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Ace

An ace is a playing card. In the standard deck, an ace has one suit symbol (a heart, a diamond, a spade, a club) in the center of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the ace of spades. In most card games, aces have the highest value of all cards in a suit; in some, the lowest.


An ace is also a military aviator who has shot down five or more enemy aircraft. The term originated in World War I in French newspapers. The leading German ace in that war was Rittmeister (Captain) Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron", of the German air force, who was credited with downing 80 Allied aircraft. The leading Allied ace was Billy Bishop of Canada, who downed 72. The leading American ace was Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, with 26 victories.

Aces of Spanish Civil War
Name Country Service Victories
Alois Vasatko Czechoslovakia Republican Air Force 17
Abel Guides France Republican Air Force 10
Werner Molders Germany Condor Legion[?] 14
Wolfgang Schellman Germany Condor Legion[?] 12
Harro Harder Germany Condor Legion[?] 11
Mario Bonzano Italy Nationalist Air Force 15
Brunetto di Montegnacco Italy Nationalist Air Force 14
Guido Presel Italy Nationalist Air Force 13

Aces of World War II This list attempts to list the top aces for each nation and branch of service. The criteria for listing victories and partial victories varied among the belligerents.
Name Country Service Victories
David McCampbell U.S. Navy 34
Cecil E. Harris U.S. Navy 23
Francis "Gabby" GabreskiU.S. Army Air Forces 28
Robert S. Johnson U.S. Army Air Forces 27
Erich Hartmann Germany Luftwaffe 352
Gerhard Barkhorn Germany Luftwaffe 301
Günther Rall Germany Luftwaffe 275
Ilmari Juutilainen Finland Air Force 94
Hans Wind Finland Air Force 75
Eino Luukkanen Finland Air Force 56
Karel Miroslav Kuttelwascher Czechoslovakia RAF 20
Josef Frantisek Czechoslovakia RAF 17
George A. Davis United Staes Army Air Force 7

Aces of Korean War
Name Country Service Victories
Capt. Joseph M. McConnell United States Air Force 16
Major James Jabara United States Air Force 15
Capt. Manuel J. "Pete" Fernandez United States Air Force 14 1/2
Maj. George A. Davis United States Air Force 14

Aces of Vietnam War 1. Advisor to NVPAF
Name Country Service Victories
Nguyen Van Coc North Vietnam Air Force 9
Mai Van Cuong North Vietnam Air Force 8
Randolph "Duke" Cunningham/William Driscoll United States Navy 5
Charles B. DeBellevue United States Air Force 6
Vadim Petrovich Shchbakov Soviet Union PVO-Strany (1) 6

Aces of Arab-Israeli Wars
Name Country Service Victories
Col. (Res.) Giora Epstein Israel Air Force 17
Yiftah Spector Israel Air Force 15
Amir Nahumi Israel Air Force 15
Djur Abid Adib Syria Air Force 5
Majad Halabi Syria Air Force 5
Majid Zugbi Syria Air Force 6

Aces and Highest Number of Victories in Indo-Pakistani Wars
Name Country Service War Victories
Muhammad Shams-ul-Haq Pakistan Air Force 1971 4
Syed Sa'ad Akhtar Hatmi Pakistan Air Force 1971 3

Highest Number Victories of Persian Gulf War Note: There were no aces in the Persian Gulf War of 1991. The pilots with the greatest number of victories is included
Name Country Service Victories

wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump