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  • 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

  • Lt. Quentin Roosevelt

    Lt. Quentin Roosevelt, the youngest son of former President Theodore Roosevelt, was a pilot in the 95th Aero Squadron. On July 14, 1918, he was shot down behind German lines by Sgt. Thom, a German ace with 24 victories. Roosevelt's Nieuport 28 crashed at Chamery near Coulonges-en-Tardenois and his

  • Lts. Alan Winslow and Douglas Campbell

    The first U.S. Air Service aerial victories by fighter planes in the American sector in France were by Lts. Alan Winslow and Douglas Campbell, two pilots of the 94th Aero Squadron, which had just been transferred to the Front. On Sunday morning, April 14, 1918, they were on "alert" at Gengoult

  • Maj. Raoul Lufbery

    Maj. Raoul Lufbery, a member of the Lafayette Escadrille, transferred to the U.S. Air Service following the country's entry into the war. A famous combat flyer of the period with 17 confirmed victories with the French, he was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron that had just arrived on the Front. His

  • WWI Training

    Training mechanics, pilots and observers to maintain and fly the large numbers of aircraft needed by American forces in World War I presented great challenges. Schools in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, France and Italy sprang into action to turn recruits and draftees into experts in the new field

  • WWI Production

    When the United States entered World War I, it had no military air arm capable of fighting an enemy. It did have, however, an untapped pool of men and materials to which England and France, bled almost dry after years of war, looked hopefully. France proposed that an American "flying corps" of 4,500

  • U.S. Entry into World War I

    The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Although the reasons were varied and complex, the one having the greatest emotional impact upon the "average American" was Germany's introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.Click here to

  • Escadrille Lafayette

    In February 1918 the airplanes and equipment of the Escadrille Lafayette, together with most of its pilots, were taken over by the United States, while the French ground personnel of the unit were replaced by members of the 103rd Aero Squadron, Air Service, American Expeditionary Force. During its