lesofprimus
Brigadier General
OK... Here we go........ This should be the Ultra-Listing for the Top Aces of WWII......... Kills do not necessarily make the Greatest Ace, so keep that in mind....... Please, DO NOT vote for ur favorite pilot, but vote which pilot u feels deserves this title...
A short Biopic of each pilot on the Poll......
Ivan Kozhedub, USSR, 62 Kills... He was the leading Soviet and Allied Ace of WWII.... Flying mainly the Lavochkin La-7 fighter aircraft, he carried out 330 sorties, was involved in 120 aerial combats and was credited with 62 confirmed victories.. At the end of September, 1944 by the order of commander of Air Force Marshal I. Novikov, a group of pilots under Kozhedubs' command directed to the Baltic States to struggle with enemy's fighters - "hunters". It had to act against a group of Aces under command of Major Helmut Vik, who gained 130 victories. So met the Soviet and German schools of fighters- "hunters". In several days of battles his pilots brought down 12 enemy's airplanes, having lost only two. Kozhedub gained three victories. After such a shattering defeat, German "hunters" were forced to stop active flights on his area of the front. In winter in 1945 the group continued the intense air battles. On February 12 6 airplanes of "Lavochkin" conducted a heavy battle with 30 enemy's fighters. Russian pilots gained a new victory in this flight – they brought down 8 Fw.190's, with Kozhedub bringing down 3 of them. There was only 1 Russian loss. Earning the nickname "Ivan the Terrible", he was the only Soviet pilot to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter, piloted by Kurt Lange from 1./KG (J) 54.... Ivan was one of only two Soviet fighter pilots to be awarded the Gold Star(Hero of the Soviet Union) three times during World War II..... Kozhedub also was forced to shoot down two U.S. P-51 Mustangs that mistakenly attacked his La-7 on one occasion...... Both these P-51 losses have been verified by USAAF sources.
Alexandr Pokryshkin, USSR, 59 Kills... Pokryshkin was one of the greatest tacticians in the Soviet Fighter Air Arm. He approached air combat in a scientific manner, learning much from the memoirs of French WW 1 ace René Fonck, Mes Combats. Pokryshkin would eventually develop to the second most successful fighter pilot on the Allied side during WW 2. During the war Pokryshkin was 3 times awarded by Soviet Hero Title (Gold Star). He flew total of 550 sorties, participated in 139 air combats he scored officially 59 enemy planes. But in opinion of some historicans his killboard list should be enlarged by nanother 13 victories, scored in battles over Kuban. During free hunt over German territory he downed a row of enemy planes, but in that period Soviet Command confirmed only planes destroyed over own area.
Hans-Joachim Marseille, GERM, 158 Kills... His final score included 101 Curtiss Tomahawks and Kittyhawks, 30 Hurricanes, 16 Spitfires and 4 bombers ... He returned to North Africa on 23 August 1942 and, flying a new Bf 109F, carried on from where he had left off. The achievement for which he is probably best remembered came on 1 September. Taking off at 07.30 to escort JU 87s, he spotted 10 Kittyhawks approaching just as the divebombers began their attack. In the space of two minutes he shot down two of the fighters; then, as the JU 87s withdrew, he accounted for another. On the way back to base, his flight was intercepted by Spitfires and during the next nine minutes six of them had fallen to Marseille's guns. On landing at 09.14, his armourer found that he had used just 20 cannon shells and 60 rounds of machine-gun ammunition to down nine aircraft. That day he flew two more sorties and shot down another eight aircraft, including five P-40s in the space of six minutes. His total of 17 in one day was only beaten once, by Emil Lang on the Russian Front. Adolf Galland was moved to call him 'the unrivalled virtuoso among fighter pilots of the Second World War'....
Erich Hartmann, GER, 352 Kills... The highest scoring ace of all time with 352 aerial kills. Flying Bf 109s (Me-109s) against the overmatched Soviet MiGs and Yaks for almost three years, he accumulated his unrivalled score. Hartmann claimed, that of all his accomplishments, he was proudest of the fact that he never lost a wingman. He is also reputed to have said. "Get close .. when he fills the entire windscreen ... then you can't possibly miss." He reached 50 by August of 1943. Within the month, he had reached 80, and was promoted to lead 9./JG52. Earlier in the war, 25 or 50 victories would have earned a German fighter pilot the Knight's Cross. By late 1943, Hartmann had to down 148 before he earned his Knight's Cross. By March 2, 1944, he had reached a total of 202, earning him the Oak Leaves. He was the fourth Luftwaffe fighter pilot to reach 250, the first to reach 300, and the only one to reach 350.
Adolf Galland, GER, 104 Kills, 50 X Spits... Galland achieved 104 aerial victories in 705 missions, all on the Western front. Included in his score are at least seven victories flying the Me 262 and four four-engined bombers. He was himself shot down four times. Galland became one of the most controversial figures of his time through his skirmishes with Reichsmarschal Göring and his frank addresses to Hitler when he emphasized the need for more fighters to oppose the increasingly intense allied bombing raids over Germany. Galland led JV 44 until 26 April 1945 gaining up to seven victories flying the Me 262 jet fighter. On this day Generalleutnant Galland led 12 rocket-equipped Me 262s from München-Reim to intercept a formation of B-26 medium bombers targetting the airfield at Lechfeld. He claimed two of the bombers, but with cannon-fire rather than the rockets with which his Me 262 was armed. During his initial approach, Galland had failed to deactivate a safety switch which prevented him from firing the rockets. During his attacks on the bombers, Galland's Me 262 was struck by return fire. Disengaging from the bombers, he was bounced by a P-47 flown by 1st Lt James J Finnegan of the 50th Fighter Group, USAAF. Galland was wounded in the right knee and his aircraft received further damage. He was able to bring his crippled jet back to München-Reim and successfully land, albeit with a flat nose wheel tyre. He was forced to leap from his aircraft and take shelter because the airfield was under attack by American fighters. The wound suffered in this encounter were serious enough to end his combat flying.
Heinz Bar, GER, 221 Kills, 10 X P-51's, 10 X P-47's, 4 x P-38's, 21 x Bombers(125 kills West, 96 Kills East) 52 American Kills... Heinz Bär is the 8th ranking air "Ace" of all time. He fought on every German front throughout the entire duration of World War II in Europe and Africa. His 16 aerial victories acquired while he flew the Me 262A place him as the 2nd ranking jet ace of WWII. While fighting on every front and flying just about every type of German fighter, Heinz Bär was shot down 18 times and wounded on many occasions.... 1941 brought the relocation of JG 51 to the Eastern Front. Here Bär's score rose quickly. On 2 July 1941 he was promoted to Leutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross, having totalled 27 kills. When he reached 60 victories, on 14 August 1941, Bär was decorated with the Oak Leaves. On one day, 30 August 1941, Bär scored 6 Soviet planes. From the beginning of 1942 Bär took command of IV/JG 51, and in mid-February he was awarded by Swords, having achieved 90 kills. In 1957, while performing aerobatics in a light plane on the anniversary date of his 200th aerial victory, Heinz Bär was killed instantly when he suddenly spun in from a low altitude.
Walter Nowotny, GER, 259 Kills, 24 X IL2's, 3 Kills in Me-262... On September 1, 1943 he downed ten Russian aircraft. On a morning bomber escort mission, he destroyed four attacking Soviet fighters. He noticed another group, and promptly got two of those. As the dogfight carried him 180 km over Russian lines, he closed in on a seventh victim, only to have his cannon jam. he closed in ever closer and finished it off with his machine guns. He made good his return by flying on the deck, right thru the flak thrown up from a large town. That afternoon, on another sortie, he got three more during an in-and-out duel in the clouds. A few days later, he received his long-awaited Oak Leaves. "The Swords" followed three weeks later, awarded to him at a ceremony at Hitler's headquarters. On October 15, 1943, he destroyed a Curtiss P-40 - his 250th victory. He was the first pilot ever to achieve such a score. On September 26, 1944, he was appointed CO of Kommando Nowotny, the world's first jet fighter unit, based at Achmer and Hesepe...
Josef Priller, GER, 101 Kills.... "Pips" Priller flew 1,307 combat missions to achieve 101 victories. All his victories were recorded over the Western Front and include 11 four-engine bombers. He was the most succesful pilot in battles with Spitfires claiming at least 68 of them. By the end of 1942 Priller had 81 confirmed victories to his tally. On 11 January 1943, Priller became Kommodore of JG 26, replacing Major Gerhard Schöpfel (45 victories, RK) who was taking up a staff role. He was awarded the Schwertern (Nr 73) on 2 July 1944. Oberstleutnant Priller brought up his 100th victory on 18 July 1944 when he brought down a USAAF B-24 four-engine bomber. On 1 January 1945, Priller led JG 26 and III./JG 54 in the attack on the Allied airfields, codenamed Operation Bodenplatte, at Brussels-Evére and Brussels-Grimbergen. On 28 January, Priller was appointed Inspekteur der Jagdflieger Ost, a position that required he cease operational flying and which he held until the end of the war.
Dick Bong, USA, 40 Kills... Assigned to the 9th Fighter Group, in Brisbane, Australia, he was sent shortly afterward to Port Moresby, New Guinea, where he was temporarily attached to the 39th Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group. There, two days after Christmas, he scored his first victories, downing a Val and a Zeke over Dobodura. By January 1943 he was an ace, his fifth victory an Oscar over the Anon Gulf. Flying the P-38 Lightning in the Pacific theater Major Richard Bong was the top scoring U.S. Ace during WWII with 40 kills. A skilled flyer, Bong was noted for his silent approaches to his airfield with both engines feathered. As he swooped over the field he would loop his P-38 and land. General MacArthur presented the Medal of Honor to Bong on the Tacloban airfield on December 12, 1944. He tossed away his written remarks and said, "Major Richard Ira Bong, who has ruled the air from New Guinea to the Philippines, I now induct you into the society of the bravest of the brave, the wearers of the Congressional Medal of Honor of the United States." Then he pinned the medal on Bong, they shook hands and saluted. Bong was the first fighter pilot handpicked by General George C. Kenney in the fall of 1942 for a P-38 squadron designed to strengthen his Fifth Air Force in Australia and New Guinea.
David McCampbell, USA, 34 Kills... McCampbell entered combat on May 19, 1944, leading a fighter sweep over Marcus Island. Three weeks later on June 11, flying near Saipan, he saw a lone Zero come out of the clouds. He turned towards the plane and fired three bursts. The Zero went down streaming smoke, the first in long series of successes for the CAG. He reacted coolly to his first aerial victory, "I knew I could shoot him down and I did. That's all there was to it." On June 19, the Japanese launched two large raids of Judys and Vals, escorted by fighters. Other carrier air groups took care of the first raid; Essex' Fabled Fifteen, under McCampbell went after the second group of eighty planes. McCampbell started the slaughter at 11:39 by exploding the first Aichi D4Y2 "Judy" dive bomber he spotted. As he darted across to the other side of the enemy formation, evading a gantlet of return fire, McCampbell quickly splashed a second Judy, sped toward the front of the enemy formation to record a "probable" on a third, dispatched the formation leader's left wingman with a staccato burst, downed the leader with a steady stream of machine-gun bullets, then scored a final kill on a diving enemy craft. In minutes McCampbell had logged five kills and one probable. There was a second air battle in the afternoon. After shooting down yet another Zero (his sixth for the day!), he became separated from his flight of eight and was returning alone to his carrier, the USS Essex. As his Hellcat cruised at 6,000 feet past Guam's Orote Peninsula, he spotted two Zeros attacking a Navy S0C seaplane picking up a downed pilot in the water. Diving to the attack, McCampbell shot down one of the two Zeros. Lt. Commander George Duncan, another VF-15 pilot, came upon the scene at that time and got the other. It was McCampbell's seventh for the day and his ninth in eight days of combat.
Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, JPN, 87 Kills.... "To all who flew with him," wrote Saburo Sakai, "he became 'the Devil'....Never have I seen a man with a fighter plane do what Nishizawa would do with his Zero. His aerobatics were all at once breathtaking, brilliant, totally unpredictable, impossible, and heart-stirring to witness." He also had the hunter's eye, capable of spotting enemy aircraft before his comrades knew there was anything else in the sky. One of his comrades in arms, Saburo Sakai, wrote that "one felt the man should be in a hospital bed. He was tall and lanky for a Japanese, nearly five feet eight inches in height. He had a gaunt look about him; he weighed only 140 pounds, and his ribs protruded sharply through his skin." Although Nishizawa was accomplished in both judo and sumo, Sakai noted that his comrade "suffered almost constantly from malaria and tropical skin disease. He was pale most of the time." Nishizawa remains Japan's "Naval Ace of Aces". Known as the "Devil of Rabaul". Has been credited with well over 100 aerial victories by some sources and would then qualify as Japan's all-time "Ace of Aces". Formed part of the Tainan Ku's world famous "Ace Trio" along with Toshio Ohta and Saburo Sakai. Destroyed six Grumman F4F Wildcats over Guadalcanal on November 2, 1942. With the 203rd Ku, Nishizawa's flight of four Zeros escorted five other bomb-laden Zeros in the IJNAF's first official suicidal "Kamikaze" attack, destroying two of 20 intercepting Grumman F6F Hellcats on the mission of October 25, 1944 - The very next day of October 26th, Nishizawa was killed while a passenger on a Nakajima Ki.49 Donryu "Helen" Army Bomber transport aircraft that was shot down by intercepting Hellcats of VF-14 from the USS WASP.
Saburo Sakai, JPN, 64 Kills... He first flew in China with the Imperial Japanese Navy, where he gained two victories, and joined the land-based naval wing at Tainan. On December 8, 1941, the Tainan Wing attacked Clark Field in the Philipines. The 45 A6M2 Zeros escorted 53 G4M Bettys until they found the air base. At 15,000 feet, Sakai saw five Curtiss P-40s take off from the field. They appeared to be avoiding combat, so Sakai brought his fighters down to strafe. But, as the Zeros climbed away, the P-40s did attack. Sakai and his two wingmen engaged the American fighters and the P-40s tried to break off. Four flew into the cover created by the smoke now rising from the airfield, but one got separated. and it crashed after Sakai caught it with bursts from both his machine guns and cannons. It was the first American plane shot down in the Philipines. On 28th February, whilst on solo patrol east of Surabaya in Java, he intercepted a DC-3 transport plane. Though Imperial Japanese Navy pilots had strict instructions to destroy all enemy aircraft regardless of whether they were armed or not and without any special consideration for the presence of civilians or medical personnel, Sakai did not simply open fire upon it; he paced the plane and pulled alongside it. For a brief moment he had thought about downing the plane. But he saw a young blonde-haired woman and a small child staring at him from the DC-3...
Marmaduke St. John Pattle, SA, 62 Kills... Pattle was the highest scoring pilot of the RAF and Commonwealth Air Forces during World War 2, with 62 "Kills". Pattle claimed all of his victories in North Africa and Greece, he was the top scoring pilot in both the Gladiator and Hurricane. A gifted flyer and natural marksman he took infinite pains to improve his talents, doing exercises to improve his distance vision and sharpen his reflexes. His first 15 victories were in the antiquated Gloucester Gladiator, 9 more victories followed in a Hurricane. Then over 39 days he shot down no less than 26 enemy aircraft. He scored his victories in less than nine months of active warfare. This gives some idea of the almost incredible ability of this great fighter pilot, of whom his friends said: "He flies like a bird". Pat Pattle was the most successful fighter pilot of the RAF and Commonwealth Air Forces in the 1939-45 war; that he has never been officially acknowledged as such is due to the fact that the British Ministry of Defence is not in a position to confirm his victories. His last official score was 23 in the citation for his Bar to the DFC in March 1941. All official records of the last few weeks in Greece were destroyed. The operations record book of No.33 Squadron RAF, written from memory and intelligence summaries, confirms that he destroyed many more enemy aircraft during those few weeks in which he commanded that Squadron(which command, and even his posting to the Squadron, are not recorded officially). There is no doubt that he was the highest scoring pilot of the RAF and Commonwealth Air Forces...
James Johnson, UK, 38 Kills... Johnson flew in over 1,000 combat missions. He holds the remarkable record of never being shot down and on only one occasion was his Spitfire damaged by the enemy. Johnson has been credited with 38 kills. Officially this is the highest total of any RAF pilot but some experts believe that John Pattle scored more than 50.
Johnson, who was awarded the DSO and two bars, the DFC and bar, the Legion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre, stayed in the Royal Air Force after the war. He served with the United States Air Force in the Korean War where he was awarded the American DFC. What is truly amazing about 'Johnnie' Johnson's 'score' is that ALL 38 victories were against single engined fighters ranking him as the top-scoring Allied Ace of World War II.
Thomas McGuire, USA, 38 Kills... Shooting down aircraft was something Tommy McGuire excelled at. He stood about five feet seven inches tall, and sported a big black mustache to make himself appear older. He was extremely aggressive and wanted to be the number one ace and win the Medal of Honor before going home. He was also a magnificent pilot. On one occasion, he was approaching a Japanese fighter head on, neither willing to move, and pulled out at the last second. Later at his base, the ground crew had to use steel wool to scrape away the paint left by the Japanese fighter! McGuire was the commander of the 431st Fighter Squadron of the 475th Fighter Group. The pilots of the 431st felt that McGuire could do things in a P-38 that were virtually impossible. His skill with the P-38 was so extraordinary, he almost defied reality. He had tremendous faith in his skills as a pilot and the plane he flew. On Christmas Day 1944, McGuire volunteered to lead a squadron of fifteen planes to provide protection for B-24 Liberators attacking Mabaldent Airdrome. As the formation crossed over Luzon, the Americans were jumped by twenty Zeros. McGuire shot down three throughout the fight. The following day, he volunteered for a similar mission. One of the B-24's was being hit and while firing at extreme range of 400 yards at a 45 degree deflection shot, McGuire hit the Zero in the cockpit and it burst into flames. During the course of this engagement, McGuire shot down four Zeros, bringing his total to thirty-eight overall. By this time Dick Bong had gone home, for a triumphant tour of the U.S., with 40 victories to his his credit. McGuire had 38, was still in combat, and there were still plenty of Jap planes around. Everyone, including McGuire, expected him to break Bong's record. It seemed like just a matter of time, not too much time at that. Afterwards, McGuire would have gone home to a hero's welcome as well. But time ran out for Tommy McGuire, just as he almost had his goal within his grasp.
A short Biopic of each pilot on the Poll......
Ivan Kozhedub, USSR, 62 Kills... He was the leading Soviet and Allied Ace of WWII.... Flying mainly the Lavochkin La-7 fighter aircraft, he carried out 330 sorties, was involved in 120 aerial combats and was credited with 62 confirmed victories.. At the end of September, 1944 by the order of commander of Air Force Marshal I. Novikov, a group of pilots under Kozhedubs' command directed to the Baltic States to struggle with enemy's fighters - "hunters". It had to act against a group of Aces under command of Major Helmut Vik, who gained 130 victories. So met the Soviet and German schools of fighters- "hunters". In several days of battles his pilots brought down 12 enemy's airplanes, having lost only two. Kozhedub gained three victories. After such a shattering defeat, German "hunters" were forced to stop active flights on his area of the front. In winter in 1945 the group continued the intense air battles. On February 12 6 airplanes of "Lavochkin" conducted a heavy battle with 30 enemy's fighters. Russian pilots gained a new victory in this flight – they brought down 8 Fw.190's, with Kozhedub bringing down 3 of them. There was only 1 Russian loss. Earning the nickname "Ivan the Terrible", he was the only Soviet pilot to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter, piloted by Kurt Lange from 1./KG (J) 54.... Ivan was one of only two Soviet fighter pilots to be awarded the Gold Star(Hero of the Soviet Union) three times during World War II..... Kozhedub also was forced to shoot down two U.S. P-51 Mustangs that mistakenly attacked his La-7 on one occasion...... Both these P-51 losses have been verified by USAAF sources.
Alexandr Pokryshkin, USSR, 59 Kills... Pokryshkin was one of the greatest tacticians in the Soviet Fighter Air Arm. He approached air combat in a scientific manner, learning much from the memoirs of French WW 1 ace René Fonck, Mes Combats. Pokryshkin would eventually develop to the second most successful fighter pilot on the Allied side during WW 2. During the war Pokryshkin was 3 times awarded by Soviet Hero Title (Gold Star). He flew total of 550 sorties, participated in 139 air combats he scored officially 59 enemy planes. But in opinion of some historicans his killboard list should be enlarged by nanother 13 victories, scored in battles over Kuban. During free hunt over German territory he downed a row of enemy planes, but in that period Soviet Command confirmed only planes destroyed over own area.
Hans-Joachim Marseille, GERM, 158 Kills... His final score included 101 Curtiss Tomahawks and Kittyhawks, 30 Hurricanes, 16 Spitfires and 4 bombers ... He returned to North Africa on 23 August 1942 and, flying a new Bf 109F, carried on from where he had left off. The achievement for which he is probably best remembered came on 1 September. Taking off at 07.30 to escort JU 87s, he spotted 10 Kittyhawks approaching just as the divebombers began their attack. In the space of two minutes he shot down two of the fighters; then, as the JU 87s withdrew, he accounted for another. On the way back to base, his flight was intercepted by Spitfires and during the next nine minutes six of them had fallen to Marseille's guns. On landing at 09.14, his armourer found that he had used just 20 cannon shells and 60 rounds of machine-gun ammunition to down nine aircraft. That day he flew two more sorties and shot down another eight aircraft, including five P-40s in the space of six minutes. His total of 17 in one day was only beaten once, by Emil Lang on the Russian Front. Adolf Galland was moved to call him 'the unrivalled virtuoso among fighter pilots of the Second World War'....
Erich Hartmann, GER, 352 Kills... The highest scoring ace of all time with 352 aerial kills. Flying Bf 109s (Me-109s) against the overmatched Soviet MiGs and Yaks for almost three years, he accumulated his unrivalled score. Hartmann claimed, that of all his accomplishments, he was proudest of the fact that he never lost a wingman. He is also reputed to have said. "Get close .. when he fills the entire windscreen ... then you can't possibly miss." He reached 50 by August of 1943. Within the month, he had reached 80, and was promoted to lead 9./JG52. Earlier in the war, 25 or 50 victories would have earned a German fighter pilot the Knight's Cross. By late 1943, Hartmann had to down 148 before he earned his Knight's Cross. By March 2, 1944, he had reached a total of 202, earning him the Oak Leaves. He was the fourth Luftwaffe fighter pilot to reach 250, the first to reach 300, and the only one to reach 350.
Adolf Galland, GER, 104 Kills, 50 X Spits... Galland achieved 104 aerial victories in 705 missions, all on the Western front. Included in his score are at least seven victories flying the Me 262 and four four-engined bombers. He was himself shot down four times. Galland became one of the most controversial figures of his time through his skirmishes with Reichsmarschal Göring and his frank addresses to Hitler when he emphasized the need for more fighters to oppose the increasingly intense allied bombing raids over Germany. Galland led JV 44 until 26 April 1945 gaining up to seven victories flying the Me 262 jet fighter. On this day Generalleutnant Galland led 12 rocket-equipped Me 262s from München-Reim to intercept a formation of B-26 medium bombers targetting the airfield at Lechfeld. He claimed two of the bombers, but with cannon-fire rather than the rockets with which his Me 262 was armed. During his initial approach, Galland had failed to deactivate a safety switch which prevented him from firing the rockets. During his attacks on the bombers, Galland's Me 262 was struck by return fire. Disengaging from the bombers, he was bounced by a P-47 flown by 1st Lt James J Finnegan of the 50th Fighter Group, USAAF. Galland was wounded in the right knee and his aircraft received further damage. He was able to bring his crippled jet back to München-Reim and successfully land, albeit with a flat nose wheel tyre. He was forced to leap from his aircraft and take shelter because the airfield was under attack by American fighters. The wound suffered in this encounter were serious enough to end his combat flying.
Heinz Bar, GER, 221 Kills, 10 X P-51's, 10 X P-47's, 4 x P-38's, 21 x Bombers(125 kills West, 96 Kills East) 52 American Kills... Heinz Bär is the 8th ranking air "Ace" of all time. He fought on every German front throughout the entire duration of World War II in Europe and Africa. His 16 aerial victories acquired while he flew the Me 262A place him as the 2nd ranking jet ace of WWII. While fighting on every front and flying just about every type of German fighter, Heinz Bär was shot down 18 times and wounded on many occasions.... 1941 brought the relocation of JG 51 to the Eastern Front. Here Bär's score rose quickly. On 2 July 1941 he was promoted to Leutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross, having totalled 27 kills. When he reached 60 victories, on 14 August 1941, Bär was decorated with the Oak Leaves. On one day, 30 August 1941, Bär scored 6 Soviet planes. From the beginning of 1942 Bär took command of IV/JG 51, and in mid-February he was awarded by Swords, having achieved 90 kills. In 1957, while performing aerobatics in a light plane on the anniversary date of his 200th aerial victory, Heinz Bär was killed instantly when he suddenly spun in from a low altitude.
Walter Nowotny, GER, 259 Kills, 24 X IL2's, 3 Kills in Me-262... On September 1, 1943 he downed ten Russian aircraft. On a morning bomber escort mission, he destroyed four attacking Soviet fighters. He noticed another group, and promptly got two of those. As the dogfight carried him 180 km over Russian lines, he closed in on a seventh victim, only to have his cannon jam. he closed in ever closer and finished it off with his machine guns. He made good his return by flying on the deck, right thru the flak thrown up from a large town. That afternoon, on another sortie, he got three more during an in-and-out duel in the clouds. A few days later, he received his long-awaited Oak Leaves. "The Swords" followed three weeks later, awarded to him at a ceremony at Hitler's headquarters. On October 15, 1943, he destroyed a Curtiss P-40 - his 250th victory. He was the first pilot ever to achieve such a score. On September 26, 1944, he was appointed CO of Kommando Nowotny, the world's first jet fighter unit, based at Achmer and Hesepe...
Josef Priller, GER, 101 Kills.... "Pips" Priller flew 1,307 combat missions to achieve 101 victories. All his victories were recorded over the Western Front and include 11 four-engine bombers. He was the most succesful pilot in battles with Spitfires claiming at least 68 of them. By the end of 1942 Priller had 81 confirmed victories to his tally. On 11 January 1943, Priller became Kommodore of JG 26, replacing Major Gerhard Schöpfel (45 victories, RK) who was taking up a staff role. He was awarded the Schwertern (Nr 73) on 2 July 1944. Oberstleutnant Priller brought up his 100th victory on 18 July 1944 when he brought down a USAAF B-24 four-engine bomber. On 1 January 1945, Priller led JG 26 and III./JG 54 in the attack on the Allied airfields, codenamed Operation Bodenplatte, at Brussels-Evére and Brussels-Grimbergen. On 28 January, Priller was appointed Inspekteur der Jagdflieger Ost, a position that required he cease operational flying and which he held until the end of the war.
Dick Bong, USA, 40 Kills... Assigned to the 9th Fighter Group, in Brisbane, Australia, he was sent shortly afterward to Port Moresby, New Guinea, where he was temporarily attached to the 39th Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group. There, two days after Christmas, he scored his first victories, downing a Val and a Zeke over Dobodura. By January 1943 he was an ace, his fifth victory an Oscar over the Anon Gulf. Flying the P-38 Lightning in the Pacific theater Major Richard Bong was the top scoring U.S. Ace during WWII with 40 kills. A skilled flyer, Bong was noted for his silent approaches to his airfield with both engines feathered. As he swooped over the field he would loop his P-38 and land. General MacArthur presented the Medal of Honor to Bong on the Tacloban airfield on December 12, 1944. He tossed away his written remarks and said, "Major Richard Ira Bong, who has ruled the air from New Guinea to the Philippines, I now induct you into the society of the bravest of the brave, the wearers of the Congressional Medal of Honor of the United States." Then he pinned the medal on Bong, they shook hands and saluted. Bong was the first fighter pilot handpicked by General George C. Kenney in the fall of 1942 for a P-38 squadron designed to strengthen his Fifth Air Force in Australia and New Guinea.
David McCampbell, USA, 34 Kills... McCampbell entered combat on May 19, 1944, leading a fighter sweep over Marcus Island. Three weeks later on June 11, flying near Saipan, he saw a lone Zero come out of the clouds. He turned towards the plane and fired three bursts. The Zero went down streaming smoke, the first in long series of successes for the CAG. He reacted coolly to his first aerial victory, "I knew I could shoot him down and I did. That's all there was to it." On June 19, the Japanese launched two large raids of Judys and Vals, escorted by fighters. Other carrier air groups took care of the first raid; Essex' Fabled Fifteen, under McCampbell went after the second group of eighty planes. McCampbell started the slaughter at 11:39 by exploding the first Aichi D4Y2 "Judy" dive bomber he spotted. As he darted across to the other side of the enemy formation, evading a gantlet of return fire, McCampbell quickly splashed a second Judy, sped toward the front of the enemy formation to record a "probable" on a third, dispatched the formation leader's left wingman with a staccato burst, downed the leader with a steady stream of machine-gun bullets, then scored a final kill on a diving enemy craft. In minutes McCampbell had logged five kills and one probable. There was a second air battle in the afternoon. After shooting down yet another Zero (his sixth for the day!), he became separated from his flight of eight and was returning alone to his carrier, the USS Essex. As his Hellcat cruised at 6,000 feet past Guam's Orote Peninsula, he spotted two Zeros attacking a Navy S0C seaplane picking up a downed pilot in the water. Diving to the attack, McCampbell shot down one of the two Zeros. Lt. Commander George Duncan, another VF-15 pilot, came upon the scene at that time and got the other. It was McCampbell's seventh for the day and his ninth in eight days of combat.
Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, JPN, 87 Kills.... "To all who flew with him," wrote Saburo Sakai, "he became 'the Devil'....Never have I seen a man with a fighter plane do what Nishizawa would do with his Zero. His aerobatics were all at once breathtaking, brilliant, totally unpredictable, impossible, and heart-stirring to witness." He also had the hunter's eye, capable of spotting enemy aircraft before his comrades knew there was anything else in the sky. One of his comrades in arms, Saburo Sakai, wrote that "one felt the man should be in a hospital bed. He was tall and lanky for a Japanese, nearly five feet eight inches in height. He had a gaunt look about him; he weighed only 140 pounds, and his ribs protruded sharply through his skin." Although Nishizawa was accomplished in both judo and sumo, Sakai noted that his comrade "suffered almost constantly from malaria and tropical skin disease. He was pale most of the time." Nishizawa remains Japan's "Naval Ace of Aces". Known as the "Devil of Rabaul". Has been credited with well over 100 aerial victories by some sources and would then qualify as Japan's all-time "Ace of Aces". Formed part of the Tainan Ku's world famous "Ace Trio" along with Toshio Ohta and Saburo Sakai. Destroyed six Grumman F4F Wildcats over Guadalcanal on November 2, 1942. With the 203rd Ku, Nishizawa's flight of four Zeros escorted five other bomb-laden Zeros in the IJNAF's first official suicidal "Kamikaze" attack, destroying two of 20 intercepting Grumman F6F Hellcats on the mission of October 25, 1944 - The very next day of October 26th, Nishizawa was killed while a passenger on a Nakajima Ki.49 Donryu "Helen" Army Bomber transport aircraft that was shot down by intercepting Hellcats of VF-14 from the USS WASP.
Saburo Sakai, JPN, 64 Kills... He first flew in China with the Imperial Japanese Navy, where he gained two victories, and joined the land-based naval wing at Tainan. On December 8, 1941, the Tainan Wing attacked Clark Field in the Philipines. The 45 A6M2 Zeros escorted 53 G4M Bettys until they found the air base. At 15,000 feet, Sakai saw five Curtiss P-40s take off from the field. They appeared to be avoiding combat, so Sakai brought his fighters down to strafe. But, as the Zeros climbed away, the P-40s did attack. Sakai and his two wingmen engaged the American fighters and the P-40s tried to break off. Four flew into the cover created by the smoke now rising from the airfield, but one got separated. and it crashed after Sakai caught it with bursts from both his machine guns and cannons. It was the first American plane shot down in the Philipines. On 28th February, whilst on solo patrol east of Surabaya in Java, he intercepted a DC-3 transport plane. Though Imperial Japanese Navy pilots had strict instructions to destroy all enemy aircraft regardless of whether they were armed or not and without any special consideration for the presence of civilians or medical personnel, Sakai did not simply open fire upon it; he paced the plane and pulled alongside it. For a brief moment he had thought about downing the plane. But he saw a young blonde-haired woman and a small child staring at him from the DC-3...
Marmaduke St. John Pattle, SA, 62 Kills... Pattle was the highest scoring pilot of the RAF and Commonwealth Air Forces during World War 2, with 62 "Kills". Pattle claimed all of his victories in North Africa and Greece, he was the top scoring pilot in both the Gladiator and Hurricane. A gifted flyer and natural marksman he took infinite pains to improve his talents, doing exercises to improve his distance vision and sharpen his reflexes. His first 15 victories were in the antiquated Gloucester Gladiator, 9 more victories followed in a Hurricane. Then over 39 days he shot down no less than 26 enemy aircraft. He scored his victories in less than nine months of active warfare. This gives some idea of the almost incredible ability of this great fighter pilot, of whom his friends said: "He flies like a bird". Pat Pattle was the most successful fighter pilot of the RAF and Commonwealth Air Forces in the 1939-45 war; that he has never been officially acknowledged as such is due to the fact that the British Ministry of Defence is not in a position to confirm his victories. His last official score was 23 in the citation for his Bar to the DFC in March 1941. All official records of the last few weeks in Greece were destroyed. The operations record book of No.33 Squadron RAF, written from memory and intelligence summaries, confirms that he destroyed many more enemy aircraft during those few weeks in which he commanded that Squadron(which command, and even his posting to the Squadron, are not recorded officially). There is no doubt that he was the highest scoring pilot of the RAF and Commonwealth Air Forces...
James Johnson, UK, 38 Kills... Johnson flew in over 1,000 combat missions. He holds the remarkable record of never being shot down and on only one occasion was his Spitfire damaged by the enemy. Johnson has been credited with 38 kills. Officially this is the highest total of any RAF pilot but some experts believe that John Pattle scored more than 50.
Johnson, who was awarded the DSO and two bars, the DFC and bar, the Legion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre, stayed in the Royal Air Force after the war. He served with the United States Air Force in the Korean War where he was awarded the American DFC. What is truly amazing about 'Johnnie' Johnson's 'score' is that ALL 38 victories were against single engined fighters ranking him as the top-scoring Allied Ace of World War II.
Thomas McGuire, USA, 38 Kills... Shooting down aircraft was something Tommy McGuire excelled at. He stood about five feet seven inches tall, and sported a big black mustache to make himself appear older. He was extremely aggressive and wanted to be the number one ace and win the Medal of Honor before going home. He was also a magnificent pilot. On one occasion, he was approaching a Japanese fighter head on, neither willing to move, and pulled out at the last second. Later at his base, the ground crew had to use steel wool to scrape away the paint left by the Japanese fighter! McGuire was the commander of the 431st Fighter Squadron of the 475th Fighter Group. The pilots of the 431st felt that McGuire could do things in a P-38 that were virtually impossible. His skill with the P-38 was so extraordinary, he almost defied reality. He had tremendous faith in his skills as a pilot and the plane he flew. On Christmas Day 1944, McGuire volunteered to lead a squadron of fifteen planes to provide protection for B-24 Liberators attacking Mabaldent Airdrome. As the formation crossed over Luzon, the Americans were jumped by twenty Zeros. McGuire shot down three throughout the fight. The following day, he volunteered for a similar mission. One of the B-24's was being hit and while firing at extreme range of 400 yards at a 45 degree deflection shot, McGuire hit the Zero in the cockpit and it burst into flames. During the course of this engagement, McGuire shot down four Zeros, bringing his total to thirty-eight overall. By this time Dick Bong had gone home, for a triumphant tour of the U.S., with 40 victories to his his credit. McGuire had 38, was still in combat, and there were still plenty of Jap planes around. Everyone, including McGuire, expected him to break Bong's record. It seemed like just a matter of time, not too much time at that. Afterwards, McGuire would have gone home to a hero's welcome as well. But time ran out for Tommy McGuire, just as he almost had his goal within his grasp.
