Word Celebrity Blog

AIR FORCE ACES IN THE PACIFIC


The Allies gave much more publicity to aces (pilots who destroyed five or more enemy aircraft) than the Japanese did. An ace was almost certain to be decorated for his accomplishment, and particularly outstanding performance could win an American pilot the Medal of Honor. On the other hand, the brass saw no need to promote an ace unless he also displayed superb leadership qualities. Many aces, such as Jimmy Thatch and Joe Foss, had such qualities and would achieve high rank. Others did not.


















Top Imperial Japanese Navy Aces

1 Nishizawa Hiroyoshi 87+ kills KIA 1944 as a passenger on a transport aircraft
2 Iwamoto Tetsuzo  80 kills Survived the war
3 Sugita Soichi  70 kills KIA 1945
4 Sakai Saburo 64 kills Survived the war
5 Okumura Takeo 54 kills KIA 1943
6 Ota Toshio 34 kills KIA 1942
7 Sugino Kazuo 32 kills Survived the war
8 Ishii Shizuo 29 kills KIA 1943
9 Muto Kaneyoshi 28 kills KIA 1945
10 Sasai Jun-ichi 27 kills KIA 1942





















Top Allied Aces of the Pacific War

1 Richard I. Bong Army 40 kills Killed 1945 in a flying accident
2 Thomas McGuire, Jr. Army 38 kills KIA 1945 by ace Sugita Soichi
3 David McCambell Navy 34 kills Survived the war
4 Gregory Boyington Marine 28 kills POW from 1943
5 Charles W. MacDonald Army 27 kills Survived the war
6 Joseph J. Foss Marine 26 kills Survived the war
7 Robert M. Hanson Marine 25 kills Survived the war
8 Cecil E. Harris Navy 24 kills Survived the war
9 Eugene A. Valencia Navy 23 kills Survived the war
10 Gerald R. Johnson Army 22 kills Survived the war
11 Neil E. Kearby Army 22 kills KIA 1944 over Wewak
12 Jay T. Robbins Army 22 kills Survived the war

As these tables show, the top Japanese aces claimed many more kills than their American counterparts. There are a couple of explanations for this. Many of the Japanese aces were credited with a large number of kills over China against inferior pilots and aircraft. American claims required confirmation from gun cameras or a second pilot, and postwar analyses of Japanese loss records tend to support their claims. Japanese claims were not nearly so well verified and may be badly exaggerated.