John D. Landers became an ace during his first tour of operations in the Pacific, flying the P-40 with the 49th FG. He later served several tours in Europe, where he also became an ace and ended the war with 14.5 aerial victories to his credit, as well as 20 aircraft destroyed on the ground. John D. Landers became an ace during...
"Bud" Anderson flew two tours of combat with the 357th FG and became the group's third highest-scoring ace with a total of 16.25 aerial victories. He remained with the Air Force and retired in 1972 with the rank of Colonel. "Bud" Anderson flew two tours of...
"Bud" Anderson flew two tours of combat with the 357th FG and became the group's third highest-scoring ace with a total of 16.25 aerial victories. He remained with the Air Force and retired in 1972 with the rank of Colonel. "Bud" Anderson flew two tours of...
Charles "Chick" Yeager was credited with 11.5 aerial victories during World War II, and served in the Air Force postwar as a test pilot, retiring with the rank of Brigadier General. In 1947, he became the first man to exceed the speed of sound in the Bell X-1. Charles "Chick" Yeager was credited...
Urban "Ben" Drew was credited with 6 aerial victories, including two German Me 262 jets shot down on 7 October 1944. He was the first American pilot to down two jets in aerial combat and received the Air Force Cross for this action. Urban "Ben" Drew was credited with 6...
Pierce Winningham "Mac" McKennon was credited with 12 aerial victories and 9.83 ground victories. He survived the war but was killed in a flying accident in 1947. Pierce Winningham "Mac" McKennon was...
John C. Meyer was the fourth highest-scoring American ace in Europe with 24 aerial victories and 13 aircraft destroyed on the ground. By the time an accident put an end to his combat flying, he had flown 200 combat missions. He remained with the Air Force after the war and later became the Commander in Chief of the Strategic Air Command. John C. Meyer was the fourth...
With 26.83 victories, Major George Preddy was the sixth highest-ranking American ace of all times, and the leading Mustang ace. He was shot down and killed by friendly ground fire on Christmas day 1944 while he was pursuing enemy fighters at very low level. With 26.83 victories, Major George...
"Hub" Zemke commanded the 56th FG, which became known as "Zemke's Wolfpack", and was one of the greates advocates of the Republic heavy fighter. He was shot down and captured in October 1944, having flown 154 combat missions and obtained 17.75 confirmed aerial victories. "Hub" Zemke commanded the 56th FG,...
Mahurin was the first American pilot to become a double ace in the European Theater and was also the only pilot to shoot down enemy planes in the ETO, PTO and Korean War. During World War II he was credited with 20.75 aerial victories, making him the sixth-highest American P-47 ace. He was also credited with shooting down 3.5 MiG-15s in Korea, bringing... Mahurin was the first American pilot...