Ace of aces is a title accorded to the top active ace within a branch of service in a nation's military in time of war.[citation needed] The title is most closely associated with fighter aces, though there are other types, such as tank aces and submarine aces.[citation needed]

Flying aces

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Ace of aces is a title accorded to the top flying ace of a nation's air force during time of war.[citation needed]

World War I

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The concept of aces emerged in 1915 during World War I.

Person Country WWI years active Overall years active Aerial victories Plane flown Notes
Adolphe Pégoud   French Third Republic 5 February 1915 – 31 August 1915 1907–1915 The first flying ace in history.[1]
Jean Navarre   French Third Republic September 1914 – 17 June 1916 1914–1919 12 Nieuport 11, Nieuport 16 and Morane-Saulnier L Wounded in action on 17 June 1916.[2][better source needed]
Georges Guynemer   French Third Republic 8 June 1915 – 11 September 1917 1914–1917 54 Morane-Saulnier L, Spad VII, SPAD XII and SPAD XIII [2][better source needed][3][better source needed]
Charles Nungesser   French Third Republic July 1915 – 14 August 1918 1914–1918 43 Voisin 3, Nieuport 17, Nieuport 25 and SPAD XIII
René Fonck   French Third Republic May 1915 – 1 november 1918 1914–1918

1937–1940

75 Caudron G III, SPAD VII, SPAD XII and SPAD XIII All-time Allied ace of aces, with 75 confirmed aerial victories.[4][page needed][5][6]
Oswald Boelcke   German Empire 15 August 1914 – 28 October 1916 1911–1916 Fokker E.I, Fokker E.III, Fokker E.IV, Fokker D.III, Albatros D.I and Albatros D.II
Max Immelmann   German Empire February 1915 – 18 June 1916 1911–1916 Fokker E.I and Fokker E.IV
Werner Voss   German Empire 27 January 1915 – 23 September 1917 1914–1917 48 Albatros D.III, Fokker Dr.I, Pfalz D.III, Pfalz Dr.I, Albatros D.V 48 confirmed victories, tied with Josef Jacobs.
Erich Loewenhardt   German Empire March 1917 – 10 August 1918 1914–1918 54 confirmed victories, third after Manfred von Richthofen and Ernst Udet.[7][page needed]
Manfred von Richthofen   German Empire 17 September 1916 – 21 April 1918 1911 - 1918 80 The ace of aces von Richthofen, also called "The Red Baron", achieved 80 air combat victories, the highest score in World War I.
Ernst Udet   German Empire – end of World War I 62 confirmed victories, second after Manfred von Richthofen[8]
Raymond Collishaw   Dominion of Canada August 1916 – end of World War I Credited with 60 victories, making him the second highest scoring Canadian ace of the war, behind Billy Bishop.[9]
Frederick Libby   United States
(  RAF)
2 December 1916 – 2 December 1917 The first American ace. Fourteen victories.[10]
Billy Bishop   Dominion of Canada April 1917 – end of World War I Credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war.[11] In 1917 he became the highest scoring ace in the RFC and the third top ace of the war, behind only the Red Baron and René Fonck.[12]
Raoul Lufbery   United States
(  Armée de l'air)
2 December 1917 – 15 May 1918 Succeeded Libby by scoring his 15th and 16th victories.[13]
Paul Frank Baer   United States
(  Armée de l'air)
15 May 1918 – 18 May 1918 Succeeded Lufbery on his death. Nine victories.[14][better source needed]
Frank Leaman Baylies   United States
(  Armée de l'air)
18 May 1918 – 12 June 1918 Succeeded Baer on his death.[14][better source needed]
David E. Putnam   United States
(  Armée de l'air)
12 June 1918 – 12 September 1918 Succeeded Bayliss on his capture.[14][better source needed][clarification needed]
Frank Luke   United States 12 September 1918 – 29 September 1918 Succeeded Bayliss on his death.[14][better source needed][clarification needed]
Eddie Rickenbacker   United States 29 September 1918 – end of World War I Succeeded Luke on his death. Was the American ace of aces for overall aerial victories (26).[14][better source needed]
Indra Lal Roy   British India 1917–1918 India's most successful fighter pilot, with 12 kills (two shared). He remains the only Indian fighter ace to this day.[15][better source needed]

World War II

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World War II had more aces than any other war.

Person Country WWII years active Overall years active Aerial victories Plane flown Notes
Erich Hartmann   Nazi Germany 19 September 1942-8 May 1945 1940–1945

1956–1970

352 Bf 109 Hartmann is the highest scoring ace of all time, with 352 aerial victories, the first pilot to achieve 300 aerial victories (on 24 August 1944) and 350 aerial victories (on 17 April 1945)[16]
Ilmari Juutilainen   Finland 1939–1944 1932–1947 94 Fokker D.XXI, Brewster Buffalo and Bf 109 The top scoring Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force), and the top scoring non-German fighter pilot of all time. The top flying ace of the Finnish Air Force with 94 confirmed aerial combat victories[17]
Pat Pattle   United Kingdom 4 August 1940– 20 April 1941 1936–1941 50 Hurricanes and Gladiators Credited with 51 victories, making him the most successful South African Ace of the Second World War.
Sailor Malan   South Africa 1939–1944 1932–1946 30 Spitfire Commanded Biggin Hill at the height of the Battle of Britain, shooting down Werner Molders. Credited with over 30 confirmed victories.
George 'Buzz' Beurling   Canada 1940–1944 1940–1944, 1948 31 Spitfire and P-51 Mustangs Credited with 31 confirmed victories, making him the most successful Canadian ace of the Second World War.[18]
James Edgar 'Johnnie' Johnson   United Kingdom 1941–1945 1939–1966 34 Spitfire Highest scoring British ace of the war, with 34 confirmed kills.
Richard Bong   United States 19 January 1942–6 August 1945 1941–1945 40 P-38 Lightning and P-80 Shooting Star Top US flying ace of the war, credited with 40 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded the Medal of Honor.[19]
Ivan Kozhedub   Soviet Union 6 July 1943 – 17 April 1945 1940–1985 64 La-5 and La-7 Credited with 64 victories, Kozhedub is the top scoring Allied ace of World War II. One of the few pilots to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me 262.[20][21]
William R. Dunn   United States
(  Eagle Squadron)
16 April 1941 – June 1944 1934–1935

1939–1973

12.5 Spitfire, Hurricanes and P-47 Thunderbolt First US ace of the war, while flying with the RAF.[22][page needed]
Joe Foss   United States October 1942–1944 1939–1955 26 F4U Corsair and F4F Wildcat Credited with 26 confirmed downed Japanese aircraft. Awarded the Medal of Honor.[23][better source needed]
Werner Mölders   Nazi Germany 1 September 1939 – 22 November 1941 1931–1941 Bf 109 [24]
Alfred Schreiber   Nazi Germany -26 November 1944 1933-1944 5 Messerschmitt Me 262 First aerial victory by a jet fighter and first jet ace in aviation history.[25]
Robin Olds   United States August 1943–1945 1943-1973 13 P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang Triple ace - Olds was the only pilot to "make ace" in both the P-38 (five victories) and the P-51 (eight victories) in the war.

Post-World War II era

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Person Country Wars Years active Aerial victories Plane flown Notes
Royal N. Baker   United States Korean War 1941–1975 13 F-86 Sabre Was the ace of aces for jet-vs-jet combat. Succeeded Davis on his death.[26][better source needed][27][better source needed]
Joseph C. McConnell   United States Korean War 1940–1954 15+ F-86 Sabre Was the ace of aces for jet-vs-jet combat.[28][better source needed]
Muhammad Mahmood Alam   Pakistan Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 1953–1982 5 F-86 Sabre Muhammad Mahmood Alam is credited with having shot down five Indian aircraft in less than a minute, the last four within 30 seconds.[29]
Giora Even Epstein   Israel Six-Day War 1956–1997 17 Mirage III, Mirage 5, Kfir and F-16 Credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets, making Epstein the ace of aces of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.[30][31]
Randy H. Cunningham   United States Vietnam War 1967–1987 F-4 Phantom II First American ace of the Vietnam War.[32]
Nguyen Van Coc   Democratic Republic of Vietnam Vietnam War 1961–2002 7-9 MiG-17 and MiG-21 From seven to nine victories on US-crewed aircraft, as well as two drones.[33][34]
Legesse Tefera   Ethiopia Ogaden War 7 Northrop F-5 Ethiopia's most successful pilot, and the most successful Northrop F-5 pilot, with six or seven kills.[35][36][37][38]
Shahram Rostami   Iran Iran–Iraq War 1967–2007 6-7 F-14 Tomcat [39][40]
Jalil Zandi   Iran Iran–Iraq War 1970–2001 11 F-14 Tomcat Iran's most successful fighter pilot ever, with eight confirmed aerial victories. The most successful F-14 Tomcat pilot.[41][42][better source needed][43]
Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan   Iraq Iran–Iraq War 1977–1986 5 MiG-21 and MiG-25 Iraq's most successful fighter pilot ever, with five confirmed aerial victories. The most successful MiG-25 pilot.[44][45]

21st Century era

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Person Country Wars Years active Aerial victories Plane flown Notes
Oleksandr "Grey Wolf" Oksanchenko   Soviet Union   Ukraine Russian invasion of Ukraine   Soviet Union 1989–1991

  Ukraine 1991–2018, 2022

10 Sukhoi Su-27 One of the first fighter aces of the 21st century with more than 10 confirmed aerial victories.

[47][better source needed]

Vadym "Karaya" & "Ghost of Vinnytsia" Voroshylov   Ukraine Russian invasion of Ukraine 10+ Mikoyan MiG-29 On October 10, during a massive missile attack, he shot down two Russian cruise missiles. On October 12, he destroyed five Shahed 136 drones three in southern Ukraine and two over Vinnytsia, making him the first ace in a day in the 21st century and since 1st Lieutenant Oscar Perdomo, USAAF 475th FG, On 13 August 1945 who was the last individual to active the title. he was forced to eject from his MiG-29 aircraft after it was hit by debris from the last Shahed-136 that had shot down. Vadym ejected in Vinnytsia region, having previously diverted the fighter jet from the settlement. He was awarded the Hero of Ukraine award for his actions.

[48][better source needed]

Kanamat Botashev   Russia Russian invasion of Ukraine   Soviet Union 1981–1991
  Russia 2022
5 Sukhoi Su-25 One of the first fighter aces of the 21st century with at least 5 confirmed aerial victories. He was shot down by an FIM-92 Stinger and died in the crash.[46][47][48][49][50] Some observers speculated that Botashev had been flying as a mercenary pilot for the Wagner Group.[51]
Ilya Andreevich Sizov   Russia Russo-Ukrainian War

Russian invasion of Ukraine

2016 to Present 14+ Sukhoi Su-30SM and Sukhoi Su-57 (since 2023) Shot down 12 Ukrainian aircraft (3 Su-24s, 3 Su-27s, 2 MiG-29s, 2 Mi-24s, and 2 Mi-14) and destroyed two Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile systems. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, he is currently the highest scoring ace of the 21st century.[52][53][54][better source needed]
Lacie Hester   United States 2024 Iran–Israel conflict ? to Present 70 McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle During the 2024 Iran-Israel conflict, particularly during the 1st phase in April, Captain Lacie Hester and Major Benjamin Coffey were both awarded the Silver star for their role in downing over 70 drones during this attack, making Hester the first woman in US history to receive the Silver Star.

Submarine aces

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Ace of the Deep is a title accorded to the top subsea ace/undersea ace/submarine ace of a nation's submarine force during time of war.[citation needed]

Persons accorded the title ace of aces
Person Country War Period Notes
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière   Imperial Germany World War I 1915–18 The commander of U-35, Arnauld de la Perière sank a total of 194 merchant vessels and gunboats totaling 453,716 gross metric tons.[55][56]
Günther Prien   Nazi Germany World War II 1933-1941 "Der Stier von Scapa Flow" (The Bull of Scapa Flow), was the commander, of the U-boat, U-47. Prien was credited with sinking over 30 Allied ships totalling about 200,000 gross register tons (GRT), along with the British battleship HMS Royal Oak at anchor in the Home Fleet's anchorage, in Scapa Flow. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the Kriegsmarine to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
Dick O'Kane   United States World War II – 25 October 1944 Was captured and made Prisoner of war.[57][page needed]
Eugene Fluckey   United States World War II [58]
Malcolm David Wanklyn   United Kingdom World War II – 14 April 1942 Wanklyn was the British Ace of Aces in terms of tonnage.[58][59][better source needed][60][page needed]
Benjamin Bryant   United Kingdom World War II – end of World War II Bryant was the British Ace of Aces.[61][62][page needed]
Reinhard Suhren   Nazi Germany World War II A U-boat ace.[63][page needed]
Gianfranco Gazzana-Priaroggia   Italy World War II The highest scoring Italian submarine commander, with 11 ships sunk for a total of 90,601 tons.[64]
Carlo Fecia di Cossato   Italy World War II With 16 sinkings, he is credited with the most kills in the Regia Marina, as well as the second most successful Italian submarine commander with 86,545 tons.[64]

Submarine hunters

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Persons accorded the title ace of aces[citation needed]
Person Country War Period Notes
John Walker   United Kingdom World War II Walker sank more U-boats (12 confirmed) during the Battle of the Atlantic than any other British or Allied commander.[65][better source needed]

Tank aces

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A "tank ace" or Panzer ace has been described by Historian Robert Kershaw as being the minority of tank commanders that accounted for the most destroyed enemy armor, saying it is roughly analogous with a flying ace.[66]

Person Country War Period Tanks destroyed Tank type crewed Notes
Kurt Knispel   Nazi Germany World War II 1940 – 28 April 1945 168 Tiger I and Tiger II 168 confirmed and 195 unconfirmed tank kills. He fought in nearly every type of German tank, working as a loader, gunner, or commander. He is credited with destroying a T-34 tank from 3,000 meters.
Otto Carius   Nazi Germany World War II 1940 – 7 May 1945 150 Tiger I, various others Credited with over 150 tank kills and 1 aircraft shot down, mostly in various Tiger tanks.[67]
Johannes Bölter   Nazi Germany World War II 1940 – 28 April 1945 139 Tiger I Destroyed 139 enemy tanks, including 16 tanks in one action. Referenced in Wolfgang Schneider's "Tigers in Combat, Volume 1"[68]
Michael Wittmann   Nazi Germany World War II 1941 – 8 August 1944 138 Tiger I and Sturmgeschütz III Credited with over 138 tank kills[69]
Paul Egger   Nazi Germany World War II 1941 – 3 May 1945 113 Tiger I SS obershafuehrer Credited with 113 tank kills[70]
Fritz lang   Nazi Germany World War II 1941 – ???? 111 Stug III Germany's WW2 top assault gun ace.[71]
Albert Kerscher   Nazi Germany World War II ???? – 19 April 1945 100 Tiger I Feldwebel Albert Kerscher, a member of Schwere Panzer Abeteilung 502. Credited with 100 tanks destroyed[72][73]
Zvika Greengold   Israel Yom Kippur War 6 October 1973 – 25 October 1973 60 Centurion (more specifically Sho't) In total 60 tanks were accredited to him.[74] Greengold himself claims 20 Syrian tanks over the space of holding his position for 20 hours. He changed tanks six times.[75][76]
Dmitry Lavrinenko   USSR World War II 1941 52 T-34 Dmitry Fyodorovich Lavrinenko was a Soviet tank commander and Hero of the Soviet Union. He was the highest scoring tank ace of the Allies during World War II. Lavrinenko destroyed 52 tanks in just 2.5 months of fierce fighting in 1941.
Alfred Nickolls   United Kingdom World War II 1940 – 1943 30 M4 Sherman According to the 22nd November 1942 citation,[77] Corporal Nickolls, in a Sherman tank at El Alemain destroyed 14 tanks, including destroying 9 German tanks in one single engagement.[77] He destroyed 30 tank during the entire North Africa campaign, making him the top tank ace of the United Kingdom and the top tank ace of the western Allies during World War II[78] Awarded the Military Medal by Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery[79]
Zinovy Grigoryevich Kolobanov   USSR World War II 1941 25 KV-1 Destroyed 22 tanks and 2 artillery pieces before running out of ammunition, while leading a unit of 5 KV-1Es in an ambush near Leningrad on 20 August 1941. His unit destroyed a total of 43 German tanks that day.[80]
Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters   Canada World War II October 1942 - end of World War II 18 M4 Sherman Credited with 18 tank kills and many other armoured vehicles, whilst in command of three Sherman tanks, named 'Caribou'.[81] The tank squadron under his command may have been responsible for the death of German tank ace Michael Wittmann.
Lafayette G. Pool   United States World War II 27 June 1944 – 15 September 1944 12 M4 Sherman Widely recognised as the American tank ace of aces, with 12 confirmed tank kills and 258 armoured vehicle kills, whilst in command of a Sherman tank.[82][83]
Börje Bror Brotell   Finland World War II 1943 – 1944 11 Sturmgeschütz III Recognised as the Finnish tank ace of aces, with 11 confirmed and 4 unconfirmed tank kills during World War II. Brotell’s role during The Battle of Tali–Ihantala was decisive and his Sturmgeschütz III destroyed multiple enemy tanks which had achieved a breakthrough.[84]
Arun Khetarpal   India Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Battle of Basantar 9 December 1971 - 16 December 1971 10 Centurion Indian tank ace. Personally responsible for destroying 10 tanks before he was killed in action in Battle of Basantar[85]
Edmund Roman Orlik  Poland Invasion of Poland 1 September 1939 - 28 September 1939 10 (official) TKS (20mm variant) Polish "tank ace of aces". During the Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in September 1939 he claimed to have destroyed ten German tanks, including one Panzer IV Ausf. B, the largest tank then fielded by Germany, with a 2.6 tonne TKS tankette armed with a 20mm autocannon. The unofficial claim is that he destroyed 13 tanks, although this has not been confirmed by any trustworthy sources to date.
Ervin Tarczay [hu]   Hungary World War II January 1943 – 18 March 1945 10 41M Turán II, Tiger I, Panther and Panzer IV Ausf. H 10 confirmed and 15 unconfirmed tank kills during World War II.[86][87]

On March 15, 1945 he was knighted and took leave to get married. He returned to service quickly and was offically declared missing in action on March 18 1945, after having been left behind while wounded in Söréd.[88]

See also

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References

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Citations

edit
  1. ^ Franks & Bailey (2008), pp. 201–202.
  2. ^ a b New York Times, "Saw 40 Air Foes After Guynemer", Thursday 27 September 1917
  3. ^ Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation, "Hispano-Suiza Aeronautical Engines", Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation, 1918
  4. ^ Taylor & Francis, "The European Powers in the First World War", Spencer Tucker, Laura Matysek Wood, Justin D. Murphy, ISBN 0-8153-0399-8
  5. ^ The Lowell Sun, "Record by French "Ace Of Aces" Never Equalled", Associated Press, Friday 21 June 1918
  6. ^ Doubleday, "Ace of Aces", René Fonck, 1967
  7. ^ Osprey Publishing, "Richthofen's Circus", Greg VanWyngarden, 2005
  8. ^ University of Nebraska Press, "Impossible missions?: German economic, military, and humanitarian efforts in Africa", Nina Berman, 2004
  9. ^ "Raymond Collishaw World War I Fighter Ace". www.constable.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  10. ^ Franks & Bailey 2008, p. 55.
  11. ^ veterans.gc.ca (23 January 2020). "Billy Bishop Canada's finest Ace". veterans. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  12. ^ McCaffery 1960, p. 143.
  13. ^ Franks & Bailey 2008, pp. 56–57.
  14. ^ a b c d e Stokes, "Fighting the Flying Circus", Eddie Rickenbacker, 1919, (accessed 18 April 2009)
  15. ^ "Indra Lal Roy". www.theaerodrome.com.
  16. ^ Toliver & Constable 1998, pp. 385, 386.
  17. ^ "Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. Hävittäjä-ässät (Finnish Fighter Aces). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteas, 1978. ISBN 951-9035-37-0.
  18. ^ historicacanada.ca. "George "Buzz" Beurling". historicacanada. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  19. ^ "Dick Bong: Ace Of Aces", General George C. Kenney, 1960
  20. ^ Polak, Tomas with Christopher Shores. Stalin’s Falcon – The Aces of the Red Star. Brub Street, London, 1999. ISBN 1-902304-01-2, p.189
  21. ^ "Николай Бодрихин. Советские асы. Очерки о советских летчиках". www.erlib.com (in Russian).
  22. ^ "Fighter Pilot: The First American Ace of World War II", William R. Dunn
  23. ^ The Telegraph (London), "Joe Foss", 2 January 2003, (accessed 17 April 2009)
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  25. ^ Foreman & Harvey 1995, p. 81.
  26. ^ TIME, "Ace of Aces", Monday 23 March 1953, (accessed 17 April 2009)
  27. ^ The Canberra Times, "Air Ace Ends Task", 16 March 1953, (accessed 17 April 2009)
  28. ^ TIME, "Ace's End", 6 September 1954, (accessed 17 April 2009)
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  30. ^ "Desert Aces". Dogfights. Season 2. Episode 5. 2007-08-10. The History Channel. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10.
  31. ^ "CBSi". findarticles.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  32. ^ Texas A&M University Press, "Striving for air superiority: the Tactical Air Command in Vietnam", Craig C. Hannah, 2002, ISBN 978-1-58544-146-4
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  35. ^ Boring, War Is (August 8, 2016). "Which is Better, the F-5E Tiger II or the MiG-21?".
  36. ^ "Ethiopia : Hero Air Force General Passes Away". October 5, 2016.
  37. ^ "Air Force hero General Tefera Legese dies in Washington, DC". www.geeskaafrika.com.
  38. ^ "Jan J. Safarik: Air Aces Home Page". aces.safarikovi.org.
  39. ^ "Welcome to the Air Combat Information Group". 1map.com.
  40. ^ "Conflits Israelo-Arabes : 1948 / 1982". Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
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  42. ^ "IIAF - ANNOUNCEMENTS". www.iiaf.net.
  43. ^ "Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982, by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, Sept. 9, 2003". Archived from the original on 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
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  45. ^ Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat, by David Nicolle and Tom Cooper, (2004) Osprey Publishing, p.82
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  50. ^ "Ukrainian paratroopers have probably neutralized the infamous Russian aviation general".
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  52. ^ "Сизов Илья Андреевич". warheroes.ru. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  53. ^ "Подполковник Илья Сизов был удостоен высшей награды страны — звания Героя Российской Федерации — за совершённый подвиг в небе над островом Змеиный". Redstar.ru.
  54. ^ "Sizov Ilya Andreevich". russian-torturers.com.
  55. ^ Challenge Publications, "The U-Boat ACE of ACES", William H Langenberg, 2004
  56. ^ "Kapitänleutnant Lothar von Arnauld1 Coulés ou endommagés par U 35 - Sunk or damaged by U 35". History Maritime (in French).
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  58. ^ a b The Times (London), "Rear-Admiral Eugene Fluckey", 20 July 2007 (accessed 2009 April 20)
  59. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Malcolm David Wanklyn VC, DSO, RN". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
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  62. ^ Bantam, "Submarine Commander", Rear Admiral Ben Bryant, 1960
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  64. ^ a b Giorgerini, Giorgio (2002). Uomini sul fondo : storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi. Milano: Mondadori. p. 691. ISBN 8804505370.
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  66. ^ Kershaw, Robert. Tank Men: the Human Story of Tanks at War, Hodder, p. 332.
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  69. ^ Forty, George Tank Aces Sutton Publishing, 1977 p 108
  70. ^ Schneider, Wolfgang, "Tigers in Combat, Volume II,", 2020 p 275
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  82. ^ Forty, George (1997). Tank Aces: From Blitzkrieg to the Gulf War. Motorbooks Intl. ISBN 0750914475.
  83. ^ Woolner, Frank (September 22, 1944). "THE TEXAS TANKER". YANK Magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  84. ^ Brantberg, Robert (2000). Sotasankarit. 21 suomalaisen sotasankarin elämäntarina (in Finnish). Gummerus (1st ed.). [Tampere]: Revontuli. pp. 9–19. ISBN 952-5170-11-X. OCLC 58273901.
  85. ^ The Param Vir Chakra Winners (PVC), Official Website of the Indian Army, retrieved 28 August 2014 "Profile" and "Citation" tabs.
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General and cited references

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World War I sources

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  • Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank (2008). Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. ISBN 978-0-948817-54-0.
  • Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank; Guest, Russell (2008). Above the Lines: A Complete Record of the Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914–1918. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.

Later wars

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  • Aces of WWII
  • Foreman, John; Harvey, S.E. (1995), Messerschmitt Combat Diary Me.262, Crecy Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-871187-30-3.
  • Toliver, Raymond F. and Trevor J. Constable (1998). Die deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939 – 1945. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-193-0.
  • Samuel, Wolfgang W.E. (2004). American Raiders — The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1-57806-649-2.