Ace Status in the USAAF

airminded88 · Sep 23, 2018

Good afternoon gents,
I was wondering if at some point during WWII did the USSAF hand any type of award or recognition to fighter pilots who achieved the coveted ace status.
Thank you in advance!

Cheers

TheRealMrEd · Oct 1, 2018

Not sure about award for becoming an ace, but George E. Laven, Jr. Was a 1st Lt in June or August 1942. He got one kill in Sept. '42 and became a Captain, and by November 1942 (another kill), he became a Major. Two more kills in 1943, and a last one in 1945. By 1947, he was a Lt. Col.

Seems that promotions came with kills, at least early on!

Ed

airminded88 · Oct 2, 2018

Thank you Ed, much appreciated

Barrett · Mar 14, 2024

TheRealMrEd said:
Not sure about award for becoming an ace, but George E. Laven, Jr. Was a 1st Lt in June or August 1942. He got one kill in Sept. '42 and became a Captain, and by November 1942 (another kill), he became a Major. Two more kills in 1943, and a last one in 1945. By 1947, he was a Lt. Col.

Seems that promotions came with kills, at least early on!

Ed

I'm late to this thread--with several others.

Anyway: I enjoyed getting to know George Laven when I was secretary of the aces assn. But the review committee found that he shot down 4 Japanese aircraft and shared a flying boat on the water.

Frequently "ace in a day" earned a service cross but not always. And the navy-marines did not seem to attach much significance to a career record of 5 victories as much as the AAF.

Ace Status in the USAAF

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airminded88

Airman 1st Class

TheRealMrEd

Airman 1st Class

airminded88

Airman 1st Class

Barrett

Senior Airman

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