Aces

American Ace George Preddy (born Febr 5, 1919) holds up six fingers for a record number of six enemy aircraft shot down on a single mission. 6 Aug 1944. Preddy ranking him as the top P-51 Mustang ace of WW2 and eighth on the list of all-time highest scoring American aces.
George Preddy was killed on the morning of 25 Dec, 1944, by friendly fire.
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Thanks for posting that Luis.
I looked in to it further and found many pictures and even oil paintings of his deeds.
It's good to remember them.

Just to add....

"Sadly Major Preddy met the reaper on Christmas Day 1944 when he was killed by American Ack-ack gunners as he chased an Fw-190 low over the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge. A few minutes earlier he has notched up a pair of Messerschmits for his final kills of the war. At that time Preddy was the leading American flying operations in the ETO and was credited with a total of 27 1/2 confirmed aerial victories and five ground kills. He is ranked as the third highest scoring ace in the ETO, the seventh highest scoring American ace, and is the top P-51 Mustang ace."

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www.starduststudios.com

Top Mustang Ace Major George E. Preddy Jr. of the 352nd Fighter Group, 8th Air Force

Top Mustang Ace Major George E. Preddy Jr.
www.starduststudios.com
 
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John Charles Meyer (1919/1975) was an US flying ace during the WW2. Meyer fought on the European front and scored 24 aerial victories and another 2 flying Sabres during the Korean war. He retired from military service in 1974 aged 55 but died of a heart attack aged 56 years old, he is buried at Arlington Cemetery.
 
Flying Officer Albert Gerald Lewis (1918/1982), a top ace of the RAF. The South African shot down at least 28 Luftwaffe fighters—including, on one memorable day, six in a six-hour span.
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Gordon Max Gollob (1912/1987) was an Austrian-born German Ace and the first fighter pilot in aviation history to achieve 150 aerial victories. He rose to the rank of General der Jagdflieger and was one of only 27 to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.
A myocardial infarction impeded his health in 1975, he regularly flew powered and glider aircraft. Gollob died in Sulingen, Diepholz, Lower Saxony on 7 Sep 1987.
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Gerhard Michalski (R) is credited with 73 aerial victories. On the pic discussing aerial tactics. Surviving the war but later was involved in a motor vehicle accident on 22 Feb 1946 and died in a hospital in Kaltenkirchen.
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According to the Polish source polishnews.com, fueled with hatred for what the Germans had done to his country, Stanislaw Skalski he ended the war with 22 confirmed victories. Let's settle for that.
 
Slovak fighter ace Ján Režňák (1919/2007), 32 victories + 5 unofficial, is showing his attack tactic to another Slovak fighter ace Izidor Kovárik (1917/1944), 28 victories. April 1944.
Kovárik die three months later at air accident.
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Iranian Air Force and later Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force pilot Jalil Zandi. Generally credited with 11 air-to-air kills in the F-14 during the Iran-Iraq War, making him the only Tomcat ace in the world. Died April 2001 in a car accident.


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The Mustang's pilot Pierce Winningham "Mac" McKennon, American flying ace with 12 aerial victories and 9.83 ground kills.
On June 18. 1947, as a flight instructor, McKennon and a student pilot were killed in a training accident in Texas. Only age 27.
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I did a quick look about but can't find anything on how you can have 9.83 ground kills.

I did find an interesting site about the Victory markings on aircgraft.

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A P-38J with an array of fighter escort, top cover, sweep, and bombing run markings.

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www.aircorpsart.com

Aircraft Victory Mission Markings of WWII

What is a Victory marking? A Victory (or often called “Kill”) marking was a tally or trophy symbol painted to symbolize the defeat of the enemy during a military mission.
www.aircorpsart.com www.aircorpsart.com
 
Meeting of German aces with Nicolaus von Below, the Fuhrer's trusted man: Hartmann Grasser (1914/1986), with 103 victories; Walter Nowotny (1920/1944 KIA), with 258; Gunter Rall (1918/2009), with 275, Heinrich Prinz Zu Sayn -Wittgenstein (1916/1944 KIA), with 83 victories, and Nicolas von Below (1907/1983).
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German Ace night fighter pilot Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer. Holder of the 21st Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. A scourge during the air battles over occupied Europe, during 164 night missions, he downed a confirmed total of 121 bombers aboard his Bf-110, mostly British. He became a prize target for British gunners and aircraft known to them as "The Night Ghost".

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Center: Schnaufer

He was captured by advancing British forces in Schleswig-Holstein in May 1945. His plane was displayed in London's Hyde Park after the war. The tail with 121 victory markings can still be seen today in the Imperial War Museum.

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He was released by the British in 1945 and returned to Germany where he operated a wine store. Five years after, the death which eluded him miraculously during years of uninterrupted combat claimed him at last. While on business in Southern France, a car accident near Bordeaux took his life. Only at age 28.
 
German Lt. Hugo Broch (born Jan 6, 1922) achieved a total of 81 aerial victories over the course of 324 sorties during the war.
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On 2017, at age 95, he fulfilled a long held ambition to fly in a British Spitfire two seat.
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And still lives!
 
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