Lieutenant Frederick Ernest Luff was an American

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

during World War I. He was credited with five aerial victories, and awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross. Although he survived the war, he was injured in an air accident in May 1919 at

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

. He subsequently lived an invalid's life before expiring at home in Cleveland, Ohio in late April 1931.

Early life

Frederick Ernest Luff was born in Cleveland, Ohio on 9 July 1896.''Over the Front'', p. 57.

World War I

Luff joined the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

during World War I and was trained as a pilot. He was then forwarded to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

for service. They posted him to pilot's duty with No. 74 Squadron RAF to fly a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a. He destroyed three German

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

fighters and two

observation balloons An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World ...

between 19 August and 15 September 1918, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross for his deeds. On 19 September, he rejoined the USAAS and was assigned to the

25th Aero Squadron The 25th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 4th Pursuit Group, Second United States Army. I ...

. He and the 25th moved into combat on 9 November 1918, but the war ended two days later. The present-day U.S. Air Force unit, the

25th Space Range Squadron The 25th Space Range Squadron is a squadron of the United States Space Force. It is assigned to the Space Delta 11 at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, US. The 25th operates the Space Test and Training Range along with the 379th Space ...

, traces its lineage back to the

and recognizes Luff as a founding member. 25th Aero Squadron.jpg, 25th AS Officer Corps, Lt Luff pictured right of mascot 25th AS Frederick Ernest Luff.jpg, Posing with 25th AS mates, Lt Luff pictured on far right

Post-war

Luff returned to the United States after the war, and survived an airplane crash at

in May 1919. However, injuries suffered in the accident left him an invalid until he died in his parents' home on 27''Above the Trenches'', p. 246. or 28 April 1931.

References

Bibliography

* ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920''. Christopher F. Shores,

Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (1940 – 21 May 2023) was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography Franks published his first book in 1976. H ...

, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. , . * ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'' Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. , .

External links