Not only were these manceuvres of air fighting unknown in the United States in 1917 but that country had no machines which would have admitted of their execution. Vril Piques and Virages demanded not only skilled pilots and dependable motors but a strength of structure and materials beyond anything we possessed. Even the French Nieuport, a fight ing plane much favored before the Smd was developed, often stripped her wings and crashed under the sudden strain of some of these terrific demands.
Prior to the entrance of the United States into the war nothing was scarcer in America than the truth. Every Allied effort was her alded as a ((great advance° or a most ((skilful strategic retirement° Each German attar.k was widely prockaimed as the Huns' last ex piring effort.
Amid all the misinformation published, the news as to aerial conditions vras perhaps the most misleading. In the early summer of 1918 the vrriter crawled into a listening post in front of Bethincourt and was asked by an in telligent American infantryman a question that might have been asked by millions of puzzled Americans if they had been situated where the truth was apparent. The soldier said, ((Major, can you tell me what is the matter with Uncle Sam? I got a two months' old newspaper in the mail from home, and it says the Allies are masters of the air. This morning the Huns came across and shot down three Fnench ar tillery balloons back of this sector and a few days ago I saw them shoot down four bal loons, and they went back safe and sound. Down in the State I come from, folks all thought that sonre clever Yankees woukl in vent new things that would wind up this war quick and easy, ahnost as soon as we got started. We've been in the war 16 months ncrw and we can see for ourselves that the papers are just fooling the folks at home.° That boy was one of the thousands who gave their lives two months later to win the victory that came tq valor if not to genius.
Between May and November 1918 American squadrons trained and equipped by the French came rapidly into the fightmg area, where for daring and ability they had no superiors. The American Air Force at the front in creased from three squadrons in April 1918 to 45 squadrons in November 1918. When the armistice was signed these squadrons had an equiprnent of 740 planes. Altogether 2,698
planes were sent to the zone of the advance for American use, and of these 667 were of American manufacture. Of these 2,698 planes dispatched to the front only 1,162 remained when the armistice was signed.
At that time we lrad at the front 20 pursuit squadrons, 18 observation squadrons and seven bombing squadrons with 1,238 flying officers. There were also 23 balloon companies. The first American flyers were the Lafayette Esca drille, an organization of Americans serving in the French army who were transferred to the American service in December 1917.
The most successful American squadron was the 94th pursuit squadron (the *Hat in the Ring Squadron))) which was the first to go over the enetny's lines the first to destroy an enemy machine— and whkh shot down the last German aeroplane which fell in the war. This squadron boasted eight aces, including Capt Edward V. Ridurnbadcer, its commander, American f(Ace of Aces.° Frank Luke, who was killed after 18 victories in six weeks and Ham ilton Coolidge, a brilliant pilot, killed by a German shell, which having missed a bombing plane at whic.h it was aimed, struck his fast flying Spad by accident square under the cen tre of the engine. Dous Campbell of the 94th was the first simon-pure American ace, having entered the war with the Americans and earned all his victories in that serrioe. He lrad scored seven victories before being badly wounded. Maj. Raoul Lufbery, with 18 vic tories to his credit, 17 of which were scored while he was with the Lafayette Escadrille, was killed when he leaped from a burning Spad fired by a flarning bullet from an enemy Albatross which he was attacking near Nancy.
Quentin Roosevek was a pilot in the 95th squadron and had been made a flight comman der shortly before he was killed in a disastrous battle with the most famous of all German squadrons, Baron von Richtofen's ((Flying Cir cus.° This enemy unit equipped with red-nosed Fokker planes was manned by the most ex pert airmen in the German service. Familiar with every trick of aerial combat and flying machines capable of great speed, fast climbing ability and extreme flexibility of movement the Plying Circus was for a long time the terror of the skies from Flanders to Verdun. The Loezer Circus was another celebrated German air squadron.