Fighter Aces of World War Two Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alfred Schreiber

The first victim of Leutnant Schreiber and his Messerschmitt ME 262 jet fighter was a Mosquito reconnaissance plane in July 1944. The Mosquito was badly mauled but managed to reach its airfield where it crashed upon landing, making this the first aerial jet fighter victory in history. Schreiber would claim four more victims before being killed in crash while attempting to land the exact same ME 262, in November of that same year.

Answer: USA and Germany

The US Army Air Force produced George P. Novotny who is credited with 9 victories. The German Luftwaffe had Walther Novotny, one of the leading aces of the war with a tally of 258 confirmed kills.

Answer: Lee Archer

Nicknamed "Buddy", Lee Archer served in an African- American unit that was known as the "Tuskegee Airman". During his stints as bomber escort, reconnaissance and ground attack pilot, he claimed five enemy aircraft shot down.

Answer: Hans Ulrich Rudel

The Soviet battleship "Marat", more than 120 tanks and 9 enemy aircraft succumbed to Rudel's guns in over 2,500 sorties. In February he was badly wounded during combat and subsequently lost a leg, yet by March he was back behind the stick. At end of the war he and three JU87's and four FW190's flew to Kitzingen airfield to surrender to the Americans. Upon landing they defiantly crashed their aircraft on the landing strip, rendering it unusable and the planes useless to the Americans.

Answer: Lydia Litvyak

Lydia (aka Lilya) Litvyak (1921-1943) is generally regarded as the top woman ace. She flew more than 60 missions in two years and took 12 victories. Most sources also agree that she was the first female pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft in the war.

She was shot down and killed near Orel in August 1943, she was 21 years old. (Yekaterina Budanova was also a female Soviet ace of World War II, with 11 confirmed kills).

Answer: Luigi Gorrini

Luigi Gorrini flew mostly over Libya and Tunisia, becoming one of Italy's top scoring aces with his Macchi C.202 fighter.

Answer: Sadaaki Akamatsu

Sadaaki Akamatsu was an Imperial Navy pilot with 27 victories, and free of any physical handicap. Douglas Bader lost both legs in a prewar flying accident, but went on to become one of the leading RAF aces with 23 kills. Rudel lost a leg during operations on the Eastern Front in 1945, but recovered, returned to combat and claimed a further 3 victories.

Answer: Erich Hartmann

"The Black Devil", "The Blonde Knight", "Bubi" all names used to refer to a superb aerial marksman. His philosophy of "when he (the enemy plane) fills the entire wind screen, you can't miss" led him to wreak havoc amongst Soviet aircraft on the Eastern Front, so much so that when his trademark Messerschmitt Bf 109 with the black tulip painted on the engine cowling, was spotted the enemy headed for home.

He scored his final and 352nd victory on 8 May 1945, downing a Russian fighter doing a victory roll over Berlin.

Answer: Sailor Malan (South Africa)

Adolph "Sailor" Malan is probably the best known South African fighter pilot but Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle was South Africa's top ace of the war, scoring more than 40 victories. Marmaduke also holds the honor of being the war's top Gloster Gladiator ace. He crashed into the sea near Athens in April 1941, after an intense dogfight with a number of Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters.

Answer: David McCampbell

McCampbell was the highest scoring naval aviator of the war, serving mostly in the Pacific theatre. During the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" he downed five Japanese aircraft. By end of war 34 enemy aircraft had fallen to his Hellcat's guns.