An ace is a playing card. In the standard deck, an ace has one suit symbol (a heart, a diamond, a spade, a club) in the center of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the ace of spades. In most card games, aces have the highest value of all cards in a suit; in some, the lowest.

An ace is also a military aviator who has shot down five or more enemy aircrafts. The term originated in World War I in French newspapers, when French newspapers described Adolphe Pegoud as a flying ace after he became the first pilot to shoot down five German aircraft. The leading German ace in that war was Rittmeister (Captain) Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron", of the German air force, who was credited with downing 80 Allied aircraft. The leading Allied ace was Billy Bishop of Canada, who downed 72. The leading American ace was Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, with 26 victories.

Aces of Spanish Civil War

Name	Country	Service	Victories
Alois Vasatko	Czechoslovakia	Republican Air Force	17
Abel Guides	France	Republican Air Force	10
Werner Mölders	Germany	Condor Legion	14
Wolfgang Schellman	Germany	Condor Legion	12
Harro Harder	Germany	Condor Legion	11
Mario Bonzano	Italy	Nationalist Air Force	15
Brunetto di Montegnacco	Italy	Nationalist Air Force	14
Guido Presel	Italy	Nationalist Air Force	13

Aces of World War II

This list attempts to list the top aces for each nation and branch of service. The criteria for listing victories and partial victories varied among the belligerents.

Name	Country	Service	Victories
Richard I. Bong	U.S.	Army Air Forces	40
Thomas McGuire	U.S.	Army Air Forces	38
David McCampbell	U.S.	Navy	34
Cecil E. Harris	U.S.	Navy	23
Francis "Gabby" Gabreski	U.S.	Army Air Forces	28
Robert S. Johnson	U.S.	Army Air Forces	28
Erich Hartmann	Germany	Luftwaffe	352
Gerhard Barkhorn	Germany	Luftwaffe	301
Günther Rall	Germany	Luftwaffe	275
Ilmari Juutilainen	Finland	Air Force	94
Hans Wind	Finland	Air Force	75
Eino Luukkanen	Finland	Air Force	56
Karel Miroslav Kuttelwascher	Czechoslovakia	RAF	20
Josef Frantisek	Czechoslovakia	Polish Air Forces	17
Stanislaw Skalski	Poland	Polish Air Forces	22
Ivan Kozhedub	Soviet Union	VVS	62
Alexander Pokryshkin	Soviet Union	VVS	59
Constantine Cantacuzine	Romania		60
Alexandru Serbanescu	Romania		56

Aces of Korean War

Name	Country	Service	Victories
Capt. Joseph M. McConnell	United States	Air Force	16
Major James Jabara	United States	Air Force	15
Capt. Manuel J. "Pete" Fernandez	United States	Air Force	14 1/2
Maj. George A. Davis	United States	Air Force	14
Nikolay Sutyagin	Soviet Union	VVS	21
Yevgeny Pepelyaev	Soviet Union	VVS	19
Lev Shchukin	Soviet Union	VVS	13
Sergei Kramarenko	Soviet Union	VVS	13

Aces of Vietnam War

1. Advisor to NVPAF

Name	Country	Service	Victories
Nguyen Van Coc	North Vietnam	Air Force	9
Mai Van Cuong	North Vietnam	Air Force	8
Randolph "Duke" Cunningham/William Driscoll	United States	Navy	5
Charles B. DeBellevue	United States	Air Force	6
Vadim Petrovich Shchbakov	Soviet Union	PVO-Strany (1)	6

Aces of Arab-Israeli Wars

Name	Country	Service	Victories
Col. (Res.) Giora Epstein	Israel	Air Force	17
Yiftah Spector	Israel	Air Force	15
Amir Nahumi	Israel	Air Force	15
Djur Abid Adib	Syria	Air Force	5
Majad Halabi	Syria	Air Force	5
Majid Zugbi	Syria	Air Force	6

Aces and Highest Number of Victories in Indo-Pakistani Wars

Name	Country	Service	War	Victories
Muhammad Shams-ul-Haq	Pakistan	Air Force	1971	4
Syed Sa'ad Akhtar Hatmi	Pakistan	Air Force	1971	3