CHAPTER XIXFLYING 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 Americancadets 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 enemyplanes 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.