What Makes A Fighter Pilot A 'Flying Ace'?

While aerial combat via flying balloons used in Europe have been around since 1794, it wasn't until World War I that pilots found themselves in dogfights against one another. There were balloons used during that conflict as well, and many pilots flew combat missions against them as well as other airplanes. It was in WWI that the term flying ace was coined after French stuntman-turned-pilot Adolphe Pégoud shot down five German aircraft. He was dubbed "l'As" (the ace), and the honor became an incredibly challenging goal.

From that point forward, any pilot who successfully shot down five enemy aircraft was given the honor of being called an ace. The most famous flying ace of WWI wasn't Pégoud, though his accomplishments cannot be overstated. The man who people think of from that conflict most often is legendary pilot Manfred von Richthofen, the German aviator who was known as the Red Baron for flying a distinctive red three-winged Fokker Dr.I triplane in which he amassed 80 confirmed kills throughout the conflict.

Since the term was first coined, pilots around the world have earned the honor of being called a flying ace. In terms of American pilots, as of this writing, 1,447 pilots have earned the title of ace. While that might seem like a lot, more than 60,000 pilots flew in World War I through the Vietnam War, when U.S. Air Force pilot Capt Richard "Steve" Ritchie achieved five kills. Of those 60,000 aviators, only 2.4% achieved becoming a flying ace, making it a rare and privileged honor.

Almost every military conflict between WWI and the Vietnam War saw exceptional aviators become aces on all sides. While the Red Baron's 80 confirmed kills are impressive, by the time World War II heated up, flying aces managed to more than double and even triple his figures. German pilot Erich Hartmann achieved 352 confirmed kills, which not only made him the greatest aviator of that war, but he also holds the world record in confirmed kills.

He achieved this while flying over 1,400 missions in his Messerschmitt Bf 109, which was one of the best German fighter planes of WWII. On the other side of the conflict, the best United States flying ace was Maj. Richard Bong, who achieved 40 confirmed kills while flying in the bizarre-looking P-38 Lightning. Maj. Thomas McGuire Jr. trailed just behind Maj. Bong with 38 kills in the same aircraft. The Soviet Union's top ace from WWII was Ivan Kozhedub (pictured), who achieved 62 confirmed kills against German forces throughout Europe.

The Vietnam War saw many pilots achieve the flying ace honor, and while Capt. Ritchie did well, he was far behind North Vietnamese pilot Nguyễn Văn Cốc, who scored nine confirmed kills. That made Nguyễn Văn Cốc the highest-scoring aviator of the Vietnam War. Because modern combat systems are highly capable of taking out targets at distance, dogfighting isn't what it used to be. Combat operations since Vietnam have seen thousands of pilots achieve great feats, but the days of the flying ace could be behind us, as none have achieved the honor since Capt. Ritchie in 1972.