The Mammoth Book of Fighter Pilots
Page 47
APPENDIX II:
DICTA BOELCKE
Oswald Boelcke (1891–1916) of the German Air Service was one of the first fighter pilots to develop the theory and tactics of aerial combat. His set rules of air fighting, the Dicta Boelcke, became the basis of the training principles for German fighter pilots in the latter years of World War I and throughout World War II.
1. Always try to secure an advantageous position before attacking. Climb before and during the approach in order to surprise the enemy from above and dive on him swiftly from the rear when the moment to attack is at hand. 2: Try to place yourself between the sun and the enemy. This puts the glare of the sun in the enemy’s eyes and makes it difficult to see you and impossible for him to shoot with any accuracy. 3: Do not fire the machine guns until the enemy is within range and you have him squarely within your sights. 4: Attack when the enemy least expects it or when he is preoccupied with other duties such as observation, photography, or bombing. 5: Never turn your back and try to run away from an enemy fighter. If you are surprised by an attack on your tail, turn and face the enemy with your guns. 6: Keep your eye on the enemy and do not let him deceive you with tricks. If your opponent appears damaged, follow him down until he crashes to be sure he is not faking. 7: Foolish acts of bravery only bring death. The jasta must fight as a unit with close teamwork between all pilots. The signals of the formation leader must be obeyed.
APPENDIX III:
FIGHTER ACES OF THE WORLD
A fighter “ace” is generally taken to be the victor in 5 and more aerial combats. Since 1914 more than 5000 fighter pilots have achieved ace status. Among the greatest are:
World War I
Germany/Austria-Hungary
Manfred von Richthofen (Germany) 80
Ernst Udet (Germany) 62
Erich Loewenhardt (Germany) 53
Werner Voss (Germany) 48
Fritz Rumey (Germany) 45
A selection of others:
Oswald Boelcke (Germany) 40
Lothar von Richthofen (Germany) 40
Godwin Brumowski (Aus) 35
Herman Goering (Ger) 22
Allies-France/Belgium, Great Britain,
Italy, Russia, Canada, Australia, USA
René Fonck (Fra) 75
William A Bishop (Can) 72
Raymond Collishaw (Can) 62 [possibly 60]
Edward Mannock (GB) 61 [possibly 73]
James McCudden (GB) 57
Others:
Georges Guynemer (Fr) 54 [possibly 53]
A. Beauchamp-Proctor (SA) 54
Albert Ball (GB) 47 [possibly 44]
Francesco Baracca (Ita) 34
Willy Coppens (Bel) 37
Edward Rickenbacker (US) 26
SC Rosevear (US) 23
Alexander Kazakov (Russia) 17
Spanish Civil War
Joaquin Morato Y Castano (Spa) 40
Others:
Frank Tinker (US) 7 [possibly 8]
Stephan Suprun (USSR) 15
Werner Moelders (Ger) 15 [plus 101 WWII]
World War II
Axis Powers–Germany, Austria,
Hungary, Rumania, Italy, Japan
Erich Hartman (Ger) 352
Gerhard Barkhorn (Ger) 301
Gunther Rall (Ger) 275
Otto Kittel (Ger) 267
Walter Nowotny (Ger) 258
Others:
Johannes Steinhoff (Ger) 176
Hans-Joachim Marseille (Ger) 158
Hiroyshi Nishizawa (Jap) c110
Adolf Galland (Ger) 104
Tetsuzo Iwamoto (Jap) 80
Constantine Cantacuzine (Rum) 60
Adriano Visconti (Ita) 26
Allies–France, Great Britain & Empire, USA, USSR
Ivan Kozuhedub (USSR) 62
Aleksandr I. Pokryshkin (USSR) 59
Richard Bong (US) 40
Mato Dubovak (Yugoslavia) 40
Thomas McGuire (US) 38
Others:
James E. Johnson (GB) 38 [possibly 36]
Pierre Clostermann (Fr) 36
Adolf “Sailor” Malan (South Africa) 35
Brendan E. Finucane (GB) 32
Clive Caldwell (Aus) 28
Douglas Bader (GB) 23
Korea
United Nations
Joseph McConnell (US) 16
James Jabara (US) 16
Manuel J. Fernandez (US) 14
George Davies (US) 14
Royal N. Baker (US) 13.5
North Korea & Allies
Nicolai V. Sutyagin (USSR) 22
Yevgeny G. Pepelyaev (USSR) 19
Alexandr Smortzkow (USSR) 15
LK Schukin (USSR) 15 [possibly 14]
Others:
Chszao Bao-tun (China) 9
Kam Den Dek (North Korea) 8
Vietnam
United Nations
Randy Cunningham (US) 5
Robin Olds (US) 5 [plus 12 WWII]
North Vietnam & Allies
Nguyen Toon (North Vietnam) 13
Nguyen Van Coc (North Vietnam) 9
For further information see, inter alia:
Above the Trenches, CF Shores et al, 1990; Horrido! T J Constable & R F Toliver, 1968.
Fighter Pilot “Ace” List website:
(www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevon/aces.html), Al Bowers & David Lednicer, 1999.
Endnotes
1 Bleriot Experimental 2c, nicknamed “The Quirk”. A two-seater aircraft, equipped with two machine guns, it was used primarily as a reconnaissance aircraft on the Western Front.
2 Aircraft numbers, flying times and other details are taken from the Pilot’s Log Book in the Author’s [D.G-M] possession.
3 Oswald Boelcke, born in 1891, one of the first pilots in the German Air Service to develop the tactics of aerial combat, and an early recipient of the coveted Ordre Pour le Mérite (“The Blue Max”). After 40 aerial victories he died on 28 October 1916. See Appendix II.
4 Max Immelmann, fighter ace, born 1890, died 18 June 1916. Recipient of Ordre Pour le Mérite. Mostly remembered for the “Immelmann turn”, a half loop, followed by a half roll.
5 Werner Voss, born 1897, fifth highest scoring German ace of WWI, with 48 victories. Killed in action on 23 September 1917. See here.
6 Captain Albert Ball, born 1896, British fighter ace, killed in action on 7 May 1917 See here
7 Captain Albert Ball, born 1896, gained RFC “wings” on 22 January 1916
8 Later Chief of the Air Staff and Marshal of the RAF. Created a Baron in 1930.
9 The full inscription on Guynemer’s Spad read “Vieux Charles” – “Old Charlie.”
10 i.e. Jagdgeschwader 1
11 German parliament
12 That any break in a run of victories ended one’s luck.
13 An old girlfriend of Udet; he painted her name on his successive Fokker triplanes.
14 The King of Bavaria’s palace.
15 See here
16 See here
17 The Fokker DVII, max speed 124 mph, armed with 2 Spandau 7.92mm machine guns.
18 Edward “Mick” Mannock, born 1887, killed in action on 26 July, not 20 July as in the diary. The highest scoring English fighter ace of WWI, with 61 aerial victories (and perhaps as high as 73, since he frequently shared “kills” or failed to claim them).
19 A memoir based on Hall’s Atlantic Monthly articles.
20 Willy Coppens de Houthulst, born 1892, died 1986. Flew a bright blue Hanriot HDI biplane for most of his 37 victories. Invalided 14 October 1918 after being hit by an incendiary bullet in the leg.
21 Messerschmitt 110, two seater fighter, later withdrawn from daylight service because of its lack of manoeuvrability.
22 In retrospect I think that either this pilot was suffering from “dog-fight confusion” or he was mis-interpreted by the French. [P.R.]
23 Group Captain Cunningham, D.S.O., O.B.E., D.F.C.
24 Squadron Leader C.F. Rawnsley, D.S.O., D.F.C., D.F.M.
25 This
was 2 July 1967: two companies from 1st battallion, 9th Marines, were ambushed by an NVA unit at Con Thien, just below the Demilitarised Zone
26 CAP: Combat Air Patrol