Subcategories
Special decorations (anniversaries, commemorations, special events, etc.)
The RAF in Combat collection, created in collaboration with Phil H. Listemann of RAF in Combat, is dedicated to notable pilots of their era (aces, leaders, tacticians, etc.).
Luftwaffe ace Rudi Linz (14 February 1917 – 9 February 1945) was credited with 70 enemy aircraft shot down. He was shot down and killed during the "Black Friday" aerial battle over Norway on 9 February 1945 and was posthulously awarded the The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Luftwaffe ace Rudi Linz (14 February...
F/L Arthur Clowes was credited with 11 aerial victories in 1939 and 1940, and was awarded the DFC and DFM for his actions. F/L Arthur Clowes was credited with...
American ace David Lee “Tex” Hill returns to the American Volunteer Group headquarters in Kunming, China with his Curtiss H81-A2 “Tomahawk”. American ace David Lee “Tex” Hill...
At the controls of his Yakolev Yak-3 bearing the colours of the Normandie-Niémen fighter group, Roland de la Poype obtains his fifteenth aerial victory by downing a Focke-Wulf W 190 on 23 October 1944. It was the group's 182nd aerial victory on the Eastern Front. At the controls of his Yakolev Yak-3...
Hans Böhning began the war as an aerial observer for the artillery but later became a fighter pilot and had scored 17 aerial victories by the end of the Great War. He was killed in a gliding accident in 1934. Hans Böhning began the war as an...
Paul Strähle (1893-1985) was credited with 15 aerial victories during the Great War and ran a civilian aerial photography venture after the war. Paul Strähle (1893-1985) was credited...
Kurt Adolf Monnington (1891-1939) was credited with 8 aerial victories during World War I. Kurt Adolf Monnington (1891-1939) was...
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (1892-1918), often known as the Red Baron, was the top ace of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories. Wanting to be recognized by friends and foes alike on the aerial battlefield, he painted his aircraft overall red. Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von...
Eduard Ritter von Schleich (1888-1947) was a high-scoring Bavarian flying ace of World War I credited with 35 aerial victories at the end of the war. During World War II, he served in the Luftwaffe as a general. Eduard Ritter von Schleich...
Ernst Udet (1896-1941) obtained 62 aerial victories, making the second highest-scoring German ace of World War I. An exceptionnally gifted flyer, he became a stunt pilot before joining the Nazi Luftwaffe in the 1930s. Ernst Udet (1896-1941) obtained 62...
Ernst Udet (1896-1941) obtained 62 aerial victories, making the second highest-scoring German ace of World War I. An exceptionnally gifted flyer, he became a stunt pilot before joining the Nazi Luftwaffe in the 1930s. Ernst Udet (1896-1941) obtained 62...
Ernst Udet (1896-1941) obtained 62 aerial victories, making the second highest-scoring German ace of World War I. An exceptionnally gifted flyer, he became a stunt pilot before joining the Nazi Luftwaffe in the 1930s. Ernst Udet (1896-1941) obtained 62...
Planned and led by Lt. Col. "Jimmy" Doolittle, the Doolittle Raid was an air raid by the United States on mainland Japan on 18 April 1942, the first air raid to strike the Japanese Home Islands. The raid was executed by sixteen B-25 Mitchell medium bombers that were launched from the USS Hornet aircraft carrier. Planned and led by Lt. Col. "Jimmy"...
Operation Chastise took place during the night of 16-17 May 1943 and was meant to destroy dams in the industrial Rühr region. Bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis were dropped by specially-modified Lancasters led by Guy Gibson, and succeeded in breaching two of the three dams. Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in the raid. Operation Chastise took place during...
Operation Chastise took place during the night of 16-17 May 1943 and was meant to destroy dams in the industrial Rühr region. Bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis were dropped by specially-modified Lancasters led by Guy Gibson, and succeeded in breaching two of the three dams. Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in the raid. Operation Chastise took place during...
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC DSO* DFC* (1918-1944), was the first CO of the RAF's 617 Squadron, which he led in the Dam Busters raid (Operation Chastise) in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, but lost his life later in the war. He had completed over 170 operations at the age of... Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC...
George F. "Buzz" Beurling DSO, DFC, DFM* (1921-1948) became Canada’s highest-scoring ace of World War II, claiming 30 and one shared destroyed enemy aircraft, one probably destroyed enemy aircraft, and nine damaged, between 1 May 1942 and 30 December 1943. George F. "Buzz" Beurling DSO, DFC,...
Lionel "Elmer" Gaunce DFC was credited with 6 confirmed aerial victories, 3 probables and 6 damaged before he was killed in action in November 1941. Lionel "Elmer" Gaunce DFC was...
Anthony Desmond Joseph Lovell DSO* DFC* was credited with 16 confirmed aerial victories and six shared. He was killed in a flying accident in August 1945. Anthony Desmond Joseph Lovell DSO*...
Edgar Norman Ryder DFC (1914-1995) was credited with 8 aerial victories and became a Prisoner of War in late 1941. Edgar Norman Ryder DFC (1914-1995)...
Arthur Richard "Big" Elcock was credited with 8 aerial victories. Sadly, he only survived the war by a matter of days, as he was killed in a flying accident on 14 May 1945. Arthur Richard "Big" Elcock was...
Major General Carroll W. McColpin (1914–2003) first flew with the RAF's Egale Squadron before transferring to the USAAF. He was credited with 12 kills, 5 probable, and 12 damaged while in RAF service and another 8 confirmed kills while in the USAAF. Major General Carroll W. McColpin...