WWI & WWII Ace!

When was it more difficult to become an ace, in WWI or WWII?

For a Japanese pilot, much easier in ww2.

With the state of the art in engines and air frames in the WW1 era, a person was probably lucky if he lived through the day to day hazards of just flying.

I have somewhere a pilots annual from about 1916 and it described the hazards of flying in cloud. It describes how the instruments start to behave and included the chilling line 'we believe that the aircraft might be spinning but this is still being analysed'.
Also spinning and the recovery wasn't taught until part way through the war and more pilots were killed in training than in combat so surviving long enough to become an ace was a factor.

I also agree that it depends where and when. A Hellcat pilot in the last 12 months when often fighting Kamikaze pilots who are half trained flying obsolete/non combat types laden with bombs is going to find it easier than a Wildcat pilot in the first half of 1942.

Rickenbacker stands amid some of the 'million dollar guard' for an awkward photo

Three of the five are smoking around an airplane. Don't they know that's unlucky? Sheesh...not superstitious I guess.