Colonel Clarence 'Bud' Anderson 16¼ victories

‘Bud’ Anderson went to England with the 357th Fighter Group in1943, the first Group in the Eighth Air Force to be equipped with P-51
Mustangs and soon got himself on the score sheet during one of thefirst Berlin missions, dog fighting with a bunch of Me109s. On 29
June 1944, leading his squadron on a mission to Leipzig, they ran into a formation of Fw190s and in the ensuing battle Anderson shot down the leader, closely followed by two more Fw190s. After a short rest back in the US, ‘Bud’ returned for a second tour, just in time for the 357th ’s ‘big day’ on 27 November 1944 when, with the 353rd, they engaged a massive formation of some 200 enemy fighters, nderson adding three more to his score. ‘Bud’ finished the war with a total of 16¼ confirmed air victories and is one of the most legendary Aces of the European Theatre.

Captain James Brooks 13 victories

Jim Brooks joined the 31st Fighter Group in Italy in 1944, flying P-51 Mustangs in combat against Me109s, Fw190s, and the Italian Macchi Mc202. He scored his first aerial victory on a mission to Ploesti, in Rumania. Later, on a special shuttle mission to Russia leading the 307th Fighter Squadron, they engaged a large formation of Ju87 Stukas, shooting down 27 enemy aircraft; he personally accounted for three that day. He ended his tour with 280 combat hours flown, and 13 confirmed victories.

Clayton Kelly Gross
Kelly Gross entered the service as an Aviation Cadet and completed pilot training at Kelly Field (class 42-H).In 1943 he was sent to the European Theater flying the P-47 Thunderbolt with the 354th Fighter Group until 1944 when he transitioned into the P-51 Mustang (his aircraft dubbed 'Live Bait'). Upon converting to the P-51, Gross started realizing dramatic successes in air combat. In 1944 he was credited with 5 aerial victories over German Bf 109 fighters, promptly achieving his status as an ace. However, in 1945 he successfully shot down a German Me 262 jet fighter. The Air Force's official roster of aerial victories does not list this as a kill, it was recognized during the war as well as the by the American Fighter Aces Association.
For his actions during the war, Gross received the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Distinguished Unit Citation. He was discharged from the Army Air Corps as a Captain in September of 1945.

Colonel Barrie S. Davis 6 victories

Commissioned and rated a pilot in August 1943, Barrie Davis was posted to Europe where he flew P-51s with the 317th FS, 325th Fighter Group. He got his first victory, an Fw190 over Bucharest, on 28 June 1944 followed by a couple of Bf109s four days later. He became an Ace on 22 August when he downed another Fw190 and ten minutes later got his sixth and final victory.

Lieutenant Colonel Clyde B. East 13 victories

Volunteering for the RCAF in 1941 he flew Spitfires and Mustangs from England with 414 Squadron – a photo reconnaissance unit. Transferring to the USAAF in January 1944, he flew P-51 F6’s with the 10th PRG, scoring his first victory over an Fw190 on D-Day. One of the best photo reconnaissance pilots of the war he was the highest scoring Ace in the Group and by the end of WWII had scored 13 victories and had completed over 200 combat missions. He later flew another 100 combat missions during the Korean War

Colonel Arthur 'Art' Fiedler 8 victories

‘Art’ graduated as a pilot on 8 July 1943, and transferred to the 325th Fighter Group, 15th Air Force in Italy in May 1944. He quickly got into action with victories over three Me109s and another probable within his first six weeks. He achieved his Ace status after downing another Me109 over Hungary on 26 July, his second victory of the day. His final victory was an Fw190 over Regensburg on 20 January 1945, bringing his tally to 8 confirmed and 1 probable. Not only had ‘Art’ become one of the Checkertails’ top Aces, he was one of the most respected. He later flew combat in Vietnam.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert 'Bob' Karr 6 victories

Bob Karr was commissioned and rated a pilot in November 1943, and after training on P-47s with the 87th Fighter Group, in May 1944 he transferred to join the 52nd Fighter Group in Italy on P-51s. Flying with the 5th Fighter Squadron the first of his 6 confirmed aerial victories occurred on 9 June, two more followed in July. On 17 December he achieved Ace status and brought his final tally to 6 when he shot down three more Bf109s over southern Poland.

Lieutenant General George G. Loving Jr. 5 victories

Joining the 31st Fighter Group, 309th FS in October 1943, initially flying Spitfires, George Loving got on the score sheet for the first time in April 1944 when he downed a Bf109 over north-west Italy. Throughout June and July his successes continued and he became anAce on 31 July after downing the second of Bf109s in the day.

Colonel Steve Pisanos 10 victories

Volunteering for the RAF in 1941, Steve Pisanos joined 71 Squadron,the first of the Eagle Squadrons. In October 1942 the squadron became the 334th Fighter Squadron USAAF. In March 1944 he shot down two Me109s on a mission over France, but was forced down through engine failure. Evading capture he served behind enemy lines with the French Resistance, the American OSS, and the British SOE, eventually returning to England in September 1944 following the Allied liberation of Paris. He finished the war an Ace with 10 confirmed aerial victories.

Major General Donald Strait 13½ victories

Don Strait originally served as an aerial gunner with the 119th Obs Sqn but, after pilot training, was commissioned as a fighter pilot in January 1943. Joining the 356th Fighter Group he transferred to Martlesham Heath in England flying the P-47 with the 361st FS. He got his first victory on his first combat mission, downing an Fw190 near Paris. With his tally rising he took command of the squadron and converted to P-51s. His final three victories came on 20 Feb 1945 bringing his total to 13½, all but three flying the P-51.