Every war is a terrible grief for any people that it affects one way or another. Throughout its history, mankind has known many wars, two of which were world wars. World War I almost completely destroyed Europe and led to the fall of some large empires, such as the Russian and Austro-Hungarian. But even worse in its scope was the Second World War, in which many countries from almost all over the world were involved. Millions of people died, even more left without a roof over their heads. This terrible event still affects one way or another modern man. His echoes can be found everywhere in our lives. This tragedy left a lot of puzzles, disputes over which have not subsided for decades. The heaviest burden in this battle was not taken for life, but for death, which was not yet fully strengthened by the revolution and civil wars and only increased the Soviet Union's military and peaceful industry. An irreconcilable rage and a desire to fight the invaders who encroached on the territorial integrity and freedom of the proletarian state settled in the hearts of people. Many went to the front voluntarily. At the same time, there was a reorganization of the evacuated industrial facilities for the production of products for the needs of the front. The struggle has taken on a truly national scale. That is why it is called the Great Patriotic War.
Who are the aces?
Both the German and Soviet armies were well trained and equipped with equipment, aircraft and other weapons. The personnel was estimated in millions of people. The clash of these two military machines gave birth to their heroes and their traitors. One of those who can rightfully be considered heroes are the aces of World War II. Who are they and what are they so famous for? An ace can be considered a person who has achieved in his field of activity such heights that few have managed to conquer. And even in such a dangerous and terrible business as the military, there were always professionals. Both the USSR and the allied forces, and Nazi Germany had people who showed the best results in the number of destroyed equipment or manpower of the enemy. About these heroes and this article will tell.
The list of World War II aces is extensive and includes many personalities known for their exploits. They were an example for a whole nation, they were adored, they were admired.
Air aces of World War II
Aviation is without a doubt one of the most romantic, but at the same time dangerous military branches. Since any equipment can fail at any time, the pilot’s business is considered very honorable. It requires iron endurance, discipline, the ability to control yourself in any situation. Therefore, aviation aces were treated with great respect. After all, being able to show good results in such conditions when your life depends not only on technology, but also on yourself, is the highest degree of military art. So, who are they - the pilot aces of World War II, and why are their exploits so famous?
Soviet aces pilots
One of the most successful Soviet aces pilots was Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub. Officially, during his service on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, he shot down 62 German planes, and he is also credited with 2 American fighters, which he destroyed at the end of the war. This record pilot served in the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and flew on La-7.
The second highest performance during the war was Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin (who was three times awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union). He fought in southern Ukraine, in the Black Sea region, liberated Europe from the Nazis. During his service shot down 59 enemy aircraft. He did not stop flying even when he was appointed commander of the 9th Guards Aviation Division, and won some of his air victories while already in this position.
Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev - one of the most famous military pilots who set a record - 4 sorties on one destroyed aircraft. In total, he destroyed 57 enemy aircraft for his military service. Awarded twice the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Also, Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev had a good result . He shot down 55 German planes. Kozhedub, who had some time serving with Evstigneev in the same regiment, spoke very respectfully of this pilot.
Dmitry Borisovich Glinka is also a Soviet ace. He destroyed 50 enemy aircraft in 100 sorties. He was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union twice.
As you can see, the Soviet aces of World War II knew how to fight and did it courageously and selflessly.
Allies Ases
But the aces of the allied aviation had very good indicators. Among them, many brave pilots can be distinguished, but in terms of effectiveness they still do not reach the Soviet "falcons".
Major Richard Bong had a list of victories, which included 40 downed enemy vehicles. He is one of the most productive Allied pilots. After the war, Bong became a test pilot, but died when testing a new F-80 aircraft, failing to parachute from it after the engine failed.
British Johnson James during the war years shot down 34 enemy cars. He commanded one of the strike groups of aircraft during a landing in Normandy in 1944. He began to fight in March 1943, flying on Spitfire fighters.
American pilot Major Thomas McGwire shot down 38 enemy aircraft. He was awarded many American awards, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. He died in battle near the island of Los Negros at the age of 24 years. This happened on January 7, 1945.
The Frenchman Pierre Klosterman won 30 victories in the air, and also destroyed a large number of ground equipment - steam locomotives, cars and trucks. Already at 24, he was able to achieve the rank of aviation colonel, in which he ended the war.
German aces
Ases of the Luftwaffe of World War II are deservedly considered the most productive pilots in history. One of them even won the Guinness Book of Records. Who was this brave pilot?
The most famous German ace of the Second World War and at the same time a man who set an unbeaten record for the number of downed planes is Erich Hartmann. On his combat account, 352 enemy aircraft were shot down, and he won more than half of the victories over fighters (260). Hartman flew exclusively on the Messerschmitt Bf 109G and said that it was the best aircraft he had ever seen. At the end of the war he surrendered to the Americans, who gave it to the Soviet troops. The result was an almost 10-year imprisonment in the camps, but Erich managed to return to his wife and children and died in old age. The record set by him is truly amazing, because none of the Soviet or Allied aces could achieve such an impressive result.
Hans-Joachim Marcel - German pilot, who fought mainly in Africa. During his military service, and it was short, he shot down a total of 158 aircraft of Americans and British. Crashed in the desert, on approaching its airfield, after successfully completing a combat mission, and this happened due to a malfunction in the plane. Buried with great honors.
Gerhard Buckhorn is another German ace. In his combat account 301 aircraft. Buckhorn was seriously injured several times, because, in addition to a combat pilot, he was also a test pilot, in particular, he was engaged in flying around the world's first Me-262 fighter jet. After the war, he was engaged in testing aircraft for the restored German Air Force.
But were the German aces of World War II in aviation so professional that they could single-handedly destroy the number of aircraft comparable to the three air divisions? In many respects their successes are explained by rather weak flight training of Soviet pilots. The USSR at the beginning of the war lost about 1,200 aircraft, which affected the state of all aviation. Naturally, people who knew how to fly died along with the planes. In such conditions, accelerated flight courses were quickly organized, which were able to restore the number of pilots, but to the detriment of quality. For example, the average flight time of a Soviet pilot in a school was 13-34 hours, while the Germans had a similar average of about 400 hours. In addition, the German tactics of conducting air combat at the beginning of the war were a cut above Russian. Toward the end of hostilities, the situation changed in the opposite direction.
As we can see, the pilot aces of World War II showed really impressive results. But not only they were famous for their exploits. What other military branches gave the world famous masters of military craft?
Aces Tankers of World War II
The armored forces are no less important during the fighting. Tankers have always been very brave soldiers. Since the tank can be destroyed in many ways, it is easy to guess that danger was waiting for them everywhere. Nevertheless, the tankers always valiantly fought for the ideals of their country and no doubt gave their lives for them. And, of course, among them were also the illustrious aces of World War II.
Soviet tank aces
The most famous Soviet tank master is Dmitry Lavrinenko, who could boast a personal combat score of 52 enemy tanks. This soldier fought the enemy on the famous T-34, which was one of the symbols of that war.
Another well-known Soviet tanker of the Second World War - Zinovy Kolobanov. His feat was included in many textbooks and books, as he was able to destroy 22 German tanks in one battle (this is the second most recent result among the history of tank battles of World War II).
But, despite the fact that the tank troops were one of the most numerous in the Soviet army, the aces tankers of World War II were not found in the USSR for some reason. Why so is unknown. It is logical to assume that many personal scores are knowingly overstated or underestimated, so it is not possible to name the exact number of victories of the aforementioned tank battle masters.
German tank aces
But the German tank aces of World War II have a much larger track record. This is largely due to the pedantry of the Germans, who all strictly documented, and they had much more time to fight than their Soviet "colleagues." The German army began to conduct active actions in 1939.
German tankman No. 1 is the Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann. He fought on many tanks (Stug III, Tiger I) and destroyed 138 vehicles and 132 self-propelled artillery pieces of various enemy countries during the war. For his successes he was repeatedly awarded various orders and signs of the Third Reich. He died in battle in 1944 in France.
You can also highlight such a tank ace as Otto Carius. For those who are somehow interested in the history of the development of the tank forces of the Third Reich, the book of his memoirs “Tigers in the Mud” will be very useful. During the war years, this man destroyed 150 Soviet and American self-propelled guns and tanks.
Kurt Knispel is another record holder. He knocked out 168 tanks and self-propelled guns of the enemy for his military service. About 30 cars are unconfirmed, which does not allow him to equal in results with Wittmann. Knispel died in battle near the village of Vostits in Czechoslovakia, in 1945.
In addition, Carl Bromann had good results - 66 tanks and self-propelled guns, Ernst Barkmann - 66 tanks and self-propelled guns, Erich Mausberg - 53 tanks and self-propelled guns.
As can be seen from these results, both Soviet and German tank aces of World War II were able to fight. Of course, the quantity and quality of Soviet combat vehicles was an order of magnitude higher than that of the Germans, however, as practice has shown, both of them were used quite successfully and became the basis for some post-war tank models.
But even this does not end the list of military branches in which their masters distinguished themselves. Let's talk a little about ace submariners.
Masters of Submarine Warfare
As with aviation and tanks, the most successful are German sailors. Over the years of its existence, the Kriegsmarine submarines sank 2603 ships of the allied countries, the total displacement of which reaches 13.5 million tons. This is a truly impressive figure. Yes, and impressive personal accounts of the German aces-submariners of World War II, too, could boast.
The most productive German submariner is Otto Kretschmer, who has 44 ships, including 1 destroyer. The total displacement of the ships sunk by him is 266629 tons.
In second place is Wolfgang Lut, who sent to the bottom 43 enemy ships (and according to other sources - 47) with a total displacement of 225712 tons.
Gunther Prien, who managed to sink even the British battleship Royal Oak, was also a famous sea ace. This was one of the first officers to receive oak leaves for the Knight's Cross. Prien destroyed 30 ships. He died in 1941 during the attack of a British convoy. He was so popular that his death was hidden for two months from the people. And on the day of his funeral, mourning for the whole country was declared.
Such successes of German sailors are also quite explainable. The fact is that Germany began the naval war in 1940, with the blockade of Britain, thus hoping to undermine its naval greatness and, taking advantage of this, to successfully capture the islands. However, very soon the plans of the Nazis were frustrated, as America entered the war with its large and powerful fleet.
Did the Soviet Union have aces among submariners?
The most famous Soviet submarine sailor is Alexander Marinesko. He sank only 4 ships, but what! Wilhelm Gustloff heavy passenger liner, General von Stoiben transport, as well as 2 units of Helene and Siegfried heavy floating batteries. For his exploits, Hitler included the sailor in the list of personal enemies. But the fate of Marinesco did not work out well. He fell into disgrace of the Soviet regime and died, and they stopped talking about his exploits. The great sailor received the Hero of the Soviet Union award only posthumously in 1990. Unfortunately, many aces of the USSR of World War II ended their lives in a similar way.
Also famous submariners of the Soviet Union are Ivan Travkin - sank 13 ships, Nikolai Lunin - also 13 ships, Valentin Starikov - 14 ships. But Marinesco topped the list of the best submariners of the Soviet Union, as it caused the greatest damage to the German navy.
Accuracy and stealth
Well, how can one not recall such illustrious fighters as snipers? Here, the Soviet Union takes the well-deserved palm from Germany. Soviet World War II snipers aces had very high track records. In many respects, such results were achieved thanks to the mass state training of the civilian population in firing from various weapons. The Voroshilov Shooter badge was awarded to about 9 million people. So, what are the most famous snipers?
The name of Vasily Zaitsev scared the Germans and instilled courage in the Soviet soldiers. This ordinary guy, a hunter, killed 225 Wehrmacht soldiers from his Mosin rifle in just a month of fighting near Stalingrad. Among the outstanding sniper names - Fedor Okhlopkov, on whose account (for the whole war) about a thousand Nazis; Semyon Nomokonov, who killed 368 enemy soldiers. Among the snipers were women. An example of this is the famous Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who fought near Odessa and Sevastopol.
German snipers are less well-known, although in Germany since 1942 there were several sniper schools that trained personnel. Among the most successful German shooters are Matthias Hetzenauer (345 killed), Josef Allerberger (257 destroyed), Bruno Sutkus (209 shot soldiers). Also a famous sniper from the countries of the Nazi bloc is Simo Haikh - this Finn killed 504 Red Army soldiers during the war years (according to unconfirmed reports).
The main weapon of any well-aimed shooter was the Mosin rifle with an optical sight, but, depending on the situation, the SVT was also used. In addition to the main features of their weapons, the disciplines necessary for survival were also studied - secrecy, the ability to wait, to be completely still, and also orientation on the ground.
Thus, the sniper training of the Soviet Union was immeasurably higher than that of the German troops, which allowed the Soviet soldiers to carry the proud title - aces of World War II.
How did they become aces?
So, the concept of "ace of the Second World War" is quite extensive. As already mentioned, these people achieved truly impressive results in their business. This was achieved not only due to good army training, but also thanks to outstanding personal qualities. Indeed, for the pilot, for example, coordination and quick reaction are very important, for the sniper - the ability to wait for a convenient moment to sometimes inflict a single shot.
Accordingly, it is impossible to determine who had the best aces of World War II. Both sides committed unparalleled heroism, which made it possible to single out individuals from the total mass. But you could become a master only by hard training and improving your fighting skills, since the war does not tolerate weakness. Of course, the dry lines of statistics will not be able to convey to a modern person all the hardships and hardships experienced by war professionals during their formation on an honorary pedestal.
We, the generation that lives without knowing such terrible things, should not forget about the exploits of our predecessors. They can become an inspiration, a reminder, a memory. And we must try to do everything so that such terrible events as past wars are no longer repeated.