The Lafayette Escadrille—Americans Prepare to Enter the Air War

Name _____________________________ hour _____

American fliers had wanted to see action in the war from the very first and, as fliers, they were not likely to be content with
only reading about the exploits of their European colleagues. Ever since American mercenary fliers flew for the rebels in Mexico in 1913,
Americans could be counted on to go wherever their flying services were needed. At the outbreak of World War I, Americans petitioned
to be allowed to volunteer for service with the Allies, and permission was granted after a year.

The corps of American fliers was formed in April 1916, at first under the name the Escadrille Americaine (AEF), but after the
German ambassador complained about so partisan an involvement, the name was changed to the Lafayette Escadrille, after the French
naval hero who fought with Washington. The group did not have a great impact on the war effort, but it did cement the relationship
between the Americans and the Allied aviators, particularly the French, who still remembered the impression the Wrights and Glenn
Curtiss had made just a few years earlier.

The French also liked the free-wheeling and generous nature of the
Americans and were welcoming of one in particular, Raoul Lufbery, an American of
French lineage who had served in China and the French Foreign Legion before
coming to Europe. In 1914 Lufbery was servicing airplanes for the Stork Squadron
and taking flight training on the side.

The Lafayette Escadrille did not form until two Harvard graduates—Norman
Prince, a student pilot who came to Paris for the express purpose of forming the
volunteer squadron, and Victor Chapman, doing graduate work in Paris when the war
began—and William Thaw, a Legion volunteer from a wealthy Pittsburgh family, A portrait of
teamed up with an influential American in Paris, Dr. Edmund Gros, a leader of the Lafayette
Squadron
volunteer American medical and ambulance corps serving in France. Together, the members
four allayed the French fears about spies in the American group and convinced them
to supply planes for combat and reconnaissance.

All through 1916 and 1917, Prince and Chapman did aerial combat with Germany’s best fliers, and they and the rest of the
corps accumulated some respectable kill totals. Prince downed five planes before being shot down in 1916; Chapman was praised by
the French for his bravery, but was killed fighting Fokkers that same year, as was Thaw. The only ace to come out of the Lafayette
Escadrille was Lufbery, who had seventeen confirmed victories, as both volunteer and then as part of the AEF.

In the AEF, Lufbery commanded the 94th Air Squadron, which included Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s top ace in the war. The
“Hat-in-the-Ring” squadron, as it was  called (after its insignia) became the elite American air fighting unit under Lufbery’s command and
allowed Billy Mitchell, commander of the entire American air forces in Europe, to contemplate and then launch aerial assaults that
would determine the outcome of battles. Lufbery died in combat in June 1918, in full view of Mitchell, who was observing on the
ground. In all, some two hundred fliers flew in the Lafayette Escadrille.

They supported tank movements and protected certain targets that they believed held special psychological significance, such
as the great cathedral at Reims, a frequent target of the German bombers. Camped in their barracks at Chaudun, the Americans were
famous for keeping two lion cubs, Whiskey and Soda, and were looked upon hopefully as an advance guard for the entry of the Yanks
into the field of battle.
QUESTIONS:

1. American pilots proved their flying capabilities when they flew for rebels of what other country?

2. Which word in Paragraph 1 means “friends” or “allies”?

3. What was the Lafayette Escadrille named after?

4. How did the American fliers impact the war effort?

5. Which word in the Paragraph 4 means “able to have a powerful effect on people and what they do, or on
events”?

6. What does the final paragraph say was the two main roles the Lafayette Escadrille played?

7. Who was America’s top ace in WWI?

8. Do you think that the movie “Flyboys” will be an accurate or inaccurate portrayal of the historical
“Lafayette Escadrille”? Explain your answer.