Norman Prince

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Norman Prince was a leading founder of France's Lafayette Escadrille with Bill Thaw, Elliott C. Cowdin, Frazier Curtis, and Greeley S. Curtis, Jr.

Norman was son of Frederick H. Prince and had graduated from Harvard Law School and was practicing law in Chicago when he joined a group to build and race a plane in the Gordon Bennett Cup Race. They hired Starling Burgess to build their plane in his boat yard in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1912. Norman's family owned an estate in Pau, France "Villa Ste. Helene, and Norman spoke fluent French.

Norman sailed to France in January 1915 and finally persuaded the French to allow the founding of the the American Escadrille in April 1916. As an aviator Norman Prince flew 122 aerial combats in which he brought down five hostile planes. Prince was killed in October, 1916. He is buried in the National Cathedral

[edit] References

• One Man's War By Bert Hall, John Jacob Niles, published 1920 Chapter 8, pages 107 -
• The Vanguard of American Volunteers in the Fighting Lines By Edward Wilson Morse published 1918 Chapter 30 Norman Prince. pages 231-238.

[edit] External links

• New York Times article on death
• Americans in the French Air Service.
• American Volunteer Airmen.
• Early Aviators.