Ace, when used in the context of military propaganda, denotes a successful military professional who has accumulated a meaningfully measurable statistic such as aircraft shot down, tonnage sunk, or a number of successful sniper shots. In a manner analogous to sport statistics, some military roles can be measured in terms of a quantifiable metric. Once said metric is established, military personnel (whether within the same force, in different forces, or in different eras) may be quantified versus the designated metric and compared in a tabular fashion. Such metrics may be used as a basis for military merit awards, such as Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by setting an arbitrary threshold. Likewise, a designation of "ace" ("double ace", "triple ace", etc.) may be applied, such as 5 aircraft shoot downs. The ace achieved success with "skill and luck, and if victorious won the accolades of the patriotic public". The usage of the term in popular culture evolved to include "tank aces" (" Panzer aces") and "submarine aces".

Flying aces

The term is most commonly applied to military aviators, especially fighter pilots, who are often described as "

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

s". The term "ace" in relation to individual military success originated with French military propaganda of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The ''as de l'aviation'' (the flying ace) was used for fighter pilots who had shot down a certain number of enemy aircraft, usually five or more. It has been picked up particularly by the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

and its propaganda. The emergence of the solo "flying ace" can be traced to the introduction of the single-seater fighter airplane in 1915. The image created by the state propaganda was that of "chevalier of the skies", the successor of the medieval knight at a

joust Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

. According to Nicole-Melanie Goll, the popular perception of one-on-one duels was divorced from reality, however, as planes rarely broke formation. The ace was supposed to be in control of his destiny, and could only be defeated by an equally skillful opponent. Hence, being shot down by ground anti-aircraft fire was considered to be a dishonour. According to historian Peter Fritzsche:

The ace in combat is an immediately recognizable image. In control of his fate, handling his airplane with great courage and skill but also with an envied recklessness, the aviator appeared to be a genuine war hero, comparable to cavalrymen in Napoleon's era or chivalrous knights in the Middle Ages. ..To this day, myths opposing the individual, distinctive combat of the aces to the industrial mass war on the ground remain deeply embedded in Western folklore.

Other "aces"

The term "tank ace" is occasionally applied to tank crew. For instance, Sydney Radley-Walters' obituary published in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' in 2015 described him as the "best Canadian front-line tank ace" of World War II. Robert Kershaw in his book "Tank Men" refers to a "Tank Ace" being the minority of

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

commanders that accounted for the most destroyed enemy armour, saying it is roughly analogous with

. Soviet tankers with over five kills, such as Dmitry Lavrinenko and Zinovy Kolobanov, have also been referred to as "tank aces". Many German U-boat commanders of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, especially Gunther Prien, Otto Kretschmer and

Wolfgang Lüth Wolfgang Lüth (15 October 1913 – 14 May 1945) was a German U-boat captain of World War II who was credited with the sinking of 46 merchant ships plus the sunk during 15 war patrols, for a total tonnage of . Lüth joined the ''Reichsmarine' ...

, have been popularised in German war-time propaganda and popular literature. According to historian Michael L. Hadley,

Literature of World War II heightened the features that earlier cults of the hero f_the_German_U-boat_arm.html" ;"title="U-boat_arm.html" ;"title="f the German U-boat arm">f the German U-boat arm">U-boat_arm.html" ;"title="f the German U-boat arm">f the German U-boat armhad promoted. This was the era of the "grey wolves" and "steel sharks", when wolf packs, officially designated by such predatory names "robber baron" and "bludgeon", attacked the Allies' convoys. Widespread popularization of the U-boat aces, of their images and deeds propagated the cult of the personality which even today finds resonance in the popular market.

Due to the individual nature of sniping and the possibility to record the number of successful shots due to the relatively small number of shots taken and due to the target being under observation through the shot, compiling statistics regarding sniper success is possible (List of snipers). Recognition of snipers by production was particularly done in the Eastern Front (World War II) and was used for war-time propaganda and remained relevant in popular culture after the war, and has continued to remain culturally relevant also in post-2000 conflicts.Coughlin, Sgt Jack, Casey Kuhlman, and Donald A. Davis. Shooter: The autobiography of the top-ranked marine sniper. Macmillan, 2007.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Cite book , last= Robertson , first=Linda R. , year=2003 , title=The Dream of Civilized Warfare: World War I Flying Aces and the American Imagination , location=Minneapolis , publisher=University of Minneapolis Press , isbn=9780816642700 Historiography of World War I Historiography of World War II

Flying aces

Other "aces"

See also

References

Bibliography