List of World War I flying aces

The following are lists of World War I flying aces. Historically, a flying ace was defined as a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The term was first used by French newspapers, describing Adolphe Pégoud as l'as (the ace), after he downed five German aircraft.

Victory standards used in World War I

Main article: Aerial victory standards of World War I

The notion of an aerial "victory" arose from the first aerial combats, which occurred during the early days of World War I. Unsurprisingly, different air services developed their own definitions of exactly what an aerial victory might be, as well as different methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.

Conditions affecting accuracy of scores

Ownership of the terrain below had its effect on verifying victory. An enemy aircraft that crashed in enemy held territory obviously could not be verified by the victor's ground troops. Because aerial combat commonly took place over or behind the German lines, German scores are generally considered more accurate because German aces' victories were more easily confirmed on the ground. Additionally, the British handicap of returning home against prevailing wind on the Western Front fattened German scores.

The scores presented in the lists cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best available sources of information. Loss of records by mischance and the passage of time complicates reconstructing the actual count for given aces.

See also

• Blue Max
• Sanke card
• List of World War I flying aces from Argentina
• List of World War I flying aces from Austria
• List of World War I flying aces from the Austro-Hungarian Empire
• List of World War I aces from Belgium
• List of World War I aces from Canada
• List of World War I flying aces from Croatia
• List of World War I Czech flying aces
• List of World War I aces from Ecuador
• List of World War I flying aces from Estonia
• List of World War I aces from Fiji
• List of World War I flying aces from Hungary
• List of World War I flying aces from India
• List of World War I aces from Latvia
• List of World War I aces from Lithuania
• List of World War I flying aces from New Zealand
• List of World War I aces from Poland
• List of World War I flying aces from the Russian Empire
• List of World War I Slovakian flying aces
• List of World War I flying aces from Swaziland
• List of World War I aces from Switzerland

References

Bibliography

• Above Flanders' Fields: A Complete Record of the Belgian Fighter Pilots and Their Units During the Great War, 1914-1918. Walter M. Pieters. Grub Street, 1998. ISBN 1898697833, 9781898697831.
• Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914-1918. Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. ISBN 0948817739, 9780948817731.
• Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0948817194, 9780948817199.
• British and Empire Aces of World War I. Christopher Shores, Mark Rolfe. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1841763772, 9781841763774.
• German Air Forces 1914-18. Graham Sumner. Osprey Publishing, 2005. ISBN 184176924X, 9781841769240.
• Italian Aces of World War 1. Paolo Varriale. Osprey Pub Co, 2009. ISBN 97818460341268.
• Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918 Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. ISBN 0948817542, 9780948817540.
• Pusher Aces of World War 1. Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Pub Co, 2009. ISBN 1846034175, 9781846034176.