Air and Space: For World War II Pilots, the Race to Be an Ace Sometimes Turned Deadly

Air and Space: For World War II Pilots, the Race to Be an Ace Sometimes Turned Deadly

By John R. Bruning

During the end of World War II, the US was hopelessly outmatched by Japan in the air. The P-39 was nothing against the Japanese Zero. The Air Force had been chased out of the Philippines and New Guinea. But help was on the way. The new P-38 would eventually turn the tide of the war. The Japanese were running out of provisions and couldn't support their troops in New Guinea. With the new planes, the US Air Force began a heated Race of Aces.

    The Fifth Air Force was struggling to build an airstrip in a wet part of the Philippines, when their general gave them a challenge. Beat WWI ace Rickenbacker's kill score of 26. The top two pilots, Bong and McGuire, came out on top. Bong eventually ended up with 40, topping British pilot Johnnie Johnson. McGuire was upset because Bong achieved his final kill by violating a fundamental rule of an Air Force division. Teamwork. He spotted a plane and killed it by himself without any communication.

    Soon after, McGuire was removed from field duty because the army couldn't send Bong home with full honors only to have McGuire top him. He enlisted his friends to help on an ill fated mission to be the top ace. It was cloudy, and there hadn't been an enemy plane for weeks. McGuire and his squadron went out to a Japanese base and found a Japanese Zero returning from a scouting mission. Unfortunately, they had traveled far to get there, and had extra fuel tanks. As McGuire tried to bank sharply with 2000 pounds of extra weight, he spiraled out, crashing. The Race of Aces was over.