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 Yekaterina Budanova achieved 11. Fighting on different sides, the French pilot Pierre Le Gloan had the unusual distinction of shooting down four German, seven Italian and seven British aircraft, the latter while he was flying for Vichy France in Syria. The Luftwaffe continued the tradition of "one pilot, one kill", and now referred to top scorers as "Experten". During the war, and for some years after, the very high victory totals of some "Experten" were considered by many historians to be coloured by grandiose Nazi propaganda. In spite of this, there are 107 German pilots with more than 100 kills.