IN AThe killsDAY and claims ACE of the top shooters BY BARRETT TILLMAN n the morning of April 7, 1943, American Great War air warriors fi ghter pilots on in the Solomon Probably the fi rst ace in a day was Austro-Hungarian Stabsfeld- Islands responded to a red alert. More than webel . On August 22, 1916, with his gunner 100 Japanese aircraft were inbound, sending Johann Lassi, he intercepted Italian aircraft over Wildcats and P-40s scrambling to inter- ’s Adriatic coast. The Austrians cept. In a prolonged combat, the de- downed fi ve Farman two-seaters, fenders claimed 39 victories and actu- destroyed or abandoned on the ally got 29—a better than normal ratio water. However, a single-seater of actual kills versus claims. The belle pilot contributed to two of the Oof the brawl was 1st Lt. James E. Swett, a 22-year-old victories. Arigi ended the war as Marine entering his fi rst combat. Fifteen minutes later, ’s second-ranking ace with he was fi shed out of the bay, having ditched his shot-up 32 victories. F4F-4 perforated by Japanese and American gunfi re. Almost certainly, the fi rst pilot downing fi ve opponents unaided in one day occurred during April 1917. Though wearing glasses, Fritz Otto Bernert became a fi ghter pilot. During “Bloody April” he was on a roll, accounting for 15 of Jasta Boelcke’s 21 victories. On the 24th, the day after receiving the Pour le Merite, he led an Alba- tros patrol. In only 20 minutes, he downed a Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter plus three BE-2 bombers. Then he bagged a DH-4, all verifi ed by records of three British squadrons. ’s other ace in a day was Leutnant Fritz Roth of Jasta 16. Already a double ace, on May 29, 1918 in a care- fully planned mission he claimed fi ve Belgian and British balloons in 15 min- utes, destroying at least four. He fi nished as Germany’s top balloon buster with 20 gasbags. The British also produced multiple vic-

Above: Sopwith Camel “merchant” John Trollope, credited with seven victories in two sorties in one day during 1918. tories in one day. Twenty-year-old Capt. (Photo courtesy of Rainer Absmeier) John L. Trollope, a “Camel merchant” of Inset: Fritz Otto Bernert downed fi ve British aircraft in 20 minutes on April 24, 1917. (Photo courtesy of EN Archive No. 43 Squadron, claimed seven enemies Collection) during two sorties on March 24, 1918. When the scores were toted, “Zeke” Swett was credited with He began with two DFWs (one shared) and an Albatros in the seven Aichi dive-bombers destroyed and one probable. In fact, morning, plus four Albatros two-seaters that afternoon. The the number of Vals claimed matched the Japanese loss records. day’s actions nearly doubled his previous score as he related, Swett received the , and from that day on, the “This has been the most wonderful day of my life. I myself goal of naval aviation cadets was “to do a Jimmy Swett.” have destroyed six Hun machines—three this morning and During WW II, over 100 U.S. fi ghter pilots were credited three this afternoon. The fi rst this morning I shot to pieces, with fi ve or more victories in one day, mostly in one sortie. and it broke up in mid-air; the second went down in fl ames— But the “ace in a day” feat was established long before the both of them two-seaters. The third, a single-seater, which lit- Second World War. erally exploded in mid-air and fell in pieces.”

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In late March Trollope was shot down and cap- 1918 produced a spectacular record—18 credited tured, fi nishing with 13.5 victories. victories in as many days. On the 18th he shared Trollope’s squadronmate, Capt. Henry Wool- two balloons, then added two Fokker D.VIIs and lett, made a similar record. On April 12 the for- a Halberstadt two-seater. But his wingman Lt. Joe mer DH-5 pilot claimed two Albatros(es) and a Wehner died in the action, and 11 days later Luke two-seater in the morning patrol, adding three followed in his slipstream. “Albatrii” that afternoon. He the war with 35 vic- tories, all but four credited as destroyed. e second generation The record for one-day claims was set by the With the advent of monoplanes, some pundits top Allied ace, Lieutenant Rene Fonck. The self- theorized that WW I-style air combat was not confi dent young Frenchman scored sextuples possible at speeds approaching 300mph. But Probably the fi rst ace in a day on two occasions, and in fact he recalled, “I had fi ghter pilots paid little attention and got on with was Austro-Hungarian Julius been dreaming for some time of downing fi ve ad- the next war. Arigi who downed fi ve Italian versaries within a 24-hour period.” The world standard for verifi ed a multi-kill sor- aircraft with his gunner in 1916. (Photo courtesy of Rainer On May 9, 1918, Fonck logged three two-seat- tie was established in an unusual clime—during Absmeier) ers in the afternoon and three more that evening. the “Winter War” between Finland and . The unprecedented feat was On January 6, 1940, a formation of unescorted the result of a champagne bet Soviet bombers was sighted over southern Fin- with two American squadron- land. Pilots of Fighter Squadron 24 scrambled in mates, who paid their debt. their Fokker D.XXIs, with an airborne pilot chas- Fonck repeated his record in ing down one Ilyushin DB-3. Lieutenant Jorma two more sorties on Septem- Sarvanto pursued the others alone, destroying ber 28. With 67 victories, his six in four minutes. The wreckage of all six vic- position atop the Allied ace tims from the 6th Bomber Regiment were found roster was unassailable, and and photographed. A pilot since 1937, Sarvanto he ended the war with 75. became Finland’s leading ace in the Winter War America’s fi rst ace in a day with 12.83 kills. was the mercurial Second At least two other Finns became aces in a day, Lieutenant Frank Luke. His fl ying Bf 109Gs. In June1944, during the “Con- “September rampage” in tinuation War” against Russia, Lt. Olavi K. Puro

Flying the Albatros series of fi ghters, German pilots achieved air superiority over the Western Front in 1916 and 1917. (Photo by Luigino Caliaro)

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1_Ace in a Day.indd 14 9/5/13 2:46 PM Probably the world's champion ace maker, the Bf 109 was fl own by scores of Experten who downed fi ve or more enemies in one day. (Photo by John Dibbs/planepicture.com)

claimed two LaGGs, a P-39, a Pe-2 bomber and a Sturmovik. And Lt. Eino Juutilainen downed two Yaks, two P-39s, a LaGG, and an Il-2. WW II No ace in a day performance occurs in a vacuum, especially within a large-scale air battle or cam- paign. So it’s helpful to place some events in con- text. Two examples will suffi ce. In the (July-October 1940) the lost 1,087 fi ghters (including 129 The Pacifi c war’s greatest one-day clash oc- besides Spitfi res and Hurricanes) and the Luft- curred on June 19, 1944—the fabled Marianas A genuine ace in a day was Finland’s Jorva Sarvanto who waffe a nominal 1,733. Turkey Shoot. Supporting the occupation of downed six Soviet bombers Conversely, the RAF fi ghters claimed about Island, 15 U.S. fast carriers fought a day- fl ying a Fokker D.XXI in January 2,700 shootdowns and German fi ghters 3,200. long battle against nine Japanese carriers and 1940. (Photo courtesy of Kari Thus, ignoring British anti-aircraft artillery, the land-based planes from and environs. At Stenman) British overclaimed by about 58 percent; the Ger- the end of the day, U.S. naval aviators claimed mans by nearly three times as much. 380 enemy planes splashed while losing 31 to all The likely RAF exchange rate was 1.6 to 1 causes. (versus the claimed 2.4 to 1) while the Germans Postwar assessment of Imperial Navy records thought they were winning 2-1 yet lost 1 to 1.4. indicates in-fl ight losses of 260, a 57% accuracy Applying the campaign error to individuals, fi gure. However, Hellcat claims against the day’s RAF pilot scores could be reduced to roughly 40 second raid proved uncannily accurate. They percent of those credited and scores by were paced by Lt (jg.) Alex Vraciu off USS Lexing- two-thirds. However, the simple mathematics are ton (CV-16) who claimed six Judy dive-bombers just that—overly simple. The more experienced in eight minutes. Discounting the work by ship- pilots certainly gained a larger ratio of actual kills board gunners, the F6Fs likely got nearly all the than the statistical average. Therefore, the top 80 planes they claimed in that action. RAF shooter, Lt. , likely downed more than 40% of his 23 claimed, which would British Commonwealth be 10 “actual” victories. Throughout WW II at least 20 British Common- Similarly, Lt. Col. Helmut Wick, CO of JG 2, wealth pilots were credited with fi ve or more vic- probably accounted for more than 1/3 of the 42 tories in a day. Battle of Britain victories credited to him, or 14 The record was attributed to Flying Offi cer Abschusse. Charles “Deadstick” Dyson, a Hurricane pilot

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of No. 33 Squadron in North Africa. On Decem- Conversely, the Luftwaffe likely accounted for ber 11, 1940, he attacked a formation of Italian all five Tomahawks lost while the nine Italian aircraft, claiming six Fiat CR.42s. But an army claims clearly were excessive. unit said one of the Falcos collided with a Breda That month—so vital to the course of the war— bomber. Examination of re- provided a microcosm of aerial victory claims cords showed one Fiat lost. and losses. The British credited 164 victories and More tangible results occurred the next year likely got 59, or 28%. The Axis units claimed 170 during the battle for Greece. for 120 definite Commonwealth losses in the air, Marmaduke Pattle, also of 33 Squadron, was a a 70% ratio. The relative claims changed little veteran on top of his game, with more than 40 into the new year. In June 1942, the RAF actually victories by mid-. On the 14th he was got 15 of 39 credited kills while the Axis pilots credited with five Axis aircraft—two Ju 88s, a Bf downed 42 of their 52 claimed. 109, 110, and an SM-79 bomber. Only five days The North African air war contains a useful les- later, he added 6.33 more—three Ju 88s, three son. While the Luftwaffe and its partner proved 109s, and a shared Henschel 126. He was killed consistently more accurate in its combat claims by a Bf 110 on April 20. Subsequently, historian than the British, it did not matter. The Axis out- Christopher Shores determined that of Pattle’s 50 shot the opposition by two or three to one but credited victories, at least 19 and perhaps 30 were still lost the campaign, largely owing to Allied genuine. numerical superiority. The lesson: stellar indi- Other claimants fared poorly. On December vidual performers could not reverse a strategic 5, 1941 two RAF Curtiss Tomahawk squadrons imbalance. waded into a gaggle of 30-plus Stukas near El Adem, . The Axis formation was escorted Luftwaffe experten by Bf 109s, Fiat G.50s and Macchi 200s. Of the Of some 2,500 Luftwaffe pilots with five or more 16 dive-bombers claimed, Flt. Lt. Clive Caldwell, victories, by one reckoning some 260 claimed later Australia’s leading ace, was credited with five or more Abshusse in one day. More than 30 five Stukas. turned the trick at night. The was Throughout the day, the Commonwealth fliers The star performer in North Africa was Ober- expertly flown by South African claimed 25 destroyed and nine probables, while leutnant Hans-Joachim Marseille, a virtuoso Bf “Pat” Pattle who downed five the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica lost six 109F pilot in JG 27. He stunned the Luftwaffe or more Axis planes on each of two days in 1941. (Photo by Budd planes destroyed or force landed, including two with a claim of 17 kills in three sorties on Sep- Davisson) Stukas. tember 1, 1942: four RAF fighters in the first com-

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1_Ace in a Day.indd 16 9/5/13 2:46 PM ACE IN A DAY e world’s ace of aces, Maj. , downed fi ve or more Soviet aircraft in a day on 17 occasions. (Photo courtesy of EN Archive Collection)

Left, top: “ e Star of Afrika” bat; eight in the second; and Another JG 54 star was Haupt- was Hans-Joachim Marseille, fi ve Hurricanes in the third. The mann Erich Rudorffer. Twice credited with 17 British aircraft on September 1, 1942. (Photo day’s claims brought his record previously he claimed seven courtesy of EN Archive to 121 of an eventual 158. in a day but on November 6, Collection) Marseille’s performance has 1943, he ran his score from 107 been closely scrutinized, and to 120—13 claimed kills in 17 Left, bottom: e one-day world record was established by Fw evidence points toward an actual minutes. He fi nished the war 190 pilot Emil Lang who claimed toll of eight. Certainly he had fl ying Me 262s with 222 cred- 18 Russian planes on November paid his dues, claiming fi ve or six ited victories. 3, 1943. (Photo courtesy of EN Archive Collection) victories on three previous occa- The world’s ace of aces also sions. scored in batches. The world record was recorded Erich Hart- far from the desert of North Afri- mann made ace in a ca. In November 1943, the Green H e a r t day 17 times, start- , JG 54, was heavily engaged in Rus- ing with a seven-kill sia. Lieutenant Emil Lang, who entered day in July 1943. combat early that year, fl ew Focke Wulf His 114 victories 190s. Stocky and aggressive, the 34-year- on those days rep- old prewar airline pilot was a fast learner. resented one-third On November 2 he claimed eight kills, of his 352 total. On setting the stage for the next day. On the February 26, 1944, 3rd he made claims in three sorties, ac- he claimed 10 kills counting for seven Soviet planes, then (numbers 193-202) two, and fi nally nine—an astonishing but he passed 300 18 kills in one day. with his peak perfor- Lang had scored 72 kills in three mance, 11 kills during weeks around Kiev in October and No- two sorties on August vember. But his string played out, as he 24. Hartmann’s closest died fi ghting the Western Allies in September rival, Major , logged seven 1944. ace in a day performances en route to 301 total. The “Green Hearts” were loaded with tal- A pattern emerged among the super aces with ent, led by Colonel Johannes Trautloft who had spectacular victory claims in single sorties or dur- fl own in Spain. was ing one day. Broadly, they were extremely expe- the fi rst to reach 250 victories, inspiring awe for rienced fi ghter pilots with long victory strings. his consistent multiple kills. He claimed 104 of Lang had 100 kills before his big day with 18 his total 258 on only 15 high-scoring days, for credited kills. Marseille had 105 when he began 40% of his total. In the summer of 1943 he was his 17-victory day. Rudorffer had 106 when tak- routinely downing more than a plane a day: 41 ing off for his 13-victory sortie. In all, he had 13 in June, 49 in August, and 45 in September. He days with fi ve or more victories. missed July entirely. The accuracy of Luftwaffe claims against the

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Sleek and lethal, the P-38 Lightning produced six aces in a day versus Germany and . (Photo by Budd Davisson)

Soviets can only be assessed with access usual. Like the Germans, most of the largest U.S. to Russian archives. However, as many single-mission and one-day scores were posted as 16 Red Air Force pilots were credited by experienced gunfi ghters who had previously with fi ve or more victories in one day, carved multiple notches. A case in point was the and undoubtedly some of them were all-time Navy ace, Cdr. David McCampbell. At valid. 34, he was an accomplished professional, a pre- war gunnery star who said, “I practiced until I American aces couldn’t get any better. On the last gunnery hop Maj. William Leverette downed Offi cially, 104 American pilots were credited with before deploying, I shot the tow cable in two.” seven Stukas in one October 1943 mission. (Photo courtesy fi ve or more victories in a day: 39 Army, 55 Navy, McCampbell scored his fi rst two kills in early of Barrett Tillman) and 10 Marine. June 1944. Then, during the “Turkey Shoot” he Jim Swett’s seven kills fi rst time at bat was un- downed two planes on his fi rst launch and fi ve

“Unconfirmed by Army means unconfirmed, Stachel.” Confi rming the Kill — Hauptmann Heidemann in The Blue Max. pparently no air force entered WW II with an established  e global organization of the U.S. Army Air Forces produced no procedure for claiming or crediting aerial victories.  e single method of handling victory claims. By far the most thorough ARoyal Air Force, which had helped establish the process 25 was the 8th Air Force and the Tactical Air Force in Northwest Europe. years earlier, did not begin standardizing procedures until the Battle Both had victory credit boards that evaluated combat reports and of Britain. Retroactive changes sought to impose some order upon viewed gun-camera footage. In contrast, the less well equipped units administrative uncertainty. But a common fl aw was treating shared in North Africa, China and the Pacifi c were forced to rely upon unit- victories as wholes, hence AVM Johnny Johnson’s 38 was actually level assessment without much review. 36.16. Navy and Marine Corps units usually operated away from higher  e Luftwaff e had an orderly, highly bureaucratic system for echelons. squadrons lived in physical isolation from processing pilots’ claims from Staff el up to Geschwader, thence to any headquarters, and relied on each unit’s intelligence offi cers to the . Once verifi ed (accurately or wrongly) a confi rming assess claims. A similar situation existed in many island campaigns, document was sent back to the unit.  e process could take several sometimes with a shortage of paper. Absent a higher review board, months, and in the fi nal phase of the war often no claims were unit reporting was subject to peer pressure or rivalry, and sometimes handled. command infl uence. When a squadron CO wearing wings leaned Japan, a collaborative culture, refl ected that fact in its military. over a 90-day wonder and vocally insisted “I got two today,” the While many units noted individual successes, apparently the Imperial “paddlefoot” might not object. To career-minded offi cers, carving Navy and the Army Air Force largely stopped recognizing personal another notch could have professional benefi ts whereas the scores in 1943. Most of what we know today has been assembled intelligence guy often wanted one thing: out. from raw material.  us is history sometimes written.

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1_Ace in a Day.indd 20 9/5/13 2:47 PM America’s fi rst seven-kill one-day ace was Lt. “Swede” Vejtasa of USS Enterprise in October 1942. (Photo courtesy of Barrett Tillman)

on the second. Four months later, he set the all- Lt. Harry Hanna added fi ve while three other pi- Above: America’s champion time American record by splashing nine enemy lots splashed fi ve more. ace-maker, the F6F Hellcat, also fi ghters plus two probables in a blazing 90 min- A tactical reconnaissance pilot made headlines produced the most aces in a day. (Photo by Heath Moff att) utes over Leyte Gulf. He remains the only Ameri- when Capt. William A. Shomo and his wingman can two-time ace in a day, a record now impos- encountered a formation of Kawasaki Tonys trail- sible to match, let alone exceed. ing a bomber over Luzon on January 11, 1945. Another carrier aviator had set the bar extreme- Flying F-6D Mustangs, the pair ly high two years before. During the Battle of claimed ten kills with seven Santa Cruz off Guadalcanal on October 26, 1942, credited to Shomo, who re- Lieutenant Stanley “Swede” Vejtasa intrecepted ceived the Medal of Honor. an attack against USS Enterprise (CV-6). Though Another formidable duo he fi rst switched off two guns, he still ran out of was Lt. Philip Kirkwood and ammunition in claiming two Vals and fi ve Kates. Ens. Alfred Lerch, VF-10 pi- Major William Leverette was another rara avis, lots off USS Intrepid (CV-11). scoring big his fi rst time. Over the Mediterranean Intercepting kamikazes off on October 9, 1943, he led his P-38s into a for- Okinawa on April 16, 1945, mation of Ju 87s and, in RAF parlance, staged a the Corsairs executed 13 sui- Stuka party. Leverette gunned nine crank-winged ciders between them, seven Junkers, credited with seven destroyed. Second credited to Lerch.

Below: North American’s hard-charging Mustang was the mount of 19 one-day aces including Maj. who fl ew Cripes A’Mighty. (Photo by Budd Davisson) Inset: Capt. William Shomo, a Mustang recon pilot, was credited with seven Japanese planes in one January 1945 mission. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

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The only U.S. pilot to approach Davis’ single-sortie record was a naval aviator. On November 18, 1952, Lt. Royce Williams off USS Oriskany (CV-34) tangled with seven Soviet MiGs and downed at Above:  e McDonnell Douglas Japanese aces least three, likely four. Due to intelligence con- F-4 Phantom was fl own by ace The Japanese produced world-class airmen who cerns, his record went unreported for three de- crews with multiple one-day kills over Vietnam and the consistently overclaimed. On May 7, 1942, sec- cades. Middle East in the 1970s. (Photo ond day of the Coral Sea battle, Petty Offi cer Among the Russian “honchos” in Korea was by Tyson Rininger) Kenji Okabe of the Shokaku Fighter Unit received Capt. Mikail S. Ponomariev, a WW II veteran. On credit for three Grummans and three dive-bomb- September 12, 1951, he was credited with three Inset: Perhaps the deadliest F-86 pilot was Maj. George ers plus two probables. Between them, Shokaku F-80s and an F-84, though U.S. records cite only Davis who twice claimed four and Zuikaku Zeros claimed 39 U.S. carrier planes the Thunderjet. kills in one day during Korean but actually downed three F4Fs and two SBDs. As A rare event occurred during the 1965 war missions. (Photo courtesy of Barrett Tillman) Pacifi c War historian John Lundstrom summa- between India and Pakistan. An accomplished rized, “The Japanese certainly were enthusiastic “Paki” F-86 pilot, Sqn. Ldr. Muhammad Alam, claimants.” engaged several Hawker Hunters on September 7. At Midway a month later, during the attack on He hit fi ve with .50 caliber fi re and was credited the American-held with each of them. Two returned to base heavily island, Zero pilots damaged, but still, three kills in one sortie was a Aces in a Day: e Fighters claimed 40 con- rare feat. During WW II, 101 U.S. fi ghter pilots were credited fi rmed kills against In Mideast clashes the Israel Air Force produced with fi ve or more aerial victories in one day.  is 25 Marine fi ghters, multiple one-day scores. During the 1973 war listing shows the aircraft fl own by those aces. of which 10 sur- the F-4E crew of Major Shlomo Egozi and Capt. vived. Roy Manof downed fi ve Egyptian Mi-8 helicop- 47 * ters on October 6. Lt. Col. Amir Nachumi twice North American P-51 Mustang 19 Top scores in scored four kills in one mission: fl ying a Phantom Vought F4U Corsair 9 (7 USMC) the Jet Age in 1973 and again in an F-16 in 1982. Republic P-47 Thunderbolt 9 With higher speeds During NATO operations in February 1994, Lockheed P-38 Lightning 6 and fewer aircraft, four USAF F-16s engaged Serbian Galebs, armed opportunities for trainers attacking a factory in Bosnia. The “Vi- Grumman F4F/FM Wildcat 6 (3 USMC) one-day scores were pers” attacked and downed four. Three were cred- Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk/Warhawk 5 reduced in the jet ited to Capt. Robert “Wilbur” Wright who used Total 101 age. However, dur- Sidewinder and AMRAAM missiles. * Cdr. David McCampbell is counted once. ing the Today, when air combat no longer exists, fi ght- (1950-1953) some er pilots can only marvel that within living mem- standout pilots ory, airmen often engaged in combat to emerge emerged. as an ace in a day. On November 30, 1951, Major George A. Davis, a WW II ace, claimed three jet Tu 2 bombers and Thanks to Rainer Absmeier, Peter Mersky, Dr. Frank a MiG-15. Then on December 12 he fl ew twice Olynyk, Kari Stenman, Stephen Skinner, and Greg and scored doubles each time. He was killed on VanWyngarden. February 10, 1952, after his 14th victory. Be sure to visit Barrett Tillman at btillman.com

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