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

jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

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

pilots during

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 opposin ...

Background

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 ...

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 branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

fighter pilots achieved this feat flying contemporary

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

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''

Alfred Schreiber Alfred Schreiber (11 November 1923 – 26 November 1944) was a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He is noted for claiming the first aerial victory by a Jet aircraft, jet fighter in aviation history. Biography Schreiber was born ...

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

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

: ''Werknummer'' – factory serial number), attacked an unarmed photo-reconnaissance 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 PRU at RAF Leuchars as a photor ...

, over the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. 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 An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

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 another 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 Ohlst ...

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

''Komet'' and the Heinkel He 162 ''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 (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

* Jet aces