Flying ace after he became the first pilot to down five German aircraft. The British initially used the term "star-turns" (a show business term), while the Germans described their elite fighter pilots as "Überkanonen" (which roughly translates to "top guns"). The successes of such German ace pilots as Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke were much publicised for the benefit of civilian morale, and the "Pour le Mérite", Prussia’s highest award for gallantry, became part of the uniform of a leading German ace. In the "Luftstreitkräfte" the "Pour le Mérite" was nicknamed "Der blaue Max"/The Blue Max, after Max Immelmann, who was the
Roy Phillipps destroyed a Pfalz near Bapaume on 16 May, before achieving his greatest success on 12 June when he shot down four German fighters in a single patrol over Ribécourt. His victims included two Fokker Triplanes, one of which he attacked head-on, an LVG, and a Fokker D.VII flown by Fritz Loerzer, commander of "Jasta" 26 and an eleven-victory ace, who was captured. The feat also gave Phillipps a total of eleven victories, making him the equal highest-scoring ace in No. 2 Squadron along with Captain Henry Forrest. Phillipps was recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross on 16 June, and the