List of World War I aces credited with 15–19 victories

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The term "ace" (now commonly flying ace) was first used by French newspapers during World War I, describing Adolphe Pégoud as l'as (the ace), after he downed five German aircraft. When aircraft began to shoot or force down other aircraft, systems to count "air victories" were subsequently developed. The American qualification of five victories eventually became the standard, even though other air services had previously used differing figures.[1]

While "ace" status was most often won by fighter pilots, bomber and reconnaissance crews, and observers in two-seater aircraft such as the Bristol F.2b (Bristol Fighter), also destroyed enemy aircraft. If a two-seater aircraft destroyed an aircraft, both crew members were credited with a victory. Because pilots usually teamed with differing observer/gunners in two-seater aircraft, an observer might be an ace when his pilot was not, and vice versa.[2] The few aces among combat aviators have historically accounted for the majority of air-to-air victories in military history.[3]

Loss of records by mischance and the passage of time complicates reconstructing the actual count for given aces. The scores presented in the list cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best available sources of information.[4] Aces are listed after verifying the date and location of combat, and the foe vanquished, for every victory accredited by an aviator's home air service using their own aerial victory standards. Those victories for which the evidence is unavailable or fragmentary have been excluded from the victory count.

Aces

This list is complete. Notable aces are linked to their biographies.

      This along with the symbolic sword †, indicates that the pilot was known to be either killed in action, missing in action, died of wounds, or killed in a flying accident during World War I.

Name Country Air service(s) Victories
Horace Barton  South Africa Royal Flying Corps 19[5] Distinguished Flying Cross with Bar.
Wilfred Beaver  Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 19[6] Military Cross
Andrew Cowper  Australia Royal Flying Corps 19[7] Military Cross with two Bars.
Christian Donhauser  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 19[8] Military Merit Cross, Iron Cross
Jacques Ehrlich  France Aéronautique Militaire 19 Médaille militaire, Croix de Guerre[9]
Arthur Bradfield Fairclough  Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 19[10] Military Cross
Gerhard Fieseler  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 19[11] Military Merit Cross, Iron Cross
Henri Hay De Slade  France Aéronautique Militaire 19 Légion d'honneur, Croix de Guerre with 14 Palmes, Belgian Croix de guerre, British Military Cross, Italian Croix de la Couronne[12]
Cedric Howell  Australia Royal Flying Corps 19[13] Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross
József Kiss  Austria-Hungary Luftfahrtruppen 19[14] Top Hungarian ace. Medal for Bravery (1 Gold, 1 Silver)
Harold Albert Kullberg  United States Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 19[15] British Distinguished Flying Cross[16]
Leslie Powell  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 19 Military Cross with Bar.
Arthur Reed (aviator)  South Africa Royal Flying Corps 19[17] Distinguished Flying Cross with Bar.
Ellis Vair Reid  Canada Royal Naval Air Service 19[18] Distinguished Service Cross
Alan Wilkinson (aviator)  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 19[19] Distinguished Service Order with Bar.
Kurt Wintgens  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 19[20] First aerial victory ever with a synchronized machine gun. Pour le Mérite, Iron Cross
Alexander Zenzes  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 19[21] Iron Cross
Hartmuth Baldamus  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 18[22] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Bernard Barny De Romanet  France Aéronautique Militaire 18 Légion d'honneur, Médaille militaire, Croix de Guerre with ten Palmes and three étoiles de vermeil[23]
James Belgrave  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 18[24] Military Cross with Bar.
Franz Gräser  Austria-Hungary Luftfahrtruppen 18 Order of Leopold, Order of the Iron Crown, Medal for Bravery
Franz Hemer  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 18[25] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
William C. Lambert  United States Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 18[26] British Distinguished Flying Cross[27]
Frank Luke  United States US Army Air Service 18 Medal of Honor, Distinguished Flying Cross, Italian War Cross
"The Balloon Buster"[28]
George Chisholm MacKay  Canada Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 18[29] Distinguished Flying Cross, Belgian Order of Leopold, French Légion d'honneur, French Croix de Guerre
William Molesworth  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 18[30] Military Cross with Bar, Italian Medal for Military Valor.
Maurice Newnham  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 18[31] Distinguished Flying Cross, French Croix de Guerre
Emil Schäpe  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 18[32] Iron Cross
John Todd  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 18[33] Distinguished Flying Cross, Military Cross
John Lightfoot Trollope  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 18[34] Military Cross with Bar
Ronald Bannerman  New Zealand Royal Flying Corps 17[35] Distinguished Flying Cross
Fritz Beckhardt  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[36] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Hans Böhning  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[37] Iron Cross
Walter Böning  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[38] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Alfred Williams Carter  Canada Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 17[39] Distinguished Flying Cross
Marziale Cerutti  Italy Corpo Aeronautico Militare 17
Carl Frederick Falkenberg  Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 17[40] Distinguished Flying Cross with Bar, Air Force Cross
George Everard Gibbons  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 17[41] Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross
Ernst Hess  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[42] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Fred Parkinson Holliday  Australia Australian Flying Corps 17[43] Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, Air Force Cross
August Iaccaci  United States Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 17[44] Distinguished Flying Cross
Paul Iaccaci  United States Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 17[45] Distinguished Flying Cross
Edward Grahame Johnstone  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 17[46] Distinguished Service Cross
Rudolf Klimke  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[47] Iron Cross
Reginald Makepeace  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 17[48] Military Cross
John Pinder  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 17[49] Distinguished Flying Cross
Karl Plauth  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[50] Iron Cross
Ferruccio Ranza  Italy Corpo Aeronautico Militare 17 Three Silver awards of Medal for Military Valor, Military Order of Savoy, French Croix de guerre and Belgian Croix de guerre, Serbian Star of Karageogevich[51]
Franz Ray  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[52]
Hans Rolfes  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[53] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Josef Schwendemann  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 17[54] Military Merit Cross
Edwin Swale  United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 17[55] Distinguished Flying Cross
Edmund Tempest  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 17[56] Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross
Walter Tyrrell  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 17[57] Military Cross
Owen Baldwin  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[58] Distinguished Flying Cross, French Légion d'honneur, French Croix de Guerre
Gerald Gordon Bell  Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 16[59] Distinguished Flying Cross, French Légion d'honneur, French Croix de Guerre
Eugen Bönsch  Austria-Hungary Luftfahrtruppen 16 Medal for Bravery (3 Gold awards)
Ernst Bormann  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 16[60] Iron Cross First and Second Class, with Clasps. Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves for Iron Cross. Generalmajor in World War II.
Henry John Burden  Canada Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 16[61] Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross
Jean Chaput  France Aéronautique Militaire 16 Légion d'honneur, Médaille militaire, Croix de Guerre with 11 Palmes, Belgian Croix de guerre, British Military Cross[62]
John Stanley Chick  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 16[63] Military Cross Rose to Air Commodore in RAF
Eugene Coler  United States Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 16[64] British Distinguished Flying Cross[65]
John Cowell  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[66] Distinguished Conduct Medal, Military Medal
Bruce Digby-Worsley  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16
Stearne Tighe Edwards  Canada Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 16[67] Distinguished Service Cross with Bar
Ernest Elton  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[68] Distinguished Conduct Medal, Military Medal, Italian Medal for Military Valor
Stefan Fejes  Austria-Hungary Luftfahrtruppen 16 Gold Medal for Bravery (three awards), 1st Class Silver Medal for Bravery (2 awards), 2nd Class Silver Medal for Bravery[69]
Robert Foster  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[70] Knight of the Order of the Bath, Order of the British Empire, Distinguished Flying Cross. Rose to Air Chief Marshal.
Robert Grosvenor  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[71] Military Cross
Ludwig Hanstein  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 16[72] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
Allan Hepburn  Australia Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 16[73] Distinguished Flying Cross
Sidney Highwood  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[74] Distinguished Flying Cross
Frank Johnson  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[75] Distinguished Conduct Medal with Bar
Johannes Klein  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 16[76] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Raoul Lufbery  France
 United States
Aéronautique Militaire
US Army Air Service
16 French Légion d'honneur, Médaille militaire, and Croix de Guerre with ten Palmes, British Military Medal, Montenegrin Medal for Military Valor.[77]
Karl Odebrett  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 16[78] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, Austro-Hungarian Medal for Bravery
Oliver Redgate  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[79] Distinguished Flying Cross
Oren Rose  United States Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 16 Distinguished Flying Cross with Bar[80]
Wilhelm Seitz  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 16[81] Iron Cross
Francis Smith  Australia Australian Flying Corps 16[82] Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross
Elliott White Springs  United States Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, US Army Air Service 16[83] American Distinguished Service Cross, British Distinguished Flying Cross[84]
David Stewart  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16[85] Military Cross with Bar, Distinguished Flying Cross
Christoffel Venter  South Africa Royal Flying Corps 16[86] Order of the Bath, Distinguished Flying Cross with Bar. Rose to Major General.
Anthony Wall  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 16 Military Cross with Bar
Hans Weiss  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 16[87] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Vasili Yanchenko  Russia Imperial Army Air Service 16 Order of Saint George, Cross of Saint George (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Class), Order of Saint Vladimir, Order of Saint Anne, Order of the Star, Military Service Medal
Pavel Argeyev  Russia Aéronautique Militaire, Imperial Army Air Service 15 French Légion d'honneur, French Croix de Guerre, Order of Saint George, Order of Saint Vladimir, Order of Saint Anne
Karl Bohnenkamp  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[88] Military Merit Cross
Lawrence Coombes  United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 15[89] Distinguished Flying Cross
Cyril Crowe  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[90] Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross
Charles Cudemore  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[91] Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross
Ralph Curtis  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps 15[92]
Ernest Deighton  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15 Distinguished Conduct Medal
Armand De Turenne  France Aéronautique Militaire 15 Légion d'honneur, Croix de Guerre with 11 Palmes and an étoile de bronze, British Military Cross, Belgian Croix de guerre, Italian Croce di guerre[93]
Albert Dossenbach  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[94] Pour le Mérite, Military Merit Cross, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Rudolf Francke  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[95] Military Merit Cross
George Gates  United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 15[96] Distinguished Flying Cross
James Alpheus Glen  Canada Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 15[97] Distinguished Service Cross with Bar, French Croix de Guerre
Harry King Goode  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[98] Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross
John Rutherford Gordon  Australia Australian Flying Corps 15 Military Cross
John Edmund Greene  Canada Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 15[99] Distinguished Flying Cross
Albert Haussmann†  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[100]
Edwin Hayne  South Africa Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 15[101] Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross
Alois Heldmann  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[102] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Frank Hobson  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[103] Military Cross
Max Immelmann  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[104] Pour le Mérite, Military Order of St. Henry, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
The Immelmann turn named after him.
John Jones  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15 Distinguished Flying Medal
Andrew Kiddie  South Africa Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[105] Distinguished Flying Cross, Belgian Croix de guerre
Otto Löffler  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[106]
Hans-Georg von der Marwitz  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[107] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Harold Mellings  United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force 15[108] Distinguished Service Cross with Bar, Distinguished Flying Cross, Greek Royal Order of the Redeemer.
Alfred Mills  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[109] Distinguished Flying Cross
Edmund Nathanael  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[110] Iron Cross
Wilhelm Neuenhofen  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[111]
Roy Cecil Phillipps  Australia Australian Flying Corps 15[112] Military Cross with Bar, Distinguished Flying Cross
Viktor von Pressentin von Rautter  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[113] Military Merit Cross, Iron Cross
Theodor Quandt  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[114] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
Herbert Richardson  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[115] Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross
Gilbert Sardier  France Aéronautique Militaire 15 Légion d'honneur, Médaille militaire, Croix de Guerre with nine Palmes, an étoile de vermeil, and an étoile d'argent, British Military Cross[116]
Hugh Saunders  South Africa Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[117] Order of the Bath, Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross with Bar, Military Medal
Julius Schmidt  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[118] Military Order of St. Henry, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Kurt Schneider  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[119] Military Order of St. Henry, Iron Cross
Harold Stackard  United Kingdom Royal Naval Air Service 15[120]
Paul Strähle  Germany Luftstreitkräfte 15[121] Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
Ernst Strohschneider  Austria-Hungary Luftfahrtruppen 15 Order of Leopold, Silver Military Merit Medal, Military Merit Cross (2 awards), Iron Cross
Frank Weare  United Kingdom Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force 15[122] Military Cross

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