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
Flying ace reconnaissance aircraft, observers/gunners in two-seater fighters such as the early Bristol F.2b, and airborne weapons officers in aircraft like the F-4 Phantom. Because pilots often teamed with different air crew members, an observer or gunner might be an ace while his pilot is not, or vice versa. Observer aces constitute a sizable minority in many lists. Charles George Gass, who tallied 39 victories, was the highest scoring observer ace in World War I. In World War II, United States Army Air Forces B-17 tail gunner S/Sgt. Michael Arooth (379th Bomb Group) was credited with 17 victories. The Royal Air Force's