Insofar as fighters were key to exerting air superiority, fighter pilots were very important. One of the keys to British success on the Somme was the aggressive tactics utilized by Trenchard's Royal Flying Corps, which reduced the German Luftstreitkrafte to virtual impotence. Control of the air allowed for Allied artillery spotter aircraft to direct artillery fire, with devastating effect, while reconnaissance aircraft kept track of German troop movements.

In 1918, air support played a key role in Allied victories, mostly through the provision of air-ground cooperation with artillery, allowing Allied artillery to make use of predicted ('map based') fire, which was not only accurate, but also precluded the need for lengthy bombardments, thus restoring Operational surprise to the Western Front. Bomber and fighter aircraft also flew sorties against German lines of communicating, so here the use of aircraft, and by extension the efforts of fighter pilots, were key to success.

In short, fighter pilots did have an affect on the outcome of the war on the ground, at least from a western front stand point. However, it is important to note that this affect was from within the confines of aerial cooperation with other aircraft, and through supporting ground forces. Trenchard emphasized the need for the RFC to support the army, and deliberately discouraged the development of a 'knights of the sky' cult like that which existed in the German air forces, and resulted in lots of 'kills' and aces, at the expense of cooperation and coordination.