Lafayette Flying Corps service certificate

The Lafayette Flying Corps is a name given to the American volunteer pilots who flew in the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

(Armée de l'Air) during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It includes the pilots who flew with the bona fide

Lafayette Escadrille The La Fayette Escadrille () was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the History of the Armée de l'Air (1909–1942)#World War I (1914–1918), ''Aéronautique Mil ...

squadron.

Numbers

The estimations of number of pilots range from 180 to over 300. The generally accepted number of pilots who successfully completed French flight training is 209. Of these, 180 served in combat. More than 50 Flying Corps personnel (including members of the Lafayette Escadrille) initially served in the Ambulance Corps of the

American Field Service AFS Intercultural Programs (or AFS, originally the American Field Service) is an international youth exchange organization. It consists of over 50 independent, not-for-profit organizations, each with its own network of volunteers, professional ...

. AFS Surgeon-General Col. Edmund L. Gros, M.D. is credited with initiating the corps.

Casualties and honors

Sixty-nine Corps members died during the war, 42 of them in action against the enemy. The rest were results of disease, accidents, wounds, and suicide. The planes weren't very sturdy, and sometimes guns jammed, too, just when they were needed. The Corps is credited with 159 enemy kills. It amassed 31 ''

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

'', and its pilots were awarded seven '' Médailles militaires'' and four '' Légions d'honneur''. Eleven of its members were deemed

flying aces A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a 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 ace varies, but is ...

, claiming five air kills or more. The core squadron suffered nine losses and was credited with 41 victories.

Note

The terms “Lafayette Escadrille” and “Lafayette Flying Corps” are often confused, a misconception reinforced by the film '' Flyboys''. In reality, the Lafayette Escadrille was a single squadron (Escadrille N.124) in the French Air Service, composed primarily of American volunteer pilots. The Lafayette Flying Corps refers to the larger group of American volunteers who flew for various French squadrons during World War I—including, but not limited to, those in the Lafayette Escadrille. In short: the Escadrille was one unit within the broader Flying Corps.

Member list

;Members *Wainwright Abbott *James G. Adams *John Russell Adams *Sidney Thayer Allen *Walter K. Appleton, Jr. *Alan Newton Ash (died in service) *Arthur Mills Aten *Jules James Bach *

Paul Frank Baer Paul Frank Baer (January 29, 1894 – December 9, 1930) was an American fighter pilot for the United States Army Air Service in World War I. He was credited with nine confirmed victories and seven unconfirmed victory claims, making him the first f ...

*Benjamin Hester Baird *Horace Clyde Balsley (Lafayette Escadrille) *Leif Norman Barclay (died in service) *Charles Chester Bassett, Jr. *Henry Augustus Batchelor *James Henry Baugham (died in service) * Frank Leaman Baylies (died in service) *James Alexander Bayne (died in service) *Philip Phillips Benny (died in service) *Leo E. Benoît (alias Ernest L. Benway) *

Charles John Biddle Charles John Biddle (April 30, 1819 – September 28, 1873) was an American soldier, lawyer, congressman, and newspaper editor. Biography Biddle was born and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Nicholas Biddle, president of t ...

*Julian Cornell Biddle (died in service) *Stephen Sohier Bigelow (Lafayette Escadrille) *Charles Raymond Blake *

Arthur Bluethenthal Arthur Bluethenthal, nicknamed "Bluey" (November 1, 1891 – June 5, 1918), was an All-American football player for Princeton University, who died in combat fighting for France in World War I. Early life The son of Leopold and Johanna Bluethenth ...

(died in service) *

Pierre de Lagarde Boal Pierre de Lagarde Boal (September 29, 1895, Thonon-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, France – May 24, 1966, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) was an American diplomat and aviator. Boal served as the United States Ambassador to Nicaragua from 1941 to 1942 an ...

*Ellison Converse Bogos *William Vernon Booth, Jr. (died in service) *Clarence Marsh Bosworth *Edgar Jean Bouligny *Algernon Boyesen *Lester Strayer Brady *Ray Claflin Bridgman (Lafayette Escadrille) *Jasper Cornish Brown *Stafford Leighton Brown (died in service) *Everett Timothy Buckley *Thomas Bradley Buffum *

Eugene Jacques Bullard Eugene Jacques Bullard (born Eugene James Bullard; October 9, 1895 – October 12, 1961) was one of the first African-American military pilots, although Bullard flew for France, not the United States. Bullard was one of the few black combat pilo ...

, the world's first black military pilot (93 Spad Squadron) *Richard Nixon Bullen *William Graham Bullen *Philip Nelson Bush *Louis Leslie Byers *Andrew Courtney Campbell, Jr. (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Hugh Gordon Campbell *Joseph Maxwell Carrere, Jr. * Thomas Gantz Cassady *Oliver Moulton Chadwick (died in service) *Cyrus Foss Chamberlain (died in service) *Charles Wesley Chapman (died in service) *

Victor Chapman Victor Emmanuel Chapman (April 17, 1890 – June 23, 1916) was a French-American pilot remembered for his exploits during World War I. He was the first American pilot to die in the war. Growing up Chapman was born in New York City to essayist ...

(Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Louis Charton *Herman Lincoln Chatkoff *Roger Harvey Clapp (died in service) *Caleb James Coatsworth *Edward M. Collier *Phelps Collins (died in service) * James Connelly *Alan Augustus Cook *Linn Palmer Cookson (died in service) *Russell Bracken Corey *Edward Charles Corsi *John Rowell Cotton *Isadore Court *Elliot Christopher Cowdin (Lafayette Escadrille) *

Austen Ballard Crehore Sergeant Austen Ballard Crehore, (9 January 1893 – 20 August 1962) was a World War I pilot in the Armée de l'Air and the recipient of the Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre with two palms. Early life Austen Ballard Crehore was born ...

*Arthur Lawrence Cunningham *Frazier Curtis *Alvan Alexander Cushman *Philip Washburn Davis (died in service) *George Dock, Jr. *Charles Heave Dolan (Lafayette Escadrille) *Robert Louis Donze *James Ralph Doolittle (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Dennis Dowd (died in service) *Meredith Loveland Dowd (died in service) *Sidney Rankin Drew, Jr. (died in service) *

John Armstrong Drexel John Armstrong Drexel (October 24, 1891 – March 4, 1958) was an American aviation pioneer who was a member of the prominent Drexel family of Philadelphia. Early life Drexel was a son of Anthony Joseph Drexel Jr. (1864–1934) and Margarita Arm ...

(Lafayette Escadrille) *Nathaniel Edmund Duffy *William Edward Dugan, Jr. (Lafayette Escadrille) *Lowell Richards Dulon *Sherburne Eaton *Stuart Emmet Edgar (died in service) *Donald Herbert Eldredge *Chester Arthur Elliott *Dinsmore Ely (died in service) *John Endicott *Robert Grimshaw Eoff *Edwin Bradley Fairchild *Clarence Henry Faith *Cedric Erroll Fauntleroy *Ian Fearchar Ferguson *Joseph Flynn *Christopher William Ford (Lafayette Escadrille) *Tod Ford *Henry Forster *Eric Anderson Fowler (died in service) *William Frey * Edmond Charles Clinton Genet (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *William Wallace Gibson *Joseph Francis Gill *William Smith Gilmore *Clarence Merritt Glover *Reginald G. Gourard *

Charles Gossage Grey Captain Charles Gossage Grey (June 20, 1894 – March 6, 1987) was an American World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He remained in France after World War I. During World War II, he joined the Office of Strategic Services and ...

*Henry Norman Grieb (died in service) *James Murray Grier *David Porter Guest *Andre Gundelach (died in service) * David Wade Guy *

James Norman Hall James Norman Hall (22 April 1887 – 5 July 1951) was an American writer best known for '' The Bounty Trilogy'', a series of historical novels co-authored with Charles Bernard Nordhoff: ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1932), '' Men Against the Sea'' ( ...

(Lafayette Escadrille) * Weston Bircu Hall (Lafayette Escadrille) *Edgar Guerard Hamilton *Robert Marshall Hanford (died in service) *John B. Harrison, Jr. *

Willis Bradley Haviland Commander Willis Bradley Haviland, (10 March 1890 – 28 November 1944) was a pioneer military pilot in World War I and a naval air station commanding officer in ...

(Lafayette Escadrille) *John Raynolds Heilbuth *Thomas Moses Hewitt, Jr. (Lafayette Escadrille) *Leslie Matheson Hickson *Dudley Lawrence Hill (Lafayette Escadrille) *Edward Foote Hinkle (Lafayette Escadrille) * Tommy Hitchcock, Jr. (1900–1944), star professional polo player, later assistant air attaché to the US Embassy in Great Britain during World War II *Warren Tucker Hobbs (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Robert Bentley Hoeber *Milton Whitely Holden *Charles Dabney Horton *Ronald Wood Hoskier (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Edwin A. Hough *John William Huffer *Daniel Elliott Huger *Earl Wayland Hughes *Mark Leslie Hull *Sereno Thorp Jacob *Charles Chouteau Johnson (Lafayette Escadrille) *Harry Firmstune Johnson (died in service) *Archibald Burtt Johnston *Charles Maury Jones *Henry Sweet Jones (Lafayette Escadrille) *Edward David Judd *Lt. Clarence Courtney Kahle (99th Fighter Squadron, A.E.F., Lafayette Flying Corps, died in combat) *Hugo Alden Kenyon *Charles Wayne Kerwood *Charles McIlvaine Kinsolving *William Francis Kirkwood *John Robert Kowall *Theodore De Kruijff *George Marion Kyle * Gorman De Freest Larner *Henry S. Lee *Schuyler Lee (died in service) *Manderson Lehr (died in service) *David Wilbur Lewis *Kenneth Procter Littauer *Ralph Lane Loomis *William Fitch Loomis *Edward Loughran (died in service) * Walter Lovell (Lafayette Escadrille) *W. Leslie Ludlam * Raoul Gervais Lufbery (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Gordon B. Macke *Douglas Macmonagle (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Guy Bertram Magley *Charles Thomas Malone *Harold L. Manierre *Kenneth Archibald Marr (Lafayette Escadrille) * Pierre Didier Masson (Lafayette Escadrille) *George Archibald McCall *

James Rogers McConnell James Rogers McConnell (14 March 1887 – 19 March 1917) flew as an aviator during World War I in the Lafayette Escadrille and authored ''Flying for France''. He was the first of sixty-four University of Virginia students to die in battle durin ...

(Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *James B. McCreary, Jr. *William McGinn *'Lucky' Herschel McKee (1897–1964), McKee made 12 kills to become the youngest Ace *William John McKerness (died in service) *James Haitt McMillen *William Henry Meeker (died in service) *Gordon R. Miles *Alvin Ford Miller *George Miller *Walter Bernard Miller (died in service) *Bennet Arthur Molter *Robert Louis Moore * George Moseley *Oscar Mouvet *Curtis B. Munson *Alan Hammond Nichols (died in service) * Charles Bernard Nordhoff *Nathan Prince Oakes, Jr. *Carter Landram Ovington (died in service) *David Paden *Henry Brewster Palmer (died in service) *Austen Gilette Parker * Edwin Charles Parsons (Lafayette Escadrille) * Paul Pavelka (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Alfred Digby Pelton (died in service) *

David M. Peterson Major David McKelvey Peterson was a 1915 Lehigh University graduate who became a World War I flying ace. He achieved six aerial victories, one of which was earned in the Lafayette Escadrille; five were officially credited during his tenure with ...

, (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Granville Alexander Pollock * William Ponder *Thomas Windeatt Potter *Frederick Henry Prince, Jr. (Lafayette Escadrille) *

Norman Prince Norman Prince (August 31, 1887 – October 15, 1916) was an American aviator and leading founder of France's Lafayette Escadrille. Biography He was born on August 31, 1887, in Beverly, Massachusetts. He was son of Frederick Henry Prince. ...

(Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *

David Endicott Putnam David Endicott Putnam (December 10, 1898 – September 12, 1918) was an American flying ace of World War I. He was known as the “Ace of Aces,” for thirteen confirmed kills, and thirty cumulative unconfirmed. He was shot down by German ace Ge ...

(died in service) *John Francis Randall *

Rufus Rand Rufus Randall Rand Jr. (May 25, 1892 – October 15, 1971) was an American businessman and politician. The president of the Minneapolis Gas Company, which was founded by his family, Rand also served as the first mayor of Wayzata, Minnesota. He w ...

*Robert Emery Read *Leonard Minor Reno *Walter Davis Rheno (died in service) *Hugh Owen Ridlon *George J. Rockwell, Jr. * Kiffin Yates Rockwell (Lafayette Escadrille, died in service) *Robert Lockerbie Rockwell (Lafayette Escadrille) *Marius Romain Rocle *William Blackstock Rodgers, Jr. *John F. Rolf, Jr. *Clifford De Roode *Raymond Thomas Ross *Kenneth Rotharmel * Leland Lassell Rounds *Laurence Dana Rumsey, Jr. (Lafayette Escadrille) *Joseph Roe Saul *Harold Young Saxon *Lawrence Scanlan *Edwin Booth Schreiber (died in service) *Horace Seaver *Walter John Shaffer *Walter B. Shipley *Clarence Bernard Shoninger (Croix de Guerre recipient)Medal in grand daughter's possession. *Reginald Sinclaire *Glenn Nelson Sitterly *Samuel Wiggins Skinner (died in service) *Robert Soubiran (Lafayette Escadrille) *Wallace Speers *Dumaresq Spencer (died in service) *Alfred Holt Stanley *Frank Elmer Starret, Jr. (died in service) *Russell Falconer Stearns *Joseph Charles Stehlin *Henry Elmer Stickney *Donald Edward Stone (died in service) *Gerald Starr Stone *Upton Supple Sullivan *Leslie Ray Taber *William Hallet Tailer (died in service) *Elmer Bowden Taylor (died in service) *Hugh Terres (died in service) * William Thaw (aviator) (Lafayette Escadrille) *Clifton Badlam Thompson *Charles Trinkard (died in service) * Dudley Gilman Tucker (died in service) *George Evans Turnure, Jr. *Stephen Mitchell Tyson (died in service) *Fleet William Carey Van, Jr. *Charles Herbert Veil *Neal Wainwright *Benjamin Stuart Walcott (died in service) *William Ethelbert Van Wass * William A. "Wild Bill" Wellman (1896–1975), Director of "Wings" (the first motion picture to win the Academy Award) *Frank Willard Wells *Herman Kotzchmer Whitmore *John Joyce Whitmore *Charles Herbert Wilcox *Marcellus Edward Wild *George Gale Willard * Harold Buckley Willis (Lafayette Escadrille) *Westel Robinson Willoughby *Joseph Volney Wilson (died in service) *Pierre Marie Wilson *Alan Francis Winslow *Carroll Dana Winslow *Charles Wallace Winter, Jr. (died in service) *Henry Houston Woodward (died in service) *Warwick Worthington *Harold Everett Wright *Walter Raymond York (died in service) * Frederick Wilhelm Zinn The following pilots are not listed as part of the Flying Corps by the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Foundation. *

Gill Robb Wilson Gill Robb Wilson (September 18, 1892 – September 8, 1966) was an American pilot, Presbyterian minister, and military advocate. Wilson was a founder of the Civil Air Patrol. Early life Wilson was born in Clarion County, Pennsylvania to the Re ...

Numbers

Casualties and honors

Note

Member list

See also