Lafayette Escadrille
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The Lafayette Escadrille (from the French Escadrille Lafayette) was a squadron of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique Militaire, during World War I composed largely of American fighter pilots.
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[edit] Founding
The squadron was formed in April 1916 as the Escadrille Américaine (number 124) in Luxeuil prior to U.S. entry into the war. Dr. Edmund L. Gros, director of the American Ambulance Service, and Norman Prince, an American expatriate already flying for France, led the efforts to persuade the French government of the value of a volunteer American air unit fighting for France. The aim was to have their efforts recognized by the American public and thus, it was hoped, to rouse interests in abandoning neutrality and joining the fight.
The squadron was quickly moved to Bar-le-Duc, closer to the front. A German objection filed with the U.S. government led to the name change in December over the actions of a supposed neutral nation. The original name implied that the U.S. was allied to France when it was in fact neutral.
The planes, their mechanics, and the uniforms were French, as was the commander, Captain Georges Thenault. Five French pilots were also on the roster, serving at various times. Raoul Lufbery, a French-born American citizen, became the squadron's first flying ace.
[edit] Combat
The first major action seen by the squadron was at the Battle of Verdun. The squadron suffered heavy losses, but its core group of 38 was rapidly replenished by other Americans arriving from overseas. So many volunteered that a "Lafayette Flying Corps" was formed in part to take the overflow. Altogether, 265 American volunteers served in the Corps.
Although not formally part of the Lafayette Escadrille, other Americans such as Michigan's Fred Zinn, who was a pioneer of aerial photography, fought as part of the French Foreign Legion and later the French Aéronautique Militaire.
Sixty-three members died during the war, 51 of them in action against the enemy. The Corps is credited with 159 enemy kills. It amassed 31 Croix de Guerre, and its pilots were awarded seven Médailles Militaire and four Légions d'Honneur. Eleven of its members were flying aces. The core squadron suffered nine losses and was credited with 34 victories.
The Escadrille had a reputation for daring, recklessness, and a party atmosphere.[citation needed] Two lion cubs, named "Whiskey" and "Soda", were made squadron mascots.
Lufbery himself had gotten into trouble for hitting an officer who was unwise to lay hands on him during on argument. He was rescued from jail by his squadron mates. He came calling on the escadrille during one of his convalescences and borrowed a Spad and shot down another German plane.
On February 8, 1918, the squadron was transferred to the United States Army Air Service as the 103rd Pursuit Squadron. For a brief period it retained its French planes and mechanics. Most of its veteran members were set to work training newly-arrived American pilots.
[edit] Members
- Eugene Bullard (1894-1961), first African-American aviator
- James Norman Hall (1887-1951), author of Mutiny on the Bounty
- Tommy Hitchcock, Jr. (1900-1944)
- Willis Haviland
- Raoul Lufbery (1885-1918), an ace who died in combat
- Didier Masson (1886-1950)
- James R. McConnell
- Charles Nungesser (1892-1927)
[edit] Memorials
- A statue by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum titled The Aviator (1919) was erected on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia in the memory of James R. McConnell, a member of the squadron who was killed during the War. Before he was killed McConnell wrote a first-hand account of the war, Flying in France, that gives the reader invaluable insight into the war in France from 1915 until his death in 1917. Letters added to the end of the book include an account of McConnell's demise. The book is now available through the Guttenberg Project (see link).
- Lafayette Escadrille Memorial, Villeneuve Park, St. Cloud, Marnes-la-Coquette, outside of Paris, France, 1928
[edit] Popular culture
The story of the Lafayette Escadrille has been adapted into at least two films: Lafayette Escadrille (1958), a William Wellman movie starring Tab Hunter, and Flyboys (2006), directed by Tony Bill and starring James Franco.
[edit] External links
- Lafayette Pilots' Memorial
- James McConnell's book, Flying in France
- History of the Escadrille
- New England Air Museum's Lafayette Escadrille Online Exhibit
- Query regarding Lafayette Escadrille & Lafayette Flying Corps
- Motivations of the Lafayette Escadrille Pilots by Guy Nasuti
[edit] References
- Time Life Books, Knights of the Air (Time Life Books Aviation Series, 1996)
- Walt Brown, Jr., An American for Lafayette: The Diaries of E.C.C. Genet, Lafayette Escadrille. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1981)
- Edwin W. Morse, America in the War: The Vanguard of American Volunteers in the Fighting Lines and in Humanitarian Service, August, 1914 --April, 1917. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1919
- Jeff Shaara, To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War (New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 2004)
