American Fighter Combat During WWI

It has been over three quarters of a century since the American Air Service began operations in Europe during the Great War. Its service there during the final days of World War I, except for a few volunteers, only covered seven short months. Even though war was declared a year earlier in the spring of 1917, it took a year to get a force organized for air combat in Europe. But, finally, high above the ruined landscape of the trench warfare, American airpower made its debut. It was here that America's young warriors without parachutes and in bitter cold open cockpits made their contributions. Their battles took place high over Toul, Chateau-Thierry, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne. I will examine training, leadership, and the adaptation of formation tactics of the infant United States air arm. You will see that as a combat force, the Air Service made tremendous strides from its cautious beginnings in April 1918. At this time the force only consisted of a single observation squadron flying obsolete aircraft and two pursuit units flying unarmed Nieuports.