graf (Ger.) 211 | H. J. Marseille (Ger.) 158 | C. Galic (Cro.) 36 | S. Skalski (Pol) 22 |
| G. Rall (Ger.) 275 | H. Ehler (Ger.) 209 | H. Nishizawa (Jp.) 113 | P. Marmaduke (SA) 34 | E. Juutilainen (Fin.) 94.2 |
| O. Kittel (Ger.) 267 | T. Weissenburger (Ger.) 208 | A. Galland (Ger.) 104 | G. Beurling (Can.) 32 | Adriono Visconti (It) |
| W. Nowotny (Ger.) 255 | H. Philip (Ger.) 206 | S. Sakai (Jp.) 64 | B. E. Finucane (UK) 32 | |
| W. Batz (Ger.) 237 | W. Schuck (Ger.) 206 | E. Kozuhedub (Rus.) 62 | C. Caldwell (Aus.) 28.5 | |
| E. Rudorffer (Ger. ) 222 | A. Hafner (Ger.) 204 | J. G. Castasno (Sp.) 40 | C. Gray (NZ) 27.5 |
|
Scoring five kills, usually giving a pilot the status of 'ace', under the German system did not garner one the German title of "Experte"(a fighter pilot proficient in aerial combat. The Allied "ace"). The title was conferred on those that only exihibited consistent excellence and leadership in combat and in which the tally of victories played a minor part. For example, a German pilot may not have been considered an "Experte" until he scored his 60th victory or more. |
A complete listing of aces from all countries is available at the Fighter Pilot 'ace' list
