The Lafayette Flying Corps - Volume 1 (WWI Centenary Series)

THE

LAFAYETTE FLYING CORPS

EDITED BY

JAMES NORMAN HALL

&

CHARLES BERNARD NORDHOFF

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

EDGAR G. HAMILTON

WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS

VOLUME I

1920

Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

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Introduction to the

World War One Centenary Series

The First World War was a global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than nine million combatants were killed, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents’ technological and industrial sophistication – and tactical stalemate. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the world's great economic powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire) and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were both reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies, and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers. Ultimately, more than 70 million military personnel were mobilised.

The war was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by a Yugoslav nationalist, Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, June 28th 1914. This set off a diplomatic crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, and international alliances were invoked. Within weeks, the major powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. By the end of the war, four major imperial powers; the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires—ceased to exist. The map of Europe was redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created. On peace, the League of Nations formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such an appalling conflict, encouraging cooperation and communication between the newly autonomous nation states. This laudatory pursuit failed spectacularly with the advent of the Second World War however, with new European nationalism and the rise of fascism paving the way for the next global crisis.

This book is part of the World War One Centenary series; creating, collating and reprinting new and old works of poetry, fiction, autobiography and analysis. The series forms a commemorative tribute to mark the passing of one of the world's bloodiest wars, offering new perspectives on this tragic yet fascinating period of human history.

Amelia Carruthers

A Timeline of the Major Events of World War One in Europe

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

By Amelia Carruthers

Air Warfare in the First World War

In 1903 the Wright brothers made the first recorded powered flight, achieving 12 seconds air time at Kittyhawk, Dare County, North Carolina, United States. In 1909, the first powered crossing of the English Channel was achieved by Louis Blèriot. Five years later, the First World War began.

Due to its still nascent technology, aviation was deemed of little use to the European armed services. One unknown British general commented that ‘the airplane is useless for the purposes of war.’ Likewise, the German General Ferdinand Foch is reported to have alleged that ‘aviation is a good sport, but for the army it is useless.’ These opinions reflected a widespread scepticism about aircraft, unsurprising given their delicate and undependable nature. Most aeroplanes in 1914 were constructed of hardwood or steel tubing, combined with linen fabric doped with flammable liquid to provide strength. They were incredibly fragile by later standards and frequently collapsed during flight, especially in combat situations.

As a result of these technical issues, when war erupted in July 1914, aircraft were used mainly for reconnaissance; feeding back information for artillery strikes, recording troop movements and taking detailed photographs of enemy positions. However, the diversity of uses, technological advances and sheer increase of numbers involved in air warfare during the period were astonishing. To illustrate, France had fewer than 140 aircraft at the outbreak of war, but by 1918 she had 4,500. However, France actually produced 68,000 aircraft during the war, with 52,000 destroyed in combat; a staggering loss rate of 77%. Aerial battles were extremely crude, but equally deadly – the pilots flew in tiny cockpits, making parachutes a rarity and death by fire commonplace. Many officers, especially the British, actually forbade the carrying of parachutes as it was feared they would lessen the fighting spirit of the men.

The typical British aircraft at the start of the war was the general purpose BE2X. It had a top speed of 72mph and was powered by a 90hp engine; it could fly for roughly three hours. By the end of the war, this had been replaced by planes such as the Sopwith Camel and the SE5a fighter, built for speed and manoeuvrability. The latter had a top speed of 138mph, now powered by a 200hp engine. The technological change which enabled these improvements was the ‘pusher’ layouts’ replacement. Traditionally, propellers faced backwards, pushing the plane forwards – but the alternative design with a forward facing propeller (a ‘tractor’) provided far superior performance both in terms of speed and power. Another major advance was the replacement of the rotary engine. In this type of engine, where the crankshaft remained stationary whilst the pistons (attached to the propeller) rotated around it, there was an excellent power to weight ratio, but it lost out to the more powerful water cooled engines. By 1918, the Sopwith Camel remained the last major aircraft still using the older rotary technology.

Within the first months of the war, whilst still in the ‘movement stage’, the value of aerial reconnaissance was vindicated. On 22 August 1914, contradicting all other intelligence, one British Captain and his Lieutenant reported that General Alexander von Kluck’s army was preparing to surround the BEF. This initiated a massive withdrawal towards Mons, saving about 100,000 lives. Similarly, at the First Battle of the Marne, General Joseph-Simon Gallieni was able to achieve a spectacular victory, using information provided by the French air force to attack the exposed flanks of the German army. But nowhere was the importance of aerial intelligence more forcibly asserted than at the Battle of Tannenberg on the Eastern Front. The Russian General, Alexander Samsonov ignored his own pilot’s warnings, allowing almost all of his army to be captured or killed by the Germans. After the crushing defeat, Samsonov committed suicide whilst German Field Marshall Hindeburg stated ‘without airmen, there would have been no Tannenburg.’

As aerial reconnaissance became more frequent and effective, new methods were developed to counter this threat. At first, infantry fired at planes from the ground, although this was largely ineffective due to ill-adapted guns. Yet quickly, airmen began directly attacking one another. Pilots and their observers attempted to shoot at the enemy using rifles and pistols; some threw bricks, grenades and ropes with grappling hooks attached. A more reliable solution was required. As early as 1912 the Vickers company had already produced an experimental airplane to be armed with a Maxim machine gun. Nicknamed the ‘Destroyer’, the EFB1 plane was powered via the old fashioned pusher layout, allowing the gunner to sit in front of the pilot, giving an uninterrupted field of vision. The nose was too heavy with the machine gun’s weight though, and the plane crashed on its first flight. By 1914 many pilots took the initiative and experimented with machine guns themselves. The British pilot Louis Strange improvised a safety strap allowing the observer of his tractor driven Avro 504 to ‘stand up and fire all round over top of plane and behind.’ Similarly, on 5 October, 1914, a French pilot in a Voisin III pusher biplane became the first man of the war to shoot down another aircraft – his observer standing up to fire a Hotchkiss machine gun.

Only a few machine guns were small and reliable enough for use however, and the problem was not satisfactorily solved until Anton Fokker developed the ‘interrupter gear’ in 1915. This meant that a machine gun could be synchronised with the moving propeller blades – soon to produce the ‘Fokker Scourge’ for the allies. This development gave the Germans a strong advantage, not only strategically but in terms of morale. The Fokker, and its successor the Eindecker caused panic in the British parliament and press; also contributing to German successes at the Battle of Verdun as French reconnaissance failed to provide information on enemy positions. It took the allies an entire year to adapt the device to their own use.

These fighting aircraft were supported by the bombers; not directly involved in fights (if possible), but aimed at destroying the enemy’s capacity to make war on the home front. Industrial units, power stations, shipyards and entire cities became targets; some of the most famous being Germany’s Zeppelin raids on London – causing up to half a million pounds of damage with each vessel. At the start of the war, bomb aiming was crude in the extreme however. Bombs were simply dropped over the side of the aircraft when the pilot reached the vicinity of the target. Russia was the first to develop an airplane specifically for this purpose; the Murometz, a large four-engine airplane originally produced in 1913 as a passenger plane, was used successfully throughout the entire war. The Germans had the Gotha bomber plane, and the British had the Handley Page. Yet despite the strategic importance of these bomber planes, as the war continued it was the fighters who captured the public’s imagination. Popular legends arose around the ‘great aces’ such as Manfred von Richthofen (the ‘Red Baron’), Ernst Udet, and the French pilot Paul Rene Fonck. Governments were quick to trumpet the successes of their airmen for propaganda purposes, with the French and the Germans being the first countries to award the distinction of ‘ace’.

This seemingly exotic and elegant war in the air was far removed from reality however. As noted, reconnaissance was the largest role of aircraft during the war, and the bravery of the pilots in fulfilling this dangerous and unglamorous work is seldom remarked. Newly recruited pilots were sent into the sky, often only with a few hours air training time (typically less than five), and as the war progressed it became unusual for new pilots to survive their first few weeks. The newer planes, often built more for manoeuvrability than stability were increasingly difficult to operate and if pilots were not shot down, bad weather, mechanical problems and simple pilot error could all intervene. Most died not in spectacular dogfights but after being shot from behind, unaware of their attackers.

Taken as a whole, air warfare did not play a fundamental strategic role in World War One, as it did in later conflicts – however bombers and fighters provided just as important a psychological weapon as they did a practical one. The main significance of World War One aviation was a rapid increase in technology and prestige, fostering a new found respect in the general public and military commanders for this hitherto unknown method of battle. The terrible capabilities of air warfare would be unleashed on a far greater scale in the next World War, with even more devastating consequences.

Amelia Carruthers

PILOTS OF THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE ATTACKING A GERMAN PATROL OVER THE CHAMPAGNE SECTOR (MARCH 26, 1918)

TO

WILLIAM K. VANDERBILT

GENEROUS AND LOYAL FRIEND OF THE

LAFAYETTE FLYING CORPS

Far above the squalor and the mud, so high in the firmament as to be invisible from earth, they fight out the eternal issues of right and wrong. Their daily and nightly struggles are like Miltonic conflicts between winged hosts. They fight high and low. They skim like armed swallows along the Front, attacking men in their flights, armed with rifle and machine gun. They scatter infantry on the march; they destroy convoys; they wreck trains. Every flight is a romance, every record an epic. They are the knighthood of this war, without fear and without reproach; and they recall the legendary days of chivalry, not merely by the daring of their exploits, but by the nobility of their spirit.

(From a speech of David Lloyd George before

the House of Commons, October 29, 1917)

PREFACE

IN offering this record of the Lafayette Flying Corps to the families and friends of the men who served in it, and to the public at large, the editors feel that a few words of explanation are necessary. Their purpose has been twofold: to furnish a record as complete and authentic as possible, and to reconstruct an atmosphere. To accomplish the first has not been easy, for the work of collecting and arranging the material was not begun until after the signing of the Armistice, when the pilots in the Corps had become widely scattered. Some were still on duty in France; others had been sent to aviation schools and dépôts throughout America; yet others had returned to civilian life. The task of getting in touch with them has been difficult and in some cases impossible.

In preparing the service records and biographical sketches, the general policy has been followed of including only those of the men who served at the Front. A few exceptions have been made in the case of men killed in accidents, those who served with distinction in other than combatant capacities, and those who were released because of wounds received in some other branch of war service. The service records are as complete as painstaking care could make them. Dates are occasionally wanting and copies of citations, for the reason that they could be secured neither from the men themselves nor from the French records. It was likewise impossible always to decide upon the exact dates of American commissions. Those given here are sometimes the date of granting, sometimes that of accepting the commission, and sometimes that of the pilot’s active duty orders in U.S. Aviation.

The biographical sketches have not been written to the satisfaction of the editors. It was inevitable, perhaps, that there should be a good deal of similarity in them, written, as they were, of men whose experiences as aviators were so largely similar. Furthermore, detailed information of the service of many of the volunteers has been lacking. The editors had personal knowledge of only those men who were in their own squadrons or groupes de combat. The length or quality of a man’s service is not, therefore, to be judged wholly by the length or character of his biographical sketch.

Members of the Lafayette Corps who were not breveted, or who were released from the French service before being sent on active duty, are included in a separate list. Most of the names in this supplementary list are of men who served honorably and faithfully, and who were released because of illness, as the result of injuries received in flying accidents, or because of inaptitude. While always a matter of regret to a pilot, inaptitude is no cause for shame. In the Air Service of any country, the number of men released before receiving the military brevet was always large, sometimes one half of the number enlisted.

Owing chiefly to limits of space, the formal history has been made as concise as possible. The editors have contented themselves with preparing a brief narrative of the origin of the Escadrille Américaine, its service at the Front, and its development into the Lafayette Flying Corps, carrying the story through the winter of 1917–18, when the members of the Escadrille Lafayette, as well as most of the American volunteers in other French squadrons, were transferred to the U.S. Air Service. Access has been had to the files of the Lafayette Corps as well as to those of the French Service Aéronautique, and every effort has been made to give an accurate account as well as to include in it all essential facts.

The more important history, the narrative of life in French aviation schools and at the Front, has been told by the volunteers themselves. Volume II is made up from their letters written under the emotional stress of a great experience. A few excerpts from articles or books already printed have been included. The editors acknowledge their indebtedness to Messrs. Doubleday, Page & Company for their permission to reprint in the historical sketch an extract from James R. McConnell’s Flying for France; to Messrs. Charles Scribner’s Sons for permission to reprint among the letters extracts from Charles J. Biddle’s The Way of the Eagle;¹ and to the Century Company for permission to use extracts from Ruth Dunbar’s story. Severely Wounded, originally printed in the Century Magazine. In order to obtain many of the letters, it was necessary to promise that the name of the writer would be withheld. It was decided, therefore, to print all anonymously. In choosing those for publication the editors have kept in mind the fact that the Lafayette Corps was a cosmopolitan one. It is to be hoped that its members will be seen here as they actually were, boys fresh from school or college, men just entering business or professional life; men from the east and the west, the north and the south; those who enlisted from a high sense of duty and those who came at the irresistible call of adventure. In reading over their letters, one seems to relive the old heroic days, to hear the distant mutter of the guns, and the pulsing of the motors of the midnight Gothas; to see the return of the patrol remote against the evening sky; to feel the thrill and the terror of combat; to breathe again the unforgettable fragrance of an aerodrome—the sweet, pungent odor of gasoline and burnt castor oil.

The Lafayette Corps has played its part in history—how great a part the future will decide. One hundred and ten of America’s six hundred and fifty aviators who served at the Front were Lafayette men. In addition thirty-three pilots remained in the French service, fighting in French squadrons until the end of the war. Others were acting as instructors at aviation schools both in France and in America. It seemed necessary that some record of the accomplishment of the Lafayette Corps be set down, not only for the pleasure of the men who were a part of it, but that others in later days might not forget these volunteers who were among the first Americans to go to the aid of France at a time of great need.

J. N. H.

C. B. N.

Squibnocket, Martha’s Vineyard

Massachusetts

¹ The letters reprinted from The Way of the Eagle are those bearing titles as follows: A Franc Twenty-Five per Day (pp. 7–8), With the Cigognes (pp. 73–74), Oliver Chadwick (pp. 77–78), Hobnobbing with Royalty (p. 78), The German Gun for Dunkirk (p. 86), A Comrade’s Grave (pp. 88–91), Shot Down in Flanders (pp. 104–18), Convalescing (pp. 124–26), Guynemer (p. 199), After the Armistice (pp. 276–78).

CONTENTS

  I. THE ORIGIN OF THE ESCADRILLE AMÉRICAINE

 II. THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE AT THE FRONT

III. THE LAFAYETTE FLYING CORPS

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

FRIENDS OF THE CORPS

THE CORPS

ILLUSTRATIONS

This list does not include the portraits of the members of the Corps which appear in connection with the Biographical Sketches.

PILOTS OF THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE ATTACKING A GERMAN PATROL OVER THE CHAMPAGNE SECTOR

From a watercolor by A. Vimnèra

THE INDIAN-HEAD EMBLEM OF THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE (colored)

LETTER OF MARÉCHAL FOCH (facsimile)

JAROUSSE DE SILLAC

AMERICAN LÉGIONNAIRES, 1914: THAW, BACH, AND BERT HALL

THE BUREAU DE PILOTAGE, BUC

COWDIN AND PRINCE, PAU, MARCH, 1915

CURTIS, BACH, COWDIN, AND BERT HALL, PAU, MARCH, 1915

RESIDENCE OF DR. EDMUND L. GROS, 23 AVENUE DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE, PARIS

SERGENT VIGNON

SERGENT DE GUINGON AND LIEUTENANT BOUGAUD

LIEUTENANT HENRIOT

SERGENT ANSON

ADJUDANT PRIEUDI

ADJUDANT DECKERT

ADJUDANTS CARON AND PARIS

GENERAL HIRSCHAUER

PATROL TIME: THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE AT LUXEUIL, 1916

CHANGING SECTORS

NORMAN PRINCE, LIEUTENANT NUNGESSER, AND DIDIER MASSON AT BAR-LE-DUC, AUGUST, 1916

THE SQUADRON IN AUGUST, 1916

WHISKEY AND SODA, THE SQUADRON MASCOTS

WHISKEY AND SODA CHANGING SECTORS

THREE VIEWS OF CAPTAIN THÉNAULT AND FRAM

THE ESCADRILLE AT CHAUDUN (AISNE), JULY, 1917

SAMPSON, THE COOK OF THE N. 124

AT THE AERO CLUB OF FRANCE, JUNE 14, 1917

LOVELL, GENÊT, LUFBERY, AND McCONNELL, SAINT-JUST, FEBRUARY, 1917

AERODROMES OF THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE (double-page)

COMMANDANT FÉQUANT, CAPTAIN THÉNAULT, LIEUTENANT THAW, AND SOUS-LIEUTENANT LUFBERY

THE FIRST CITATION OF THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE

ARRIVAL OF THE AMERICAN MECHANICS, ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE, FEBRUARY 17, 1918

THE QUARTERS OF THE AMERICAN MECHANICS, LA FERME DE LA NOBLETTE (CHAMPAGNE SECTOR)

AMERICANS AT BUC, SUMMER OF 1916

M. DE SILLAC AND DR. GROS VISITING THE AMERICAN PILOTS AT AVORD, MARCH, 1917

COLONEL GIROD, COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE FRENCH AVIATION SCHOOLS

GROUPE DE COMBAT 13 IN ACTION (double-page)

From drawings

A RAINY DAY IN CAMP

COMMANDANT BROCARD

JACQUES LOUIS DUMESNIL

THE MOSELLE AT TRÈVES

CAPTAIN GUYNEMER OF THE CIGOGNES WINNING A DOUBLE VICTORY IN THE PARVILLIERS SECTOR DURING A GAS ATTACK (colored)

From a watercolor by A. Vimnèra

THE GUESTS AT A BANQUET GIVEN TO MR. W. K. VANDERBILT, HONORARY PRESIDENT OF THE LAFAYETTE FLYING CORPS, AT THE INTERALLIED CLUB, PARIS, OCTOBER 9, 1918

DR. EDMUND GROS

MRS. OVINGTON

COMMANDANT FÉQUANT

COMMANDANT FÉQUANT AT THE FRONT

CAPTAIN GEORGES THÉNAULT

CAPTAIN THÉNAULT AND FRAM

LIEUTENANT ALFRED DE LAAGE DE MEUX

THE FUNERAL OF LIEUTENANT DE LAAGE DE MEUX

THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE AT CHAUDUN, JULY, 1917: LIEUTENANT DE MAISON-ROUGE

LIEUTENANT LOUIS VERDIER-FAUVETY

LIEUTENANT LOUIS VERDIER-FAUVETY AND THE RESULT OF ONE OF HIS COMBATS

SINGLE COMBAT OVER RHEIMS (colored)

From a watercolor by A. Vimnèra

FRAZIER CURTIS, JAMES BACH, BERT HALL, AND NORMAN PRINCE AT PAU, MARCH, 1915

BENNEY AND SPENCER

RUMPLER TWO-SEATER BROUGHT DOWN BY MAJOR CHARLES BIDDLE, AUGUST 16, 1918

BRÉGUET DAY BOMBERS IN FORMATION

DAVIS AND BOOTH AT NICE

EDGAR BOULIGNY WITH SERGENT FOUCHER, HIS MACHINE-GUNNER

OVER THE MACEDONIAN FRONT

CAMPBELL WITH HIS THREE-WING NIEUPORT

CHADWICK’S GRAVE IN FLANDERS

CHAMBERLAIN AND AMERICANS’ ROOM AT AVORD

THE ESCADRILLE LAFAYETTE AT LUXEUIL, MAY, 1916

AMERICAN PILOTS OF THE SPAD 80

THEODORE DE KRUIJFF AND PHELPS COLLINS AT PAU

PILOTS OF SPAD 163

SERGENT COWDIN, LIEUTENANT DE LAAGE DE MEUX, CAPTAIN THÉNAULT, AND LIEUTENANT THAW

CREHORE AND MARINOVITCH

CUNNINGHAM AND YORK, AVORD, JULY, 1917

SAXON, DOCK, READ, AND MILLS, AVORD, OCTOBER, 1917

ROBERT DONZÉ AT A PRISE D’ARMES, BELFORT

THE AMERICAN BARRACKS AT BUC, 1916

GENÊT’S FUNERAL AT HAM

HALL NEAR PAGNY-SUR-MOSELLE, MORNING OF MAY 7, 1918

WILLIS HAVILAND AT CACHY ON THE SOMME

HITCHCOCK, YORK, WINTER, GUEST, RODGERS, AND SCHREIBER ON THE WAY TO FRANCE

AN ALBATROSS

M. CIRET

THE REMAINS OF HOSKIER’S MACHINE

THE FUNERAL OF HOSKIER AND DRESSY

BOLSENA, ITALY

FUNERAL OF HARRY F. JOHNSON

MAURY JONES AND CHARLES BIDDLE AT AVORD—PENGUIN CLASS

SERGENT JUDD AND ADJUDANT DE CURNIEU AT AVORD

BAER, PELTON, DE KRUIJFF, AND KERWOOD, CAFÉ D’AVORD, APRIL, 1917

A BRÉGUET BOMBER

LARNER’S SPAD

LITTAUER’S WIND-SHIELD

LOUGHRAN AND MEMBERS OF SPAD 84

LOVELL AS AN ÉLÈVE-PILOTE AT BUC, SEPTEMBER, 1916 (WITH BARCLAY, WILLIS, AND OTHERS)

’FRISCO AND A PANNE DE MOTEUR OF LOVELL’S

LUFBERY RECEIVING THE BRITISH MILITARY MEDAL

LUFBERY, WHISKEY, AND SODA

LUFBERY AND WHISKEY

MARON (MERTHE-ET-MOSELLE)

THE WRECK OF MAJOR LUFBERY’S MACHINE, MAY 19, 1918

McCONNELL’S GRAVE NEAR HAM

THE FIRING-SQUAD AT DOUGLAS MACMONAGLE’S FUNERAL

MILLER, BULLEN, SITTERLY, RODGERS, WINSLOW, AND MACKE AT AVORD, SUMMER OF 1917

NICHOLS’S COMRADES: ROLL-CALL AT TOURS

LANDRAM OVINGTON AND AUSTEN PARKER

PAVELKA’S FUNERAL IN SALONICA IN NOVEMBER, 1917

AMERICANS AT AVORD

GRAVE OF NORMAN PRINCE, LUXEUIL

THE LITTLE MORANE (DAVID GUY)

CUSHMAN, DOCK, AND READ, AVORD, JULY, 1917

ROCKWELL’S GRAVE

SCANLON’S CRASH INTO THE BAKERY

SOUBIRAN AND HIS SPAD

SPENCER’S GRAVE, BELFORT

MONUMENT ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF WILLIAM H. TAILER BY THE CITIZENS OF ROSLYN

THAW BUILDING A BOAT FROM AN AEROPLANE FUSELAGE, DUNKIRK, 1918

WAINWRIGHT ABBOTT AND CHARLES TRINKARD

TURNURE AND JIM, THE ANNAMITE ORDERLY, AT AVORD

A PATROL OF VEIL’S SQUADRON LEAVING THE FIELD

STUART WALCOTT AND EDWARD LOUGHRAN AT LE PLESSIS-BELLEVILLE

STUART WALCOTT’S GRAVE AT LEFFINCOURT, ARDENNES

WRAPPED GRACEFULLY AROUND A TREE

WELLMAN AND JUDD AT AVORD

OFFICERS’ PRISON CAMP, KARLSRUHE, BADEN

ALLAN WINSLOW AFTER HIS VICTORY AT TOUL

WINTER’S GRAVE

ZINN’S SQUADRON, SOP. 24

THE LAFAYETTE FLYING CORPS HISTORY

THE LAFAYETTE FLYING CORPS

I

THE ORIGIN OF THE ESCADRILLE AMERICAINE

AS one considers the historical significance of the Lafayette Flying Corps, it becomes evident that the outstanding accomplishment of the volunteers was their influence on public opinion in America at a time when we were neutral and under heavy pressure to maintain our neutrality. The position of the United States in regard to the war was at once the greatest obstacle confronting the founders of the Corps, and their most forceful argument used in urging the French to permit enlistments in the Aviation Service.

France was forced to exercise ceaseless vigilance against German spies masquerading as American subjects. Before admitting a neutral to her flying schools, dépôts, and squadrons, where there were daily opportunities to acquire information of importance to the enemy, it was necessary to make a painstaking examination of the candidate. This was no small obstacle to enlistment, and added to it was the fact that there existed a superabundance, rather than a shortage, of flying personnel. France and the United States, on the other hand, were traditional friends, united for more than a hundred years by the bond of a common idealism. The best element in America was already in open sympathy with France, and the French authorities, with ready understanding of our race, realized that the presence of a band of young Americans in French uniform, fighting the spectacular battles of the sky, would be certain to arouse a widespread interest and sympathy at home. To appreciate the importance of the movement, therefore, one must bear in mind that the motive which actuated France in permitting the establishment of the Lafayette Flying Corps was largely political.

To Norman Prince, of Pride’s Crossing, Massachusetts, belongs the credit of first conceiving the idea of a squadron of American volunteer pilots to serve with the French. In November, 1914, Prince was at Marblehead, learning to pilot hydro-aeroplanes at the Burgess school. He hoped to offer his services to France as soon as he had perfected himself in flying, believing that other Americans with experience as aviators would like to join with him, and that the French Government would be willing to accept a squadron of volunteer airmen for service at the Front. He suggested the idea to Frazier Curtis, who was in training with him, and the two men spent much time in discussing it. Curtis had just returned from England, where he had offered his services to the Royal Flying Corps, but had been refused on account of his American citizenship. While strongly approving of Prince’s plan, he decided that he would take no active part in it until he had made another attempt at enlistment in England. In case of a second failure there, he promised his active support in the attempt to organize an Escadrille Américaine in France.

Deciding to offer his plan to the French Government at the earliest opportunity, Prince sailed for France on January 20, 1915, and set to work at once to enlist the aid of several Americans residing in Paris. Some could not be convinced that the project was feasible, and others thought it unwise to organize a squadron of American volunteers because of the neutrality of the United States. In Mr. Robert W. Bliss and Mr. Robert Chanler, however, Prince found helpful and enthusiastic allies who not only gave him the encouragement of a profound belief in his plan, but gave practical support by arranging for introductions and interviews with members of the French War Department.

On December 24, 1914, Curtis sailed for England, where he found it impossible to join the Royal Flying Corps without giving up his American citizenship—a step he was unwilling to take; and early in February, 1915, he went to France to make application for enlistment in the French Aviation. At the Hôtel Palais d’Orsay in Paris he met Prince, who told him that he had taken up his plan with the Ministry of War through his friends Jacques and Paul de Lesseps—members of the Air Guard of Paris—and that the outcome was still uncertain. At a dinner given by the de Lesseps brothers to the two Americans, the situation was discussed from every point of view, and a letter drawn up addressed to M. Millerand, then Minister of War, offering to France the services of a squadron of American airmen. This letter met with a very discouraging response. The Americans were told that no volunteers could be admitted to the Aviation, owing to the popularity of this branch with the French soldiers, hundreds of whom—far more than could be used—were applying for training as pilots.

JAROUSSE DE SILLAC

The situation seemed almost hopeless, but Prince was not to be discouraged. Another avenue of approach was opened through the courtesy of Mr. Robert Bliss, who arranged a meeting with M. Jarousse de Sillac,—a meeting fruitful in result for the future Corps. It was chiefly through the sympathy and active interest of M. de Sillac that permission for the formation of an American squadron was finally obtained. On February 20, 1915, the following letter was sent by him to his friend Colonel Bouttieaux, of the Ministry of War:

I beg to transmit to you herewith attached the names of six young men, citizens of the United States of America, who desire to enlist in the French Aviation—an offer which was not accepted by the Minister of War. Permit me to call your attention to this matter, insisting upon its great interest. It appears to me that there might be great advantages in the creation of an American Squadron. The United States would be proud of the fact that certain of her young men, acting as did Lafayette, have come to fight for France and civilization. The resulting sentiment of enthusiasm could have but one effect: to turn the Americans in the direction of the Allies. There is a precedent in the Legion of Garibaldi, which has had an undeniably good influence on Franco-Italian relations. If you approve these considerations, I am confident that it will be possible to accept these young men and to authorize their enlistment in such a manner that they may be grouped under the direction of a French chief. In doing this you will contribute to the happiness of these six Americans.

This letter brought the following reply from Colonel Bouttieaux, dated February 24, 1915:

I think that your candidates will be welcomed. They should contract an engagement in the French Army for the duration of the war, and should agree to fly only the aeroplanes customarily used in the French Aviation Service.

Many thanks and very cordially yours

The six Americans to whom M. de Sillac alluded were: Norman Prince, Frazier Curtis, Elliot Cowdin, William Thaw, Bert Hall, and James Bach. The three latter were already enlisted in the French Army as engagés volontaires, and had effected their transfer to the Aviation after serving from August to December, 1914, in the Foreign Legion. All three had commenced their training at Buc (Seine-et-Oise). Cowdin, who had been in the Ambulance Service, was ready to transfer at once to Aviation, and during the week following the receipt of Colonel Bouttieaux’s letter, Prince, Curtis, and Cowdin signed their enlistment papers (March 9, 1915) and were sent to Pau (B.P.) to begin their training. They were soon joined by Bach and Hall, whose transfer from Buc had been requested by Prince. Thaw, who was already an experienced airman and about to be sent to the Front, naturally preferred this opportunity for gaining actual experience as a war pilot to the alternative of going to Pau, where he would have to wait until the other Americans had completed their training. He therefore requested to go on active duty as a member of a French squadron, planning to join the other volunteers later, if the Escadrille Américaine should become a reality.

AMERICAN LÉGIONNAIRES, 1914

Thaw seated (center), Bach aeated (right), Bert Hall standing (right)

THE BUREAU DE PILOTAGE. BUC

Meanwhile another American, Dr. Edmund L. Gros (later Lieutenant-Colonel, U.S. Air Service), then one of the heads of the American Ambulance, had been thinking, quite independently, of the possibility of forming a squadron of American volunteer airmen. In the Foreign Legion, Americans had already distinguished themselves as combatants, and in the Ambulance there were dozens of young men eager for a more active branch of service. It occurred to Dr. Gros that both in the Legion and in the Ambulance there was splendid material which might be used to good advantage in the French Aviation Service. Curtis, who was now as keenly interested as Prince, spent much of his leisure time in searching for volunteers. Early in July, while making a canvass of Ambulance men at Neuilly, he learned of Dr. Gros’s activity in the same direction, and wrote the following letter:

COWDIN AND PRINCE, PAU, MARCH, 1915

CURTIS, BACH, COWDIN, AND BERT HALL, PAU, MARCH, 1915

DEAR DR. GROS:

I went to the Ambulance to-day to see if I could find any drivers who wanted to join the French Aviation Service. The Government is willing to train 100 American flyers and to keep them together in one Corps. Men of flying experience would be preferred, but those of apparent aptitude (knowledge of French, gas engines, etc.) will be acceptable. Mr. Fréchon tells me you are keen on getting up a big Corps, so we ought to be able to work together. I would like to introduce you to one of my friends who is pretty much running this enlarged Corps. I am here on sick-leave, three accidents having left me pretty well jarred up. I expect to go to the seaside for a good rest in a day or two, but am very anxious to see you first.

Sincerely yours

(Signed) FRAZIER CURTIS

RESIDENCE OF DR. EDMUND L. GROS, 23 AVENUE DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE, PARIS

Meeting Curtis shortly after this, and through him M. de Sillac, Dr. Gros discussed with them his ideas and the three found themselves in hearty accord. As his duties lay in Paris, and he knew thoroughly the language and customs of the French, Dr. Gros was peculiarly fitted to push forward the work begun by Prince, who was then at the flying school at Pau and busy with his duties. It was left for M. de Sillac and Dr. Gros to interview the French authorities, arouse the interest of prominent Americans, and to keep the project moving forward toward realization. A committee was formed, consisting of M. de Sillac President, Dr. Gros Vice-President, and Mr. Frederick Allen; these three men kept in close touch with the Ministry of War. Many difficulties, which at times seemed almost insurmountable, were encountered, but finally, on July 8, 1915, General Hirschauer, Chief of French Military Aeronautics, accepted an invitation to meet the supporters of the proposed escadrille at a luncheon at the house of Senator Menier. There were present: General Hirschauer, Colonel Bouttieaux, Senator Menier, Léon Bourgeois, Mr. Robert Bacon, M. de Sillac, Dr. Gros, and Dr. William White, of Philadelphia. Hitherto the French had been uniformly averse to grouping American flyers on the Front, but at this luncheon General Hirschauer was persuaded of the feasibility and