RAF Aces. Do they 'officially' exist? [Archive]

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windriver

27th Sep 2006, 11:44

Doing some research and getting many conflicting answers from various sources on this.

I would like to know if the RAF ever actually approved/endorsed/quantified/encouraged... the term Ace.

It seems American aircrew need 5 'kills.'

jabberwok

27th Sep 2006, 13:11

I can quote sources now but I believe it was frowned on in the RFC/RAF. Whilst Ace status could be a great moral booster for the general public it was felt that the loss of any major figure could have more significant negative reaction. That was the official line though - and I can't verify if the same applied in WW2.