List of aces of aces


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.
PersonCountry of serviceWarTimeNotes
Adolphe Pégoud Third Republic World War I28 April 1915 – 31 August 1915The first flying ace in aerial warfare history.
Jean Navarre Third Republic World War I– 17 June 1916Wounded in action on 17 June 1916.
Georges Guynemer Third Republic World War I– 11 September 1917
Charles Nungesser Third Republic World War I11 September 1917 –Succeeded Guynemer on his death.
René Fonck Third Republic World War I– end of World War IAll-time Allied Ace of Aces, with 75 confirmed aerial victories.
Max Immelmann Imperial GermanyWorld War I– 18 June 1916Before his death, Boelcke and Immelmann swapped the title several times.
Oswald Boelcke Imperial GermanyWorld War I18 June 1916 – 28 October 1916Before the death of Immelmann, Boelcke and Immelmann swapped the title several times. Succeeded Immelmann on his death.
Erich Loewenhardt Imperial GermanyWorld War I– 10 August 1918
Ernst Udet Imperial GermanyWorld War I– end of World War I
Manfred von Richthofen Imperial GermanyWorld War I26 April 1916 – 21 April 1918One of the most widely recognised fighter aces of all time, Richthofen, also called "The Red Baron", achieved at least 80 air combat victories during his active flying career.
Raoul Lufbery
World War IOctober 1916 – 15 May 1918
Paul Frank Baer
15 May 1918 – 18 May 1918Succeeded Lufbery on his death.
Frank Leaman Baylies
World War I18 May 1918 – 12 June 1918Succeeded Baer on his death.
David E. Putnam
World War I12 June 1918 – 12 September 1918Succeeded Bayliss on his capture.
Frank LukeWorld War I12 September 1918 – 29 September 1918Succeeded Bayliss on his death.
Eddie RickenbackerWorld War I29 September 1918 – end of World War ISucceeded Luke on his death. Was the US ace of aces for overall aerial victories
Indra Lal Roy British Empire1917–1918India's most successful fighter pilot, with 12 kills. He remains the only Indian fighter ace to this day.
Richard BongWorld War II1941–1945World War II top flying ace, credited with 40 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded Medal of Honor.
Ivan Kozhedub26 March 1943 – 16 April 1945Credited with 64 victories, Kozhedub is the top scoring Allied ace of World War II. One of the few pilots to shoot down Messerschmitt Me 262.
William R. Dunn
August 1941 –
Joe FossWorld War II1942–1944Credited with 26 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor.
Werner Mölders Third Reich World War II– 22 November 1941
Erich Hartmann Third Reich World War II– end of World War IIHartmann is the highest scoring ace, with 352 aerial victories, the first pilot to achieve 300 aerial victories and first to achieve 350 aerial victories
Alfred Schreiber Third Reich World War II28 October 1944First jet ace in aviation history
James JabaraKorean War20 May 1951 –First American Jet ace for Jet-vs-Jet combat.
George A. DavisKorean War– Friday 13 March 1953Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat.
Royal N. BakerKorean WarFriday 13 March 1953 –Was the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat. Succeeded Davis on his death.
Joseph C. McConnellKorean War– end of Korean WarWas the ace of aces for Jet-vs-Jet combat.
Muhammad Mahmood Alam PakistanIndo-Pakistani War of 19651960-1982Muhammad Mahmood Alam claimed and is credited to have shot down 9 Indian aircraft
Giora Even Epstein IsraelSix-Day War– Tuesday 6 June 1967A retired colonel in the Israeli Air Force and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets, making Epstein the ace of aces of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.
Randy H. Cunningham1968 – 1972First American ace of the Vietnam War.
Nguyen Van Coc Democratic Republic of Vietnam1967-1969
Legesse Tefera Ethiopian Air Force1977-1978Ethiopia's most successful pilot, and the most successful Northrop F-5 pilot, with 6 or 7 kills.
Shahram Rostami Iran1980–1988
Jalil Zandi Iran1980–1988Iran's most successful fighter pilot ever, with eight confirmed aerial victories. The most successful F-14 Tomcat pilot.
Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan Iraq1980–1986Iraq's most successful fighter pilot ever, with 5 confirmed aerial victories. The most successful MiG-25 pilot.

Submarine aces

Ace of the Deep is a title accorded to the top subsea ace/undersea ace/submarine ace of a nation's submarine force during time of war.
PersonCountry of serviceWarTimeNotes
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière Imperial GermanyWorld War I1915–18The commander of U-35, de la Periere sank a total of 194 merchant vessels and gunboats totaling 453,716 gross metric tons.
Dick O'KaneWorld War II– 25 October 1944Was captured and made Prisoner of war.
Eugene FluckeyWorld War II
Malcolm David WanklynWorld War II– 14 April 1942Wanklyn was the British Ace of Aces in terms of tonnage.
Benjamin BryantWorld War II– end of World War IIBryant was the British Ace of Aces.
Reinhard Suhren Third Reich World War IIA U-boat ace.
Gianfranco Gazzana-Priaroggia ItalyWorld War IIThe highest scoring Italian submarine commander, with 11 ships sunk for a total of 90,601 tons.
Carlo Fecia di Cossato ItalyWorld War IIWith 16 sinkings, he is credited with the most kills in the Regia Marina, as well as the second most successful Italian submarine commander with 86,545 tons.

Submarine hunters

PersonCountry of serviceWarTimeNotes
John Walker United KingdomWorld War IIWalker sank more U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic than any other British or Allied commander.

Tank aces