FLYING IN FRANCE
Seventeen large flying fields, divided into seven or more air
instruction centers, one of which was the largest in the world, were
developed in France for the partial training or final grooming of the
men who had already received part or nearly complete preparation at the
home fields. During the first year of the war 50,000 enlisted men were
sent overseas to rush forward the preparations for our air forces. Most
of them went to France, where they made ready the big flying fields at
the instruction centers, built assembly depots for American-made planes
and, later on, aerodromes near the front. Others were formed into
service squadrons and trained in England and France, in order to lessen
the pressure upon our hastily developed facilities for such training,
and were held in readiness for work with American pilots. Still others
took the places in factories of French and English workers in order
to release those who were more highly skilled for specialized work on
airplanes and their accessories.
Hardly six weeks after the entrance of the United States into the war
cadets began sailing for France for training at the French flying
fields, in order to get our flying men upon the front at the earliest
possible date. Within a year 2,500 young American cadets had gone
across the ocean or to Canada to seek instruction at French, English,
Italian and Canadian flying schools. But the Allied nations found it
impossible, under the staggering blows they were suffering, to furnish
as many training planes as they had planned and many of these young
men were not able to become effective at the front for a long time.
But by the spring of 1918 some five hundred trained American aviators,
organized in thirteen American squadrons, were working with the British
and French airmen at the front.
It was early in May, 1918, that the first German airplane fell a victim
to an American airman in the American service. In that month also the
first planes from home were received by the American Expeditionary
Forces and early in August the first complete American squadron with
American built and equipped airplanes and working with the American
Army crossed the German lines.
From various sources, including over 2,600 pursuit, observation and
bombing planes furnished by the French Government to aid in the speedy
equipment of our fighting forces, the American Army in France at the
end of the war had a total of over 10,000 planes for pursuit, bombing,
reconnoissance, experiment and training purposes. The United States had
shipped overseas nearly 2,000 service planes and over 1,300 of these
were at or supporting the front. In the battle zone at the signing of
the armistice the American Air Service had 2,160 officers and 22,350
men, in the service of supply were 4,640 officers and 28,350 soldiers,
while detailed with the French and British forces were 57 officers
and 520 soldiers, making a total air strength of over 6,800 officers
and 51,200 men. With the French army there were regiments of air
service mechanics including 100 officers and 4,700 enlisted men. Under
instruction at the fields and within two or three weeks of readiness
for service at the front were pilots for pursuit, observation, and day
and night bombing and observers, including artillery and day and night
bombing, numbering all told a little over 2,000.
Previous to the time when America became an important factor in air
operations, during the late summer and autumn of 1918, superior power
in the air had wavered back and forth between the opposing forces.
American built planes and American fliers added to the Allied forces
the air power necessary to insure supremacy. More and more important
during the last year of the war had become bombing operations from the
air and the United States had been asked to specialize for bombing
and reconnoissance work in both plane production and training of
personnel. American air work was therefore largely of this kind and its
contribution to the final defeat of the enemy, both in the destruction
of enemy troops and material and in the undermining of morale, was of
very considerable importance.
How important it was considered by our war associates is shown by the
unstinted praise they gave to the ability, the skill and the daring of
the American flying men. For their valor and achievements four hundred
of those men received decorations. Over sixty of them were “aces”--that
is, had received official credit for the bringing down of five enemy
planes. The premier “ace” had twenty-six planes to his credit and the
next highest had eighteen. Altogether, American fliers accounted for
491 enemy planes whose destruction or capture was confirmed by the
very strict evidence required before official credit for them was
given and 354 others were reported without this official confirmation.
Of enemy balloons the destruction of eighty-two was reported, of
which fifty-seven had official confirmation. The American forces lost
forty-five balloons and 271 airplanes. Therefore the American Air
Service at the front destroyed more than three times as many planes as
it lost and almost twice as many balloons. Among the flying men there
were 554 casualties, of whom 171 were killed in action.