Lafayette Escadrille

[Trent]

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.



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.



James Norman Hall (1887-1951) of the Lafayette Escadrille, 1917

[Trent]

Squadron Insignia of the Lafayette Escadrille)

Combat
 
Squadron Insignia of the Lafayette Escadrille)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 an argument. He was rescued from jail by his squadron mates. He was a man after the heart of French ace Charles Nungesser who came calling on the escadrille during one of his convalescences. He borrowed a Spad and shot down another German plane even though he was officially grounded.

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.




From left to right: Didier Masson, Willis Haviland, and Raoul Lufbery

[Trent]

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)
•   Norman Prince (1887-1916), Founder and ace
•   Frederick H. Prince, Jr. (1885-1963)
•   William Thaw
•   Victor Chapman (1890-1916) The first American aviator to be killed in World War I
•   Kiffin Rockwell
•   Clyde Balsley
•   Edmond Genet The first American flier to die after the United States declared war against Germany
•   Edwin C. "Ted" Parsons
•   Elliot C. Cowdin

Memorials
 
 
The Aviator
•   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
•   Norman Prince tomb, Washington National Cathedral



AviatorGB.jpg‎

Gutzon Borglum "Aviator" sculpture at the University of Virginia.

Inscription
Soaring Like an Eagle into The New Heavens of Valor and Devotion, MCMXIX
In Memory of James Rogers McConnell, University of Virginia, 1910, a Member of the Seven Society

[Trent]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Escadrille

[Daffy Duck]

Hey Trent, do you recommend 'Flyboys?'  I remember seeing the trailers for it last fall, but forgot about seeing it.  I see it's already on DVD, so makes me wonder.

[Daffy Duck]

Well, pardon my off-topic post.   There might be too many forum categories here.  Hard for me to keep straight. 

I'd offer critic on your paper, but "seeing" how I used see/seeing 3 times in 2 sentences (above), I'll recuse myself.

[Trent]

Hey Daffy, actually it isn't my paper.  I simply got sick of seeing the last category here empty and so I filled it up with some info on  Lafayette Escadrille that I ripped off from Wikipedia. You are certainly welcome to print one of your research papers here, though.

As for Flyboys, I liked it a lot.  The aerial sequences are the best, reminiscent of the old Howard Hughes film, "Hell's Angels."  They even have a scene where the squad takes on a dirgible, similar to the scene in that movie.

I had no idea that Lafayette Escadrille even existed until I saw this movie.  The whole idea of guys getting up to fight each other in the sky ("Knights in the Air") only twelve years after the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk was really cool.

As I said, I liked it, but I see that a lot of critics panned it, though, and the movie itself was a flop.  I put that down to people just not being as into WWI as I am.  If you like flying, you'll like this movie.  I got the special edition cause the historical stuff they covered there was of interest to me, too.

[Daffy Duck]

I simply got sick of seeing the last category here empty and so I filled it up with some info on  Lafayette Escadrille that I ripped off from Wikipedia.

LOL, ok.  I can appreciate that.

The aerial sequences are the best, reminiscent of the old Howard Hughes film, "Hell's Angels."

I do remember a terrific WWI flight-oriented movie from years ago, but don't recall the title.  Maybe that's it.  I also liked "The Great Waldo Pepper." 1970-something, Robert Redford, I think. < I should probably Google it, to check accuracy, but too lazy.

If you like flying, you'll like this movie.  I got the special edition cause the historical stuff they covered there was of interest to me, too.

Cool, I see Wally World has a twin-pack bundle, Flyboys and Red Dawn.  I'll prolly pick it up on the way home this evening.
 

 

[Trent]

Hey Daffy, when you pick it up, I'd like to hear your opinion on it.  Didn't like Red Dawn, though, it wasn't convincing enough.

The earlier movie I was talking about wa called "Hell's Angels" and it starred Jean Harlow, shot in 1930. It was made by Howard Hughes just as movies were converting from silents to talkies and the flight sequences were what it was known for.

You probably already know this, but Hughes was a big aviator in his own right back in the 1930s and 40s before he became a reckluse. He built the biggest airplane ever made, the Spruce Goose, back in 1947, made entrely of plywood.  It had only one flight.