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Fighter aces in World War II had tremendously varying kill scores, affected as they were by many factors: the pilot's skill level, the performance of the airplane the pilot flew and the planes they flew against, how long they served, their opportunity to meet the enemy in the air (Allied to Axis disproportion), whether they were the formation's leader or a wingman, the standards their air ...
Dogfights with the aircraft that could be considered the best fighter of the time meant that the Italian pilots were hard pressed; however they were able to claim 58 Mustangs, though at a high price. At the end of May 1944, the number of C.205s of the ANR was so low that the unit had to be re-equipped with Fiat G.55. [22] [23]
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 ...
McCampbell is the United States Navy's all-time leading flying ace (called Ace of the Aces in the Navy) and top F6F Hellcat ace with 34 aerial victories. He was the third-highest American scoring ace of World War II and the highest-scoring American ace to survive the war.
Nevertheless, by late 1942, Folgores outnumbered all other fighter aircraft in the Regia Aeronautica. The first units selected to be equipped with the C.202 Series I were the 17° and 6° Gruppi , from 1° Stormo , based at the airfield of Campoformido , near Udine , and the 9° Gruppo of 4° Stormo , based in Gorizia . [ 30 ]
According to Obermaier, 103 Luftwaffe pilots were credited with more than 100 aerial victories. [3] Further more, the US historian David T. Zabecki states that 105 Luftwaffe pilots were credited with more than 100 aerial victories, [4] adding Friedrich Wachowiak with 140 aerial victories, [5] and Paul-Heinrich Dähne with 100 aerial victories, who were not listed by Obermaier.
The flight of eight German fighters engaged a mass of Soviet Yakovlev Yak-9 and Lavochkin La-5 fighter aircraft. Hartmann claimed two enemy aircraft before his fighter was hit by debris and he was forced to make an emergency landing. [53] In accordance with regulations, he attempted to recover the precision board clock.
There are a number of reasons why Germany's highest-scoring pilots shot down many more aircraft than the most successful Allied pilots. During the first years of the war, German day fighter pilots tended to enjoy favourable tactical circumstances; for instance, during the Battle of Britain British pilots generally tried to attack the German bombers rather than the fighters protecting them.