William P. Driscoll
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William Patrick "Willy Irish" Driscoll is a retired commander in the United States Navy and a highly decorated flying ace.
Driscoll in 2005
Driscoll (right) and Duke Cunningham in a ceremony honoring them in June 1972
Flying ace
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A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to
William P. Driscoll
…William Patrick "Willy Irish" Driscoll (born March 5, 1947) is a retired commander in the United States Navy and a highly decorated flying ace. Driscoll, a Naval Flight Officer, and air crewmate Duke Cunningham, a Naval Aviator, were their service's only aces of the Vietnam War. They remain…
The first ace in history and "first French ace", Frenchman Adolphe Pégoud being awarded the Croix de guerre. He would die in dogfight in 1915.
German Captain Manfred von Richthofen, known as the "Red Baron", scored the most officially accepted kills (80) in World War I and is arguably the most famous flying ace of all time.
French Colonel René Fonck, to this day the highest-scoring Allied flying ace with 75 victories
Erich Hartmann, with 352 official kills, by far the highest scoring fighter pilot of all time