Aerial victory standards of World War I During World War I , the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories . The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces ( pilots with at least five victories to their credit ) often cannot be definitive , but are based on itemized lists that are the best available sources of information . Loss of records ( especially records of casualties and lost aircraft , which are at their best a very good guide to the degree of over - claiming ) , by mischance and the passage of time – and the detail to which such records were kept in the first place – often complicates the reconstruction of the actual count for a given ace . Additionally , the German victory confirmation system began to buckle in February 1918 ; after August 1918 , such records as survived were unit records . World War I began the historical experience that has shown that approximately five percent of combat pilots account for the majority of air to air victories in warfare , thus showing the importance of flying ace s . Allies of World War I . Belgium . Enemy aircraft had to fall within friendly lines in a nation partially occupied by the enemy , or be seen by friendly ground troops falling within German lines , to be counted . Confirmation by fellow friendly pilots was not allowed . Thus , unconfirmed claims outnumbered official victories . Although the Belgian system of counting victories supposedly mirrored the French system more than the British one , victory lists for Belgian aces still contain confirmed claims for FTL ( forced to land ) and OOC ( out of control ) victories . Inspection of the Belgian pilots ' victory lists also show victories being shared without being fractionally divided . France . French victory confirmation standards were strict . Credit was given only for the destruction of an enemy aircraft , and the destruction had to be witnessed by an independent witness , such as an artillery observer , infantryman , or another pilot . The victories certified generally fell into one of four categories of destruction : An enemy aircraft independently witnessed falling in flames ; An enemy aircraft independently witnessed crashing to earth ; An enemy aircraft independently witnessed disintegrating while in flight ; An enemy aircraft falling into captivity behind the battle lines of the French or their allies . Probable victories would not count on a pilot ' s score , although they would be noted . Examples of probable victories could be enemy aircraft falling out of control but not seen to impact , or a claim lacking independent confirmation . Observers as well as pilots could become aces . Victories could be shared , and counted as an addition of one to the score of each ' victor ' rather than being divided fractionally . In some cases , a single destroyed German or Austro - Hungarian aircraft could add to the scores of half a dozen or more French fliers . Great Britain and the British Commonwealth . Counting of " aerial victories " by the British was shaped by the high command ’ s determination to sustain an ongoing aerial offensive , as well as the prevailing westerly winds on the Western Front . From the start , the British counted actions that foiled German intentions as victorious . Their count system was skewed toward recognizing the moral victory of thwarting enemy offensive actions as well as the physical one of destroying his aircraft . 1 ) A British or Commonwealth pilot of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service , or Australian pilots of the Australian Flying Corps could be credited with a victory for destroying an enemy plane , for driving it down out of control , capturing it , or destroying an enemy observation balloon . In the earliest days of aerial combat , in 1915 and 1916 , victories could also be awarded for forcing an enemy aircraft to land in either Allied or enemy territory . 2 ) By 1917 , the number of " out of control " , " driven down " and " forced to land " victories were overloading the scoring system . As aerial combat soared to the point where British pilots might submit 50 claims on a given day , the count system became overwhelmed . By May 1918 , the new Royal Air Force supposedly ceased reporting " out of control " victories as part of pilots ' scores , but still credited them to pilots for the purposes of awarding decorations . Victories were limited to enemy aircraft destroyed , enemy airplanes driven down out of control if they seemed so damaged they would crash , and airplanes captured . Squadron , Brigade , and Wing headquarters all kept track of individual and unit scores . 3 ) The approval system began with a Combat Report from the Squadron submitted to Wing HQ . They in turn passed the report on to Brigade HQ . Either Wing or Brigade could approve or disapprove it ; sometimes one would confirm the victory while the other would not . 4 ) Victories were reported by RFC HQ via Communiqué . The deadline for the daily Communiqué ( nicknamed " Comic Cuts " by RFC pilots ) was 1600 hours ( 4 PM ) . Following a system that did not always report an event on the day it actually occurred added to the confusion caused by dual reporting . 5 ) In cases where more than one pilot ( or observer ) was involved in a British victory , practice was especially inconsistent . Since after all only one enemy aircraft had been destroyed , the victory at unit level ( to the squadron or wing for instance ) was counted as one . On the other hand in some cases all pilots concerned might receive a full credit to his personal score , as victories at this time were not divided fractionally , in the way that became common practice later . As a striking example of this , no fewer than twelve Royal Flying Corps pilots each claimed a victory because they helped destroy an Albatros D . III on 8 April 1917 . However , some squadrons counted such victories only to the unit concerned without crediting them to an individual , or counted " shared " scores separately from a particular pilot ’ s ' solo ' victories . In the case of two - seater crews , both pilot and observer might each receive credit for a victory . The usual rule of thumb credited all victories to the pilot of a Sopwith 1½ Strutter or Bristol F . 2 Fighter two - seater , but the observer / gunner was credited only for those instances where he fired his weapon . Some squadrons kept separate lists of pilot and observer aces ; some did not . 6 ) Unlike other air forces of the time , British authorities did not necessarily require independent ground verification of a victory to award credit . Italy . 1 . The enemy aircraft fell in Italian - held territory and could be confirmed , or 2 . Other Allied Powers pilots and / or ground observers could independently confirm an enemy ' s destruction . 3 . Victories could be shared , with more than one pilot and / or gunner receiving full credit for a victory . 4 . The system codified by Pier Piccio ( an ace and by then the Inspector of Fighter Units ) in " Istruzione provvisoria di impiego delle Squadriglie da Caccia " ( " Provisional Instruction for the Use of the Fighter Squadrons " ) in June 1918 called for at least two confirmations from artillery , balloon , or frontline observers . 5 . In January 1919 , the intelligence branch of " Commando Generale di Aeronautica " ( " General Command of Aeronautics " ) hastily drew up a list of pilots credited with any aerial victories during the war , which came to a close in November 1918 ; evaluative criteria is unknown , thus casting doubt on the final totals . USA . Pilots from the USA had their victory totals defined several different ways . If and when they served with British aviation , their victories were determined via British methods ; indeed , no fewer than 40 American aces served solely in British units . It was equally true that Americans serving in French units were evaluated via French standards ; there were just four American aces who served solely in French units . The US Army Air Service would adopt French standards for evaluating American victories scored for the USAAS , with one exception – during the summer of 1918 , while flying under operational control of the British , the 17th Aero Squadron and the 148th Aero Squadron naturally used British standards . American observers could become aces . Victories could be shared between aviators . USAAS records , which tracked only those victories scored by Americans in the USAAS , showed 1 , 513 victories were credited to individual pilots or observers for the destruction of 756 German airplanes and 76 observation balloons ; 341 of the victories were shared to some extent , proving that the sharing of victories was common enough to be the norm . However , the USAAS did not track victories won by Americans in other countries ' air forces . Russian Empire . The Russian Empire had no known victory standards . The Central Powers of World War I . Austria - Hungary . Every aircrew member significantly contributing to the defeat of an enemy aircraft was credited with a full victory . All victories counted equally , whether the aviator scored them as a fighter pilot , a reconnaissance pilot , or an aerial observer / gunner . Germany . The Germans did not use the term ' ace ' but referred to German pilots who had achieved 10 kills as " Kanone " ( " big gun " ) and publicized their names and scores , for the benefit of civilian morale . German scoring was rigorous . Every victory had to be claimed in a combat report to his commanding officer . The report was passed up the chain of command for evaluation . Downed enemy aircraft that landed behind the German lines of trenchwork were easily confirmed . Those that fell behind enemy lines had to be verified by a German observer . All victories were credited to a single specific pilot . In case of insoluble disagreement over a given victim , the victory would be credited to a unit , but not to an individual . The sole exception to this was the awarding of a victory each to the pilot and observer of a successful two - seater .