385 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
385 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.military
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From: bowers@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov (Al Bowers)
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Subject: Re: Best fighterpilot ?!?!
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Message-ID: <BOWERS.93Jan5122043@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov>
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Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal.
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Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 20:20:48 GMT
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Lines: 376
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skronkvi@aton.abo.fi (Stefan Kronkvist INF) writes:
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I think you have misconstrued some facts, and I also have my own
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nomination for greatest fighter pilot of all time...
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> ===============================
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> Most successful fighter pilot
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> of all times ?!?!
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> ===============================
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>Who is the most successful fighterpilot in the history? The answer may be
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>different depending on who you are asking.
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>The germans on the other hand also counted planes destroyed on the ground.
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>And when a german pilot shot down a 4-engine plane,he was allowed to count one
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>"victory"/engine.
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This was untrue in WWII (the Luftwaffe). Confirmation was required to
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be provided by a witness seeing the aircraft _crash_. No confirmation
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resulted in a probable (despite the aircraft being on fire, spiralling
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down out of control a wing coming off, whatever). Probables were not
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counted in total tallies. For more info, read "Top Secret Bird" by
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Wolfgang Spaate. Spaate finished the war with 99 official victories,
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though his unofficial tally was about 122, and another dozen or so
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probables. This is not to say there were no abuses, as Spaate points
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out in his book.
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>Wind is less known than Jonny Johnson (38 planes),Richard Bong (40) and
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>Pierre Clostermann (33).
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See the list below.
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>Manfred von Richthofen shot down 80 enemy-planes,according to the Guiness book
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>of Records,but 20 of theese are unconfirmed...
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Not quite. Richtofen had 80 _confirmed_ kills, with 20 probables.
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My personal nomination goes probably to Erich `Bubi' Hartmann (352
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kills, WWII Luftwaffe), or possibly to Saburo Sakai (never lost a
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wingman in 64 kills, and the Japanese used `vics', a three plane
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element).
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This is a little list that I have been compiling for a year or two
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now. I'm sure it is not complete, but is presented here for info.
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If you know of someone who _should_ be on this list, please e-mail me
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(with a reference if you have it). Note that I only include people
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who qualify for the title "ace" as used by the US (5 confirmed aerial
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victories, ground kills not counted).
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And I expect some of the numbers to generate some controversy
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(especially the WWII Luftwaffe numbers), but the numbers are accurate
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so far as I can tell (references available).
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Also, there are numerous Israeli aces, but their country considers that
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info classified (with some justification), and I am also aware that
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some Pakistani pilots are aces as well (Afghanistan war), but I cannot
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find the info. One last piece of information, no one became an ace
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involved with the Falklands Islands war or the Gulf war that I am
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aware of (I have a complete list of _all_ aerial kills in the Vietnam
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war by the US and _all_ victories on both sides in the Gulf war).
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Note that the greatest jet ace is a tie between James McConnell
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(Korea, F-86) and Heinrich Bar (WWII, Me 262) each with 16. Honorable
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mention to James Jabara (Korea, F-86) with 15 _jet_ kills and possibly
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to Col. Toon of Vietnam (with 17?). And note that there are two women
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on the list, Lily Litvak, and Katya Budanova (USSR, WWI).
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name victories war country
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===========================================================================
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Manfred von Richtofen 80 WWI Germany
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Ernst Udet 62 WWI Germany
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Josef Jacobs 48 WWI Germany
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Werner Voss 48 WWI Germany
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Oswald Boelcke 40 WWI Germany
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Lothar von Richtofen 40 WWI Germany
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Carl Degelow 30 WWI Germany
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Herman Goering 22 WWI Germany
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Hans Pippart 22 WWI Germany
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Max Immelmann 15 WWI Germany
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Paul Strahle 13 WWI Germany
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Gustav Leffer 9 WWI Germany
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Wolfram von Richtofen 8 WWI Germany
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Rene Fonck 75 WWI France
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Georges Guynmeyer 58 WWI France
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Charles Nungesser 45 WWI France
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Georges Madon 41 WWI France
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Maurice Boyeau 35 WWI France
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Roland Garros 5 WWI France
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Philip F. Fullard 53 WWI Great Britain
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Albert Ball 47 WWI Great Britain
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Ira Jones 40 WWI Great Britain
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Henry Woollett 36 WWI Great Britain
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Rhys-David 23 WWI Great Britain
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Gerald Maxwell 21 WWI Great Britain
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Lanoe Hawker 9 WWI Great Britain
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J. R. Trollope 6 WWI Great Britain
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Sholto Douglas 6 WWI Great Britain
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William Bishop 72 WWI Canada
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Raymond Collishaw 62 WWI Canada
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Donald McLaren 54 WWI Canada
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William Barker 52 WWI Canada
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Roy Brown 13 WWI Canada
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Edward Mannock 73 WWI Ireland
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James McCudden 57 WWI Ireland
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A. Beauchamp-Proctor 54 WWI South Africa
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Willy Coppens 34 WWI Belgium
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Edward Rickenbacker 26 WWI United States
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Fredrick Libby 24 WWI United States
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Frank Luke 21 WWI United States
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Raoul Lufbery 17 WWI United States
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Francesco Barraca 36 WWI Italy
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Alexander Kazakov 17 WWI Russia
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Alexander de Seversky 13 WWI Russia
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===========================================================================
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Erich Hartmann 352 WWII Germany
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Gerhard Barkorn 301 WWII Germany
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Guenther Rall 275 WWII Germany
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Otto Kittel 267 WWII Germany
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Walter Nowotny 258 WWII Germany
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Wilhelm Batz 237 WWII Germany
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Erich Rudorffer 222 WWII Germany
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Heinrich Bar 220 WWII Germany
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Herrmann Graf 211 WWII Germany
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Theodore Weissenburger 208 WWII Germany
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Hans Philip 206 WWII Germany
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Walter Schuck 206 WWII Germany
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Anton Hafner 204 WWII Germany
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Heinrich Ehler 204 WWII Germany
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Helmut Lipfert 203 WWII Germany
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Walter Kuprinski 197 WWII Germany
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Anton Hackl 190 WWII Germany
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Max Stotz 189 WWII Germany
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Joachim Brendel 189 WWII Germany
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Joachim Kirschner 188 WWII Germany
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Kurt Hans Friedrich Brandle 180 WWII Germany
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Gunther Josten 178 WWII Germany
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Johannes Steinhoff 176 WWII Germany
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Ernst Wilhelm Reinert 174 WWII Germany
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Gunther Schack 174 WWII Germany
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Heinz Schmidt 173 WWII Germany
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Emil Lang 173 WWII Germany
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Horst Adameit 166 WWII Germany
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Wolf-Dietrich Wilke 162 WWII Germany
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Han-Joachim Marseille 158 WWII Germany
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Heinrich Sturm 158 WWII Germany
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Gerhard Tyben 157 WWII Germany
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Hans Beiswenger 152 WWII Germany
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Peter Duttmann 152 WWII Germany
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Gordon Gollob 150 WWII Germany
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Dietrich Hrabak 125 WWII Germany
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Heinz Schnaufer 121 WWII Germany
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Werner Moelders 115 WWII Germany
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Adolf Galland 104 WWII Germany
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Hartmann Grasser 103 WWII Germany
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Werner Streib 60 WWII Germany
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Hiroyoshi Nishizawa 113 WWII Japan
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Ota 80? WWII Japan
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Saburo Sakai 64 WWII Japan
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Sasai 60? WWII Japan
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Akamatsu 50? WWII Japan
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Hasse Wind 75 WWII Finland
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Ivan Kozuhedub 62 WWII USSR
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Aleksandr Pokryshkin 59 WWII USSR
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Alelyukin 40 WWII USSR
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Vladmir Lavrinenkov 35 WWII USSR
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Aleksandr Klubov 31 WWII USSR
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Boris F. Safnov 22 WWII USSR
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Stepan Suprun 15 WWII USSR
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Lily Litvak 7 WWII USSR
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Katya Budanova 6 WWII USSR
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Joaquin Garcia Morato 40 WWII Spain(Na)
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Julio Salvador 24 WWII Spain(Fr)
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Andres Garcia La Calle 21 WWII Spain(Na)
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Angel Salas 17 WWII Spain(Na)
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Manuel Aguirre Lopez 16 WWII Spain(Fr)
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Richard Bong 40 WWII United States
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Thomas McGuire 38 WWII United States
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Eugene Valencia 35 WWII United States
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Francis Gabreski 34.5 WWII United States
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David McCampbell 34 WWII United States
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Gregory Boyington 28 WWII United States
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George Preddy 26.9 WWII United States
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Joe Foss 26 WWII United States
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Cecil E. Harris 24 WWII United States
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Gerald Johnson 22 WWII United States
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Ken Walsh 21 WWII United States
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Thomas Lynch 20 WWII United States
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Don Gentile 19.8(27) WWII United States
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John Smith 19 WWII United States
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Marion Carl 16 WWII United States
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William Dunham 16 WWII United States
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Don Blakeslee 15 WWII United States
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Robin Galer 13 WWII United States
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Robin Olds 13 WWII United States
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James French 11 WWII United States
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Harrison Thyng 11 WWII United States
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Robert Scott 10 WWII United States
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Clinton Smith 10 WWII United States
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Albert G. Baumer 8 WWII United States
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Frank G. Tinker 8 WWII United States
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Harris Mitchell 6 WWII United States
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John Mitchell 6 WWII United States
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Harold Dahl 5 WWII United States
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Charles King 5 WWII United States
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Tom Lanphier 5 WWII United States
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Oscar Perdomo 5 WWII United States
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Robert Johnson
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James "Johnnie" Johnson 38 WWII Great Britain
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Marmaduke Pattle 34 WWII Great Britain
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Robert Stanford Tuck 30 WWII Great Britain
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Robert Braham 29 WWII Great Britain
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Alan Deere 22.5 WWII Great Britain
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Douglas Bader 22 WWII Great Britain
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John Godfrey 16.3(18) WWII Great Britain
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Reade Tilley 7 WWII Great Britain
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Clyde Caldwell 28.5 WWII Australia
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"Bluie" Truscott
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Stanislaus Skalski 19 WWII Poland
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Adolf Gysbert Malan 18 WWII South Africa
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Le Nigen 12 WWII France(Vi)
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Abel Guides 10 WWII France(Fr)
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===========================================================================
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Joseph Campbell 16 Korea United States
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James Jabara 15(16.5) Korea United States
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Fredrick Blesse 10 Korea United States
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Robin Olds 4(16) Korea United States
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===========================================================================
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Charles DeBellvue 6* Vietnam United States
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Randy Cunningham 5 Vietnam United States
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William Driscoll 5* Vietnam United States
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Richard Ritchie 5 Vietnam United States
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Jeffery Feinstein 5* Vietnam United States
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Robin Olds 4(20) Vietnam United States
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Toon (Tomb?) 17 Vietnam Vietnam
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American Aces
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WWI
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Paul F. Baer 9
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Hilbert L. Blair 5
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Frank L. Baylies 12
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James D. Beane 6
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Louis B. Bennett 12
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Charles L. Biddle 7
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Clayton L. Bissell 5
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Arthur R. Brooks 6
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Harold R. Buckley 5
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Howard R. Burdick 7
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Lawrence K. Calahan 5
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Douglas Campbell 6
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Thomas G. Cassady 9
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Reed M. Chambers 7
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Henry R. Clay 8
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James A. Connelly 8
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Everett R. Cook 5
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H. Weir Cook 7
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Hamilton Coolidge 8
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Jesse O. Creech 8
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Edward P. Curtis 6
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Charles R. D'Olive 5
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John Owen Donaldson 8
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William P. Erwin 8
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Geroge W. Furlow 5
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Harold H. George 5
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Frederick W. Gillette 20
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Charles G. Gray 5
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John S. Griffith 9
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Murray K. Guthrie 6
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Edward M. Haight 5
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Frank L. Hale 18
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James Norman Hall 6
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Lloyd A. Hamilton 9
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Harold Evans Hartney 6
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Frank K. Hayes 6
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James A. Healy 5
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Lansing C. Holden 7
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Donald Hudson 6
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John W. F. M. Huffer 7
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Frank O. D. Hunter 8
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Paul T. Iaccaci 18
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Thayer A. Iaccaci 11
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David Sinton Ingalls 5
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Clinton Jones 8
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James A. Keating 6
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Field E. Kindley 12
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Howard C. Knotts 6
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James Knowles 5
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Harold A. Kullberg 16
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Dean I. Lamb 5
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William C. Lambert 22
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Reed G. Landis 10
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G. DeFreest Larner 8
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Fredrick Libbey 14
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Robert O. Lindsey 6
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Raoul G. Lufbery 17
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Fredrick E. Luff 5
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Frank Luke 18
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Francis P. Magoun 5
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John J. Malone 20
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Alexandre Matthews 5
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John K. McArthur 6
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David M. McClure 6
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James A. Meissner 8
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Ewart S. Miller 5
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Zenes R. Miller 5
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Ralph A. O'Neill 5
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J. Sidney Owens 5
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W. J. Pace 5
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Edwin C. Parsons 8
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David M. Peterson 5
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William T. Ponder 6
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Kenneth L. Porter 6
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Norman Prince 5
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David E. Putnam 12
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Orville A. Ralston 5
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Edward V. Rickenbacker 26
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E. M. Roberts 7
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Frank A. Robertson 6
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Wendel A. Robertson 7
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Bogart Rogers 5
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Oren J. Rose 16
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S. C. Rosevear 23
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Leslie J. Rummel 7
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Karl J. Schoen 7
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John J. Seerley 5
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Sumner Sewall 7
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Elliot White Springs 12
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Martinus Stenseth 6
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Victor H. Strahm 5
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Jacques M. Swaab 10
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William Thaw 5
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William D. Tipton 5
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Edgar G. Tobin 6
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Robert M. Todd 5
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Jerry C. Vasconcells 6
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George A. Vaughn 13
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Charles H. Veil 5
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Remington D. B. Vernam 6
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C. T. Warman 15
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Joseph F. Wehner 5
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F. Westing 5
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Wilbur W. White 8
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Alan M. Wilkinson 19
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Rodney D. Williams 5
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Chester E. Wright 9
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--
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Al Bowers bowers@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov
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NASA F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle, Lead Aero
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NASA, Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California
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