The following is a list of air force pilots of the Gulf War by number of aerial victories.
List of air-air victories Name Country Service Aircraft Flown Victories Notes Capt. Thomas Dietz United States Air Force F-15C 3 1st Lt. Robert Hehemann United States Air Force F-15C 3 If scored two more kills in another air battle it would have made him the war's only "ace". According to the IQAF he was shot down by Capt. as-Sammarai, while the USAF maintain that his aircraft was only damaged. Capt. Cesar Rodriguez United States Air Force F-15C 2 Rodriguez would go on to score another air-air kill in 1999 over Yugoslavia. Capt. Rhory Draeger United States Air Force F-15C2 Capt. Robert Graeter United States Air Force F-15C 2 His second credit was maneuvered into the ground by an unarmed American EF-111. Graeter received credit for the kill as he was giving chase to the Iraqi fighter jet at the time. Capt. Jay Denney United States Air Force F-15C 2 Capt. Anthony Murphy United States Air Force F-15C 2 Capt. Benjamin Powell United States Air Force F-15C 2 Capt. Iyad Al-Shamrani Saudi Arabia Air Force F-15C 2 Shot down two Iraqi Mirage F1s who were attempting to bomb a Saudi oil refinery. Was the first coalition pilot to shoot down multiple aircraft. Zuhair Dawoud Al-Tamimi Iraqi Republic Air Force MiG-25 1 Credited with downing Commander Michael Speicher, in the US's first combat loss of the war. Nafie Al-Jubouri Iraqi Republic Air Force Dassault Mirage F1 1 Credited with an aerial maneuvering kill of an EF-111 that crashed into the ground while attempting to evade a missile fired by Al-Jubouri. Jameel Sayhood Iraqi Republic Air Force MiG-29 1 Was shot down by Cesar Rodriguez in a dogfight later. Capt. Richard Bennett / Capt. Dan Bakke United States Air Force F-15E 1 Captain Daniel Bakke was the Weapon Systems Officer and Captain Richard Bennett was the pilot for the kill. It is the only known instance in history of one aircraft purposefully bombing another aircraft in mid-air. Capt. John Donesky United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Jon Kelk United States Air Force F-15C 1 Kelk was the first to claim an air-to-air kill of the war by shooting down an Iraqi MiG-29. He is also the first pilot to claim a victory in an American F-15 Eagle. 1st Lt. David Sveden United States Air Force F-15C 1 Maj. Randy May United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Greg Masters United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Charles Magill United States Marines F-15C 1 LT. Donald Broce / CDR Ron McElraft United States Navy F-14A 1 Commander Ron McElcraft was the Radar Intercept Officer and LT. Stuart Broce was the pilot credited with the kill. LCDR Mark Fox United States Navy F/A-18C 1 LT Nicholas Mongillo United States Navy F/A-18C 1 Col. Rick Parsons United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Lawrence Pitts United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. David Prather United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. David Rose United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Anthony Schiavi United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Tod Sheehy United States Air Force A-10A 1 Capt. Robert Swain United States Air Force A-10 1 Captain Robert Swain attained his aerial victory in an A-10 Warthog, a close air support aircraft that was not designed for aerial combat. It was the first of two air-air victories of that aircraft type. Capt. Steven Tate United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Richard Tollini United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Craig Underhill United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Donald Watrous United States Air Force F-15C 1 Capt. Stephen Dingee United States Air Force F-15C 0.5 Captain Stephen Dingee and Captain Mark McKenzie shared a kill of a Mi-8 helicopter. Capt. Mark McKenzie United States Air Force F-15C 0.5 Captain Stephen Dingee and Captain Mark McKenzie shared a kill of a Mi-8 helicopter.
Claims Name Country Service Aircraft Flown Victories Notes James Denton United States Air Force EF-111 1 Captain James Denton was the pilot of an unarmed EF-111 when he came under attack from an Iraqi Mirage F1 fighter. After evading several missiles fired at them, Denton managed to goad the Iraqi pilot into low altitude maneuvering whereupon the Iraqi fighter crashed. Denton and his electronic warfare officer Captain Brent Brandon were both awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their achievement. The Smithsonian Channel in 2021-22 researched the EF-111 / F-1 low-altitude engagement and subsequently produced and aired in May 2022 the EF-111 Raven's encounter with the Mirage F-1EQ.Smithsonian Channel "Air Warriors" S10 E3Capt. Mohammed Jassim as-Sammarai Iraqi RepublicAir ForceMiG-251Credited by the Iraqi Air Force with shooting down an F-15C after a Bedouin smuggler allegedly discovered wreckage of an F-15 just inside Saudi Arabia, very close to where Iraqi radars claim to have lost track of a falling F-15 during Operation Samurra. Disputed by the USAF who claim only the left engine was damaged by the missile.
See also Air engagements of the Gulf War
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