Knights Without Parachutes — lafayette escadrille

The Worst Way to Die: To Fall, or to Burn?

May 19, 2018 • 94th aero squadron • doug campbell • eddie rickenbacker • lafayette escadrille • luckiest man alive • raoul lufbery

It was not quite one month after the Red Baron's death and ceremonious burial by his enemies, that America's Ace of Aces was laid to rest among a "huge pyramid" of flowers, with "hundreds of officers from all branches of the service" in attendance.

Eventful Days for the 94th Aero Squadron

May 12, 2018 • dangers of wwi aviation • doug campbell • eddie rickenbacker • ivy league • james meissner • james norman hall • kenneth marr • lafayette escadrille • raoul lufbery

The stripped Nieuport wing assumed the flying characteristics of a brick.

Now Entering the Final Year of the First Air War

November 18, 2017 • billy mitchell • dangers of wwi aviation • hugh trenchard • influenza • lafayette escadrille • rfc/raf • wwi

Meanwhile, the Germans would concentrate more on training and also would be fighting more defensively, conserving their aircraft and pilots. By the fall of 1918, the fortunes of German ground forces would be declining, but the German air force would have some of its best months of the war.

Exotic Animals and WWI Aviation

October 27, 2017 • lafayette escadrille • pilot attributes • raoul lufbery • red baron

Any exotic animal might have a longer expected life span than aviators, who were pioneering every new idea aircraft designers could think of and rush into production for the war. Anyone who would go two miles up in a crate with wings would probably not be overly intimidated by playing with a lion. It might seem like pretty much the same activity.

Stephen Thompson and Ted Parsons, the First Aero, and the Lafayette Escadrille

December 23, 2016 • 1st Aero Sq • lafayette escadrille • stephen thompson • ted parsons

Stephen Thompson was associated with a lot of American firsts. He flew as an observer in the First Aero Squadron, which was not only named "First" but really was first. The First Aero Squadron got its name by being the first squadron of aviators operating in the US Army, flying the first American aviation mission launched from American soil over a foreign country (i.e. Mexico, which is about 4 miles away from Columbus, New Mexico, where they launched from) to keep an eye on Pancho Villa for Pershing. Remember, Pancho Villa's attack on New Mexico was in its way worse than the Pearl...