
World War I Air Service recruiting poster.
The following is a list of flying aces from the United States of America who served in World War I
Overview[]
Even before the United States entry into World War I in April 1917, many Americans volunteered to serve in the armed forces of Great Britain and France. Many eventually found their ways into the Royal Flying Corps and Aéronautique Militaire (French Air Service). The British integrated the Americans into their existing squadrons, while the French set up separate American squadrons such as the Lafyette Escadrille and then the Lafyette Flying Corps, as well as integrated the pilots into existing squadrons. When American Air Service units began reaching England and France in the fall of 1917, many of the Americans serving in British and French squadrons transferred to the American units, but not all. This list is separated such that American pilots who served in the Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force) squadrons and Aéronautique Militaire are listed as such, while those who served only in the Air Service, United States Army Aero Squadrons are listed separately. Known American air aces that chose to remain with their British or French squadrons are also listed.
It should be noted that the British and French documented aerial victories in different ways. The British decided early in the war that since the majority of air combat occurred behind enemy lines, confirmation of aerial victories would be made by witnesses mostly in the front line trenches. If an aircraft was seen going down "out of control", then the pilot would be given credit for a victory as it was presumed the plane crashed in enemy territory. The French implemented a strict system of victories being confirmed by independent observers, and an enemy plane had to be seen to fall in flames and crash; or be destroyed in the air. Unconfirmed victories were also noted if the enemy plane was seen to spin out of control but the final end was not observed. These unconfirmed victories were noted, but not included in a pilots score. The Americans generally used the French rules of scoring aerial victories with the exception of the 17th and 148th Aero Squadrons, which were under British control until October, 1918. The pilots flying in those squadrons were scored under British rules. "Shared" victories were noted when two or more pilots attacked an enemy plane, and it could not be determined precisely which pilot shot down the aircraft. This could (and did) lead to situations where 2 or 3 pilots were given credit for a single victory that inflated the number of enemy planes shot down.
Air aces[]
Pilots who scored five or more aerial victories were classified as "air aces". The lists below show the names; military rank; units in which they served, and miscellaneous notes along with the known decorations which they received.
Served with the Aéronautique Militaire[]
Name | Rank | Units | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
William Terry Badham | Lieutenant | Escadrille AR214 Escadrille BR40 Escadrille BR 210 91st Aero Squadron |
5 victories (all shared) Flew as observer/gunner Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, December, 1917[1] Awarded:
|
Paul Frank Baer | Lieutenant | Escadrille N124 Escadrille Spa80 103d Aero Squadron |
9 victories (2 shared) Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, February, 1918 [1] Awarded:
|
Frank Leaman Baylies | Lieutenant | Escadrille Spa73 Escadrille Spa3 |
12 victories (3 shared) Killed in action: 17 June 1918[1] Awarded: |
James Dudley Beane | Lieutenant | Escadrille Spa69 22d Aero Squadron |
6 victories (4 shared) Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, August, 1918 [1] Awarded:
|
Charles John Biddle | Major | Escadrille N124 Escadrille Spa73 13th Aero Squadron 103d Aero Squadron |
7 victories (4 shared); 1 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, February, 1918 [1] Awarded:
|
Thomas Gantz Cassady | Captain | Escadrille Spa157 Escadrille Spa163 28th Aero Squadron 103d Aero Squadron |
9 victories (5 shared); 3 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, July, 1918[1] Awarded:
|
James Alexander Connelly, Jr | Adjutant | Escadrille Spa157 Escadrille Spa163 |
7 victories (5 shared); 2 unconfirmed.[1] Awarded: |
Charles Gossage Grey | Captain | Escadrille Spa93 213th Aero Squadron |
5 victories (3 shared)[1] Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, March, 1918 Awarded:
|
Lansing Colton Holden, Jr. | Lieutenant | Escadrille N461 95th Aero Squadron |
7 victories (1 shared)[1] Awarded:
|
Gorman DeFreest Larner | Captain | Escadrille Spa86 103d Aero Squadron |
7 victories (4 shared)[1] Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, June, 1918 Awarded:
|
Gervais Raoul Lufbery | Major | Escadrille VB106 Escadrille N124 94th Aero Squadron |
16 victories (3 shared); 3 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, April, 1918; Killed in action: 17 June 1918[1] Awarded:
|
Edwin Charles Parsons | Lieutenant | Escadrille N124 Escadrille Spa3 |
8 victories (2 shared) Awarded:
|
David McKelvey Peterson | Major | Escadrille N124 103d Aero Squadron 94th Aero Squadron 95th Aero Squadron |
6 victories (1 shared)[1] Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, February, 1918 [1] Awarded:
|
William Thomas Ponder | Lieutenant | Escadrille Spa67 Escadrille Spa163 103d Aero Squadron |
6 victories (4 shared)[1] Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, February, 1918 [1] Awarded:
|
David Endicott Putnam | Lieutenant | Escadrille Spa38 Escadrille Spa94 Escadrille Spa156 139th Aero Squadron |
13 victories (2 shared); 16 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, May, 1918; Killed in action: 12 September 1918[1] Awarded: |
William Thaw II | Lieutenant Colonel | Escadrille D6 Escadrille C42 Escadrille N65 Escadrille N124 103d Aero Squadron 3d Pursuit Group (Commander) |
5 victories (3 shared); 2 unconfirmed. Transferred to Air Service, United States Army, June, 1918[1] Awarded:
|
Remington D. B. Vernam | Lieutenant | Escadrille Spa 96 17th Aero Squadron |
6 victories (2 shared)[1] Awarded:
|
Served with the Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force)[]
Served with the Air Service, United States Army[]
Name | Rank | Units | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Clayton Lawrence Bissell | Captain | 148th Aero Squadron | 6 victories[1] Awarded: * Squadron attached to RAF July–October 1918 |
Arthur Raymond Brooks | Captain | 22d Aero Squadron 139th Aero Squadron |
6 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Harold Robert Buckley | Captain | 95th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Howard Burdick | Lieutenant | 17th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: * Squadron attached to RAF June–October 1918 |
Douglas Campbell | Lieutenant | 94th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (1 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Reed McKinley Chambers | Major | 94th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (2 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Everett Richard Cook | Captain | 91st Aero Squadron | 5 victories (all shared with observer/gunner)[1] Awarded: |
Harvey Weir Cook | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (2 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Hamilton Coolidge | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (3 shared) Killed in Action: 27 October 1918[1] Awarded: |
Jesse Orin Creech | Lieutenant | 148th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (2 shared)[1] Awarded: * Squadron attached to RAF July–October 1918 |
Edward Peck Curtis | Lieutenant | 95th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (5 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Charles Rudolph d'Olive | Captain | 93d Aero Squadron 141st Aero Squadron |
5 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: |
William Portwood Erwin | Lieutenant | 1st Aero Squadron | 8 victories (all shared), Flew as observer/gunner[1] Awarded: |
George Willard Furlow | Lieutenant | 103d Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Harold Huston George | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Murray Kenneth Guthrie | Lieutenant | 13th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Edward Meeker Haight | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Leonard Coombes Hammond | Captain | 91st Aero Squadron | 6 victories (all shared); Flew as observer/gunner[1] Awarded: |
Frank Kerr Hays | Lieutenant | 13th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
James Andrew Healy | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Donald Hudson | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (5 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Frank O'Driscoll Hunter | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron 103d Aero Squadron |
9 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Clinton Leonard Jones, Jr. | Lieutenant | 22d Aero Squadron | 3 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Howard Clayton Knotts | Lieutenant | 17th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (1 shared)[1] Awarded: * Squadron attached to RAF June–October 1918 |
James Knowles, Jr. | Lieutenant | 95th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (1 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Robert Opie Lindsay | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (5 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Frank Luke, Jr. | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 18 victories (4 shared)[1] Killed in Action: 29 September 1918 Awarded: |
John Knox MacArthur | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (3 shared)[1] Killed in Action: 20 July 1918 Awarded: |
James Armand Meissner | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron 147th Aero Squadron |
8 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Zenos Ramsey Miller | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 5 victories**[1] Awarded:
* Became Prisoner of War, 20 July 1918 after shooting down two enemy aircraft during combat. Air Ace status confirmed in November 1918 after release |
Ralph Ambrose O'Neill | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared)[1] Awarded: |
John Sidney Owens | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared)[1] |
Kenneth Lee Porter | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker | Captain | 94th Aero Squadron | 26 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Wendel Archibald Robertson | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (6 shared)[1] |
Leslie Jacob Rummell | Lieutenant | 93d Aero Squadron | 7 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Karl John Schoen | Lieutenant | 139th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (7 shared)[1] Killed in action: 29 October 1918 Awarded: |
John Joseph Seerley, Jr. | Lieutenant | 13th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared)[1] |
Sumner Sewall | Captain | 95th Aero Squadron | 7 victories (4 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Francis May Simonds | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Martinus Stenseth | Lieutenant | 28th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: |
William Howard Stovall | Lieutenant | 13th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Victor Herbert Strahm | Major | 91st Aero Squadron | 5 victories (5 shared with observer/gunner)[1] Awarded: |
Jacques Michael Swaab | Lieutenant | 22d Aero Squadron | 10 victories (3 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Edgar Gardner Tobin | Lieutenant | 103d Aero Squadron | 2 victories (2 shared), 1 unconfirmed[1] Awarded: |
Robert Miles Todd | Lieutenant | 17th Aero Squadron | 5 victories (2 shared)[1] |
Jerry Cox Vasconcells | Captain | 27th Aero Squadron 185th Aero Squadron |
6 victories (1 shared)[1] Awarded: |
Joseph Frank Wehner | Lieutenant | 27th Aero Squadron | 6 victories (3 shared)[1] Killed in Action: 18 September 1918 Awarded: |
Wilbert Wallace White, Jr. | Lieutenant | 147th Aero Squadron | 8 victories (2 shared)[1] Killed in action: 10 October 1918 Awarded: |
Chester Ellis Wright | Lieutenant | 93d Aero Squadron | 9 victories (5 shared)[1] Awarded: |
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.000 1.001 1.002 1.003 1.004 1.005 1.006 1.007 1.008 1.009 1.010 1.011 1.012 1.013 1.014 1.015 1.016 1.017 1.018 1.019 1.020 1.021 1.022 1.023 1.024 1.025 1.026 1.027 1.028 1.029 1.030 1.031 1.032 1.033 1.034 1.035 1.036 1.037 1.038 1.039 1.040 1.041 1.042 1.043 1.044 1.045 1.046 1.047 1.048 1.049 1.050 1.051 1.052 1.053 1.054 1.055 1.056 1.057 1.058 1.059 1.060 1.061 1.062 1.063 1.064 1.065 1.066 1.067 1.068 1.069 1.070 1.071 1.072 1.073 1.074 1.075 1.076 1.077 1.078 1.079 1.080 1.081 1.082 1.083 1.084 1.085 1.086 1.087 1.088 1.089 1.090 1.091 1.092 1.093 1.094 1.095 1.096 1.097 1.098 1.099 1.100 1.101 1.102 1.103 1.104 1.105 1.106 1.107 1.108 1.109 1.110 Franks (1992) Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918 , Grub Street the Basement; First edition (May 1992), ISBN 0948817542
- ↑ theaerodrome.com William Terry Badham
- ↑ militarytimes.com William Terry Badham
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Paul Frank Baer
- ↑ militarytimes.com Paul Frank Baer
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Frank Leaman Baylies
- ↑ theaerodrome.com James Dudley Beane
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Charles J. Biddle
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Thomas Gantz Cassady
- ↑ militarytimes.com Thomas Gantz Cassady
- ↑ theaerodrome.com James Alexander Connelly, Jr.
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Charles Gossage Grey
- ↑ Lansing Colton Holden
- ↑ militarytimes.com Lansing Colton Holden
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Paul Gorman DeFreest Larner
- ↑ militarytimes.com Gorman DeFreest Larner
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Gervais Raoul Lufbery
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Edwin Charles Parsons
- ↑ theaerodrome.com David McKelvey Peterson
- ↑ militarytimes.com David McKelvey Peterson
- ↑ theaerodrome.com William Thomas Ponder
- ↑ theaerodrome.com David Endicott Putnam
- ↑ theaerodrome.com William Thaw II
- ↑ militarytimes.com William Thaw II
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Remington D. B. Vernam
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Hilbert Leigh Bair
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Harold Koch Boyse
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Sydney MacGillvary Brown
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Archibald Buchanan
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Henry Robinson Clay
- ↑ militarytimes.com Henry Robinson Clay
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Lawrence Kingsley Callahan
- ↑ militarytimes.com Lawrence Kingsley Callahan
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Eugene Seeley Coler
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Ernest Sidney Tooker
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Roy Edward Dodds
- ↑ theaerodrome.com John Owen Donaldson
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Arthur Edmund Easterbrook
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Francis Warrington Gillet
- ↑ theaerodrome.com John Sharpe Griffith
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Frank Lucien Hale
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Lloyd Andrews Hamilton
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Harold Evans Hartney
- ↑ militarytimes.com Harold Evans Hartney
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Richard Alexander Hewat
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Paul Thayer Iaccaci
- ↑ theaerodrome.com David Sinton Ingalls
- ↑ theaerodrome.com August Thayer Jaccaci
- ↑ theaerodrome.com James Alfred Keating
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Field Eugene Kindley
- ↑ militarytimes.com Field Eugene Kindley
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Harold Albert Kullberg
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 theaerodrome.com William Carpenter Lambert
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Reed Gresham Landis
- ↑ Reed Gresham Landis
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Frederick Libby
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Frederick Ernest Luff
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Emile John Lussier
- ↑ theaerodrome.com William John MacKenzie
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Francis Peabody Magoun
- ↑ theaerodrome.com James William Pearson
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Cleo Francis Pineau
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Orville Alfred Ralston
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Oren John Rose
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Oren Evander Shapard
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Oren Walter Carl Simon
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Elliott White Springs
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Edgar Taylor
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Oren Kenneth Russell Unger
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Clive Wilson Warman
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Clayton Lawrence Bissell
- ↑ militarytimes.com Clayton Lawrence Bissell
- ↑ Arthur Raymond Brooks
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Harold Robert Buckley
- ↑ militarytimes.com Harold Robert Buckley
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Howard Burdick
- ↑ militarytimes.com Howard Burdick
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Douglas Campbell
- ↑ militarytimes.com Douglas Campbell
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Reed McKinley Chambers
- ↑ militarytimes.com Reed McKinley Chambers
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Everett Richard Cook
- ↑ Everett Richard Cook
- ↑ Harvey Weir Cook
- ↑ militarytimes.com Harvey Weir Cook
- ↑ Hamilton Coolidge
- ↑ Jesse Orin Creech
- ↑ Jesse Orin Creech
- ↑ Edward Peck Curtis
- ↑ militarytimes.com Edward Curtis
- ↑ Charles Rudolph d'Olive
- ↑ William Portwood Erwin
- ↑ militarytimes.com William Portwood Erwin
- ↑ George Willard Furlow
- ↑ militarytimes.com George Willard Furlow
- ↑ Harold Huston George
- ↑ militarytimes.com Harold Huston George
- ↑ Murray Kenneth Guthrie
- ↑ militarytimes.com Murray Kenneth Guthrie
- ↑ Edward Meeker Haight
- ↑ Leonard Coombes Hammond
- ↑ Leonard Coombes Hammond
- ↑ Frank Kerr Hays
- ↑ Frank Kerr Hays
- ↑ James Andrew Healy
- ↑ Donald Hudson
- ↑ Frank O'Driscoll Hunter
- ↑ militarytimes.com Frank O'Driscoll Hunter
- ↑ Clinton Leonard Jones
- ↑ militarytimes.com Clinton Leonard Jones
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Howard Clayton Knotts
- ↑ Howard Clayton Knotts
- ↑ James Knowles
- ↑ James Knowles
- ↑ Robert Opie Lindsay
- ↑ Frank Luke
- ↑ militarytimes.com Frank Luke
- ↑ theaerodrome.com John Knox MacArthur
- ↑ theaerodrome.com James Armand Meissner
- ↑ militarytimes.com James Armand Meissner
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Zenos Ramsey Miller
- ↑ Zenos Ramsey Miller
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Ralph Ambrose O'Neill
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Kenneth Lee Porter
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Edward Vernon Rickenbacker
- ↑ militarytimes.com Edward Vernon Rickenbacker
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Leslie Jacob Rummell
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Karl John Schoen
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Sumner Sewall
- ↑ militarytimes.com Sumner Sewall
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Francis May Simonds
- ↑ Francis May Simonds
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Martinus Stenseth
- ↑ theaerodrome.com William Howard Stovall
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Victor Herbert Strahm
- ↑ Victor Herbert Strahm
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Jacques Michael Swaab
- ↑ Jacques Michael Swaab
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Edgar Gardner Tobin
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Jerry Cox Vasconcells
- ↑ Jerry Cox Vasconcells
- ↑ Joseph Frank Wehner
- ↑ theaerodrome.com Wilbert Wallace White
- ↑ Chester Ellis Wright
Bibliography[]
- American Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey (Illustrator) / Paperback / Osprey Publishing (September 25, 2001)
- Over the Front by Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey / Hardcover / Grub Street the Basement (May 1992)
The original article can be found at List of World War I flying aces from the United States and the edit history here.