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  • Aircraft Recognition Collage

    Note: This item is currently in storage.This aircraft recognition collage, created by the 4th Photo Section, IV Corps Observation Group, assisted AEF personnel in identifying different types of operational German aircraft.Click here to return to the Featured World War I Artifacts index.

  • Air Service Enters Combat

    The first U.S. air unit sent to Europe was the 1st Aero Squadron, the same outfit that had served under Pershing on the Mexican border in 1916. Under command of Maj. Ralph Royce, it arrived in France on Sept. 3, 1917. Other squadrons gradually arrived, but all had to be equipped with airplanes and

  • WWI Prisoners of War

    One hundred twenty-three flyers of the U.S. Air Service were forced down inside enemy lines and captured. Also, two officers were captured when their balloon drifted into German territory. In addition, 19 Americans flying with the British, 10 with the French and one with the Italians became

  • Combat Record

    The combat record of the relatively small Air Service, AEF, was most impressive. It had logged thousands of combat sorties, flown 150 bombing missions, taken more than 18,000 photos of enemy positions, and had shot down 781 aircraft and 73 observation balloons. Lastly, 72 Air Service flyers had

  • U.S. Cadets in Italy

    Meanwhile, in Italy, 406 U.S. cadets had been graduated as pilots from the Italian primary flying course at Foggia. Of these 406 new pilots, 121 had received advance training as bombardment pilots at Italian schools. Most of these Americans were immediately transferred to France, but 65 of them

  • Meuse-Argonne Offensive

    The next offensive was the Meuse-Argonne, scheduled to begin north and west of Verdun on Sept. 26. Gen. Billy Mitchell had only 842 planes under his control because the French had withdrawn three-fourths of their planes that had been available for the St. Mihiel offensive. Mitchell used the same

  • St. Mihiel Offensive

    During the summer months, while America's seven combat squadrons were fighting over the Marne, the Air Service continued its build-up on the Toul Front and by Sept. 12, 1918, when the St. Mihiel Offensive began, 20 additional squadrons -- seven pursuit, nine day-observation, three day-bombardment

  • Combat over the Marne

    Aerial combat for the seven U.S. squadrons over the Marne was much more intense than it had been at Toul. Often outnumbered four to one, they were pitted against some of Germany's most experienced units, including the famous von Richtofen squadron with Germany's latest pursuit, the Fokker D. VII.

  • Lt. Fred Norton

    Lt. Fred Norton of Columbus, Ohio, was a pilot in the 27th Aero Squadron. On July 20, 1918, during the Chateau-Thierry campaign, he was severely wounded by ground fire while strafing a column of German troops. Although he was able to land his Nieuport 28 behind Allied lines, it took him two days to

  • Lt. Walter B. Wanamaker

    On July 2, 1918, Lt. Walter B. Wanamaker of the 27th Aero Squadron was shot down behind German lines by the famous Ernst Udet, the leading German ace to survive World War I. Udet cut the fabric from the rudder of Wanamaker's Nieuport 28 as a trophy and though seriously injured, Wanamaker autographed