Knights of the Sky

As early as 1914 adventurous British, French and German pilots took to the skies in civilian craft to scout out enemy positions. When they encountered enemy planes the crews fought airborne duels with bricks, pistols and even steel darts. Soon machine guns were fitted, resulting in the birth of the first specialised fighter planes. WWI aces like the Red Baron gained legendary status as the war in the air was seen as chivalrous compared to the bloodshed and horror on the ground. However, few pilots lasted more than a few weeks: besides being shot down by the enemy their own aircraft were flimsy wood and canvas deathtraps that lacked parachutes, radar or radio

First Lieutenant Frank Luke Junior,  MOH, DSC(2), US Army; Signal Corps, Aviation Section, 27th Aero Squadron.

Edited by Centrix Vigilis - 14-Mar-2012 at 06:00

Ditto on that site!

Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 27, 1973)

Edited by Centrix Vigilis - 17-Mar-2012 at 12:34

Before he went into politics Herman Goring was a flying ace who received the Blue Max for shooting down 22 aircraft. Hard to believe this young war hero would eventually become the grotesque, bloated monster serving as Hitler's second in command (when he wasn't busy looting artwork)

Oswald Boelcke 19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916. A German flying ace of the First World War and one of the most influential patrol leaders and tacticians of the early years of air combat. Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to formalize rules of air fighting, which he presented as the Dicta Boelcke. While he promulgated rules for the individual pilot, his main concern was the use of formation fighting rather than single effort. Germany's premier ace, Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron), had been taught by Boelcke and continued to idolize his late mentor long after he had surpassed Boelcke's tally of victories.

Edited by PanzerOberst - 24-Mar-2012 at 02:06

Ernst Udet was the second-highest scoring German ace, and one of the few to survive WWI. During WWII he was a general in the Luftwaffe, but opposed Operation Barbarossa and commited suicide in 1941

Edward Von Schleich, the "Black Knight of Germany" scored 36 kills and painted his plane black to avenge the killing of his friend Erich Limpert

Robert A. Little. 1895-1918. KIA. Captain, No. 8 Squadron RNAS, No. 203 Squadron RAF.  DSO w bar, DSC w bar, MID, Croix de Guerre.

The plane of German ace Kurt Seit. He scored five kills during WWI and was awarded the Iron Cross