[bearoutwest]

One of the things to consider with WW1 score-lists is the inconsistent definitions. It was, after all, an very new concept.

The French started publicly celebrating air-to-air victories, perhaps first, adding to the pre-war fame of Roland Garros. However, it was not a uniform "set of rules" determining what constituted an "aerial victory".

The British and Commonwealth considered an enemy aircraft driven out of combat, to be the same as an outright shoot-down and these appear in the early scores of pilots - certainly until 1918 (from memory).

All this before we worry about determining over-claiming due to the larger combat formation encounters of late-1917 and 1918; or any hints of dishonesty. Perhaps best to take the data at face-value as indicative only.

...geoff