Ace (military)

The "first French ace", Frenchman Adolphe Pégoud being awarded the Croix de guerre. The term "ace" in relation to individual military success originated with French military propaganda of World War I.[1]

Ace, when used in the context of military propaganda, denotes a successful military professional who has accumulated a meaningfully measurable statistic such as aircraft shot down, tanks destroyed, tonnage sunk, or a number of successful sniper shots.[2][page needed] In a manner analogous to sport statistics, some military roles can be measured in terms of a quantifiable metric. Once said metric is established, military personnel (whether within the same force, in different forces, or in different eras) may be quantified versus the designated metric and compared in a tabular fashion. Such metrics may be used as a basis for military merit awards, such as Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross[3][page needed] by setting an arbitrary threshold. Likewise, a designation of "ace" ("double ace", "triple ace", etc.) may be applied, such as 5 aircraft shot down.

The ace achieved success with "skill and luck, and if victorious won the accolades of the patriotic public".[4] The usage of the term in popular culture evolved to include "tank aces" ("Panzer aces") and "submarine aces".

  1. ^ Robertson 2003, pp. 87–113.
  2. ^ [Robertson, Linda Raine. The dream of civilized warfare: World War I flying aces and the American imagination. U of Minnesota Press, 2003.
  3. ^ Williamson, Gordon. Knight's Cross and Oak-Leaves Recipients 1939? 40. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012.
  4. ^ Goll 2011, p. 147.