This list of German World War II jet aces has a sortable table of notable German jet

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

pilots during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Background

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat (The Germans traditionally set the threshold at 10 victories.). During World War II, hundreds of German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

fighter pilots achieved this feat flying contemporary

piston engine A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more Reciprocating motion, reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a Circular motion, rotating motion. This article ...

fighter aircraft. However, only 28 pilots are credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft while flying a jet-powered aircraft. Jet aircraft first engaged in air combat on 26 July 1944, when ''

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

'' Alfred Schreiber, flying Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a ''W.Nr. 130 017'' (

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

: ''Werknummer'' – factory serial number), attacked an unarmed

photo-reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imag ...

De Havilland Mosquito PR Mk XVI, of

No. 540 Squadron RAF No. 540 Squadron RAF was a photoreconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1942 to 1956. History Formation and World War II The squadron was formed on 19 October 1942 from 'H' and 'L' flights of No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit ...

, over the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. Some sources refer to this as the first victory in air combat by a pilot of a jet fighter, although the crew of the damaged Mosquito managed to return to an Allied airfield in Italy. The first confirmed destruction of an enemy aircraft by an Me 262 pilot occurred on 8 August 1944, when ''Leutnant'' Joachim Weber shot down a Mosquito PR XVI from No. 540 Squadron, over

Ohlstadt Ohlstadt is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. Transport The district has a railway station, , on the Munich–Garmisch-Partenkirchen railway. Notable people * Wolfgang Zimmerer (born 1940, in Ohlsta ...

, in Bavaria. On 15 August 1944, Schreiber took off to intercept a Mosquito PR XVI (''NS520'') of 60 Squadron,

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

crewed by Captain S. Pienaar and Lieutenant A. Lockhart-Ross, who were tasked with photographing airfields in the Black Forest area. Schreiber caused severe damage in his first attack and made more than 10 passes at the Mosquito before low fuel levels cause him to break off. Pienaar and Lockhart-Ross survived a crash landing at

San Severo San Severo (; formerly spelled Sansevero and previously known as San Severino; ; ) is a (municipality) of inhabitants in the province of Foggia, Apulia, Southern Italy. Rising on the foot of the spur of Gargano, San Severo adjoins the communes ...

in Italy; their reconnaissance film and debriefing provided the Allies with valuable intelligence on the Me 262. During 1944–45, the ''

'' committed two other jet- or rocket-powered fighters to combat operations. In addition to the Me 262, the

Messerschmitt Me 163 The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as ...

''Komet'' and the

Heinkel He 162 Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, wit ...

''Volksjäger'' both become operational. Few claims were made by pilots of the Me 163 and He 162, and none achieved ace status on either of these types.

German jet aces

The list is initially sorted by the number of jet victories claimed.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{featured list Germany jet aces

Fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

World War II jet * Jet aces