List of World War II flying aces

This is a list of the top World War II aces. Fighter acesinWorld War II had tremendously varying kill scores, as they were affected by many factors: the pilot's skill level, the performance of the airplanes a pilot flew and of the airplanes he flew against, and how long they had to serve. Russian pilots had a hard time surviving long enough to become aces, as they often received little training, fought against more experienced Nazi pilots, and had planes that favored a skilled pilot rather than a beginner. Germany has the highest scoring aces due to often superior aircraft, many pilots having a lot of experience from earlier fighting, and the fact that German pilots had to serve until they were shot down. American pilots could go home after a tour of duty, and often did not have as much training as other nation's pilots. Towards the end of the war, the Axis Powers had largely exhausted their supply of skilled pilots and the replacements did not have as much chance of getting enough skill to be successful. It is not clear what impact each individual nation's rules for score crediting have on the counts listed below, although the impact is likely to be significant. This list is not comprehensive and includes a partial listing of the highest scoring aces overall and from each country, with many of the lower scoring aces excluded. Rank/position is listed when availble. See List of World War II aces by country for a full listing.