Aviators who became ace in a day

The term "ace in a day" is used to designate a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.[1]

Contents

World War I

The first aviators to achieve this were pilot Julius Arigi and observer/gunner Johann Lasi of the Austro-Hungarian air force, on 22 August 1916, when they downed five Italian planes.[2]

World War I flying ace Fritz Otto Bernert scored five victories within 20 minutes on April 24, 1917, even though he wore glasses and was effectively one-armed.[3]

John Lightfoot Trollope of the Royal Air Force shot down and destroyed seven German planes on 24 March 1918.[4]

Henry Woollett shot down and destroyed six German airplanes on 12 April 1918, setting two afire.[5]

René Fonck scored six in a day on two occasions, 9 May and 26 September 1918.[6]

World War II

On 15 June 1940 the French pilot Pierre Le Gloan destroyed 5 Italian aircraft in one flight.[7]

The most notable ace in a day is Hans-Joachim Marseille of Germany, who was credited with downing 17 Allied fighters in just three sorties over North Africa on September 1, 1942.[8] The highest number of aerial victories for a single day was claimed by Emil Lang: 18 Soviet fighters on November 3, 1943.[9] Erich Rudorffer is credited with the destruction of 13 aircraft in a single mission on October 11, 1943.[10] Numerous other Luftwaffe pilots also claimed the title during World War II.

Hans Wind of HLeLv 24, Finnish Air Force, scored five kills in a day five separate times during the Soviet Summer Offensive 1944, a total of 30 kills in 12 days, of his final tally of 75.[11]

On December 5, 1941, the leading Australian ace of World War II, Clive Caldwell, destroyed five German aircraft in the space of 18 seconds, also in North Africa. He received a Distinguished Flying Cross for the feat.[12]

During World War II, 68 U.S. pilots—43 Army Air Forces, 18 Navy, and seven Marine Corps—were credited with the feat, including David McCampbell, who claimed seven Japanese planes shot down on June 19, 1944 (during the "Marianas Turkey Shoot"), and nine in a single mission on October 24, 1944. Medal of Honor recipients Jefferson DeBlanc and James E. Swett became aces on their first combat missions in Guadalcanal, scoring five kills and seven kills respectively. US Navy pilot Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa, who during the Battle of the Coral Sea shot down three Mitsubishi A6M Zeros with a Douglas SBD Dauntless, managed to down seven Japanese planes in one sortie in the Battle of Santa Cruz flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat.

The world's top Mustang ace, George Preddy, shot down six Me-109s on August 6, 1944, setting the European Theater of Operations record for the United States.

Post World War II

In air to air combat during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Muhammad Mahmood Alam of the Pakistan Air Force shot down five Indian Air Force Hawker Hunter Mk.56 fighters in less than a minute, four being in first 30 seconds. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat ("The star of courage") and bar for his actions.[13][14]

References

Endnotes

  1. ^ Geissinger, Steve (October 15, 1997). "Manmade Thunder". The Argus-Press. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=THoiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TK0FAAAAIBAJ&dq=ace-in-a-day%20five%20kills&pg=3561%2C3806511. Retrieved July 17, 2011. 
  2. ^ Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 1914 - 1918, pp. 190-191, 272, 324.
  3. ^ Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914-1918, p. 70.
  4. ^ Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920, p. 368.
  5. ^ Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920, p. 390.
  6. ^ Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918, p. 161.
  7. ^ Ketley, Barry (1999). French Aces of World War 2. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 76. ISBN 1855328984. 
  8. ^ Caldwell, Donald (2002). Walter J. Boyne. ed. Air Warfare: an International Encyclopedia: M-Z. ABC-CLIO. pp. 395. ISBN 978-1576073452. "He once shot down 8 RAF fighters in 10 minutes, a day when he claimed 17 victory's in three combat sorties" 
  9. ^ Weal, John (1995). Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front. Osprey. pp. 72. ISBN 978-1855325180. 
  10. ^ Williamson, Gordon (2005). Knight's Cross, Oak-Leaves and Swords Recipients_1941-45. Osprey. pp. 46. ISBN 978-1841766430. 
  11. ^ Stenman, Kari (2001). Lentolaivue 24. Osprey. pp. 123. ISBN 978-1841762623. 
  12. ^ Holmes, Tony (2002). Tomahawk and Kittyhawk aces of the RAF and Commonwealth. Osprey. pp. 107. ISBN 978-1841760834. 
  13. ^ Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail. "Alam’s Speed-shooting Classic". Defencejournal.com. http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/september/alam.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
  14. ^ Fricker, John. Battle for Pakistan: the air war of 1965. http://books.google.com/books?id=RPttAAAAMAAJ. "before we had completed more than of about 270 degree of the turn, at around 12 degree per second, all four hunters had been shot down." 
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