The U.S. Air Service in World War I, Vol 1
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The US. A~RSe~oice in Woda WaR I Volume I The Final Report The Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center and A Tactical History Maxwell AFB Alabama Edited by The Office of Air Force History Maurer Maurer Headquarters USAF Washington 1978 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: The U.S. Air Service in World War 1. CONTENTS: v.1. Final report of the Chief of Air Service, AEF. A tactical history of the Air Service, AEF. 1. European War, 1914-1918-Aerial operations, American. 2. United States. Army. A.E.F., 1917-1920. Air Service. I. Maurer, Maurer. D606.U54 940.4’49’73 75-42296 For sale by the Superintent of Documents US. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Stock Number 008-070-00358-9 iii Advisory Committee Dr. I. B. Holley, Jr. Duke University Lt. Gen. James R. Allen Superintendent, USAF Academy Dr. Robert F. Byrnes Indiana University Lt. Gen. Albert P. Clark USAF(ret.) Lt. Gen. Raymond B. Furlong Commander, Air University Dr. Henry F. Graff Columbia University Dr. Louis Morton Dartmouth College Dr. Forest C. Pogue Director, Dwi ht D. Eisenhower Institute for dstorical Research Mr. Jack Stempler General Counsel, USAF Office of Air Force History Maj. Gen. John W. Huston, Chief Chief Historian Dr. Stanley L. Falk Deputy Chief Historian Max Rosenberg Chief, Histories Division Carl Berger Senior Editor Lawrence J. Paszek FOK~OK~ V In December 1918 Maj. Gen. Mason M. Patrick, Chief of Air Service, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), directed his newly appointed Assistant Chief of Staff, Col. Edgar S. Gorrell, to prepare a history and final report on U.S. air activities in Europe during World War I. The narratives written and compiled by Gorrell and his staff were submitted by Patrick to Gen. John J. Pershing, Commander in Chief of the AEF. They summarized Air Service activities from the arrival of the first airmen in France in the spring of 1917 until the Armistice on November 11,1918. The “Final Report” was published by the Air Service in an lnformation Circular in 1921, and by the Army in a multivolume collection of World War I documents in 1948. Although it has been used and cited by a number of historians over the years, it deserves to be better known. The Office of Air Force History, therefore, is republishing it so as to reach a wider circle of persons interested in the Great War and the early history of military aviation. Another important document produced under Gorrell’s super- vision as part of the history of the Air Service, AEF, is a “Tactical History” written by Lt. Col. William C. Sherman and a group of officers working with him in France at the end of the war. Although published in part in an Air Service Information Circular in 1920, Sherman’s “Tactical History” has remained virtually unknown, or at least has not had extensive use. Since it provides excellent information about the conduct of combat operations, it should be of value to persons interested in aerial warfare in the First World War. It has been included, therefore, in this volume with the “Final Report.” This is one of a seriesof volumesof World War I documentation that the Office of Air Force History is planning to publish. John W. Huston Major General, USAF Chief, Office of Air Force History . Pwgace vii The “Final Report” published in this volume has been taken from Air Service lnformation Circular (Aviation), Vol. II, No. 180, 15 February 1921. Substantive changes made in the Office of the Chief of Air Service when the “Final Report” was being prepared for publication in 1921 have been pointed out in notes provided by the editor. The source for the section on corps observation in the “Tactical History” included in this volume is the Air Service lnforrnation Circular (Heavier-than-Air), Vol. I, No. 75, 12 June 1920; the source for the section on army observation, pursuit, day bombardment, and observation balloons is a microfilm (T-619) copy of “Gorrell’s History of the Air Service, AEF,” Ser. D, Vol. I. The last four sections, which vary greatly in style, have been edited in the same general manner as the section on corps observation was edited when it was prepared for printing in 1920. The first part of the “Tactical History,” a seventeen-page section entitled “The Achievement of the Air Service,” has been omitted since a revised and edited version of the same material appears as Chapters I-Ill of the “Final Report.” Associated with the “Tactical History” and included with it in “Gorrell’s History” are a “Manual for the Employment of Air Service (Tentative)” and “Notes on the Employment of the Air Service from the General Staff Point of View.” Both the “Manual” and the “Notes” are scheduled for publication in another volume of this series. The general editorial policy in preparing the “Final Report” and “Tactical History” for publication has been to copy the materials as they were found in the places indicated, and keep the editing and annotation to a minimum. Typographical and other minor errors have been corrected, but no attempt has been made to verify data and correct any inaccuracies that may exist in those materials. The editor has not tried to straighten out such inconsistencies as the numbering of units (1st or First Pursuit Group; 2d or Second Army; Third, 3d, or Ill Corps, etc.) or the viii spelling of thevariousformsof theverb“tostrafe” (strafeorstraff, strafing or straffing) when there seemed to be no established usage during the First World War. Except for the previously mentioned editing done on parts of the “Tactical History,” no effort has been made to establish uniformity throughout this volume in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, format, and other stylistic matters. The introduction, graphs, maps, photographs, and abbreviation list were added by the editor. Mr. Deane J. Allen and Mr. Lawrence J. Paszek of the Office of Air Force History assisted in readying the manuscript for publication by proofing the editorial changes, preparing the graphics, selecting the photographs, and maintaining a close liaison with the printers to resolve the numerous difficulties that arise in the final phases of production. Mr. John Hamilton and Mr. Jim Eschinger, Typo- graphy and Design Division of the Government Printing Office, designed the interior layout of the book. Photographs were selected from collections held by USAF‘s 1361st Photo Squadron, Air Force Art Collection, and by the Audiovisual Archives Division of the National Archives. Maurer Maurer Editor colztents ix . Foreword ...................................................... ........ v Preface .................................................................. vi i Introduction ............................................................ 1 Final Report of the Chief of Air Service. AEF I. Achievement .................................................... 17 II. Thehoevre and the Marne ........................................ 29 Ill. St . Mihiel and the Argonne-Meuse ................................. 37 IV. Early Problems and Their Solutions ............................... 51 V . Reorganizationand Development ................................. 65 VI . Period of Expansion .............................................. 71 VII . The Working Organization ........................................ 75 VIII. Difficulties ...................................................... 81 IX. Scope of Activities and General Remarks ........................... 85 X . Training ......................................................... 93 XI . The Supply Section ............................................... 117 XI1. TheTechnical Section ............................................ 131 XIII. The Balloon Section .............................................. 137 XIV . The Aircraft Armament Section .................................... 145 xv . The PhotographicSection ........................................ 151 XVI. The Radio Section ................................................ 157 XVII . The Medical Consultant ........................................... 161 XVIII. Conclus.ion ...................................................... 163 A Tactical History of the Air Service. AEF Part One: The Achievement of the Air Service. AEF Part Two: Tactical History of Corps Observation I . Introduction ..................................................... 169 II. The First Corps Observation Group in the Toul Sector ............. 171 111. The 12thAeroSquadron inthe Baccarat Sector ..................... 185 IV. TheThird Flight of the99th Squadron in theVosges ................. 193 V . The 1st Corps Air Service at Chateau-Thierry ....................... 197 VI. The Third Corps Air Service on theVesle River ...................... 221 VII. The Corps Air Service in the St . Mihiel Offensive ..................... 235 VIII . The Corps Air Service in the Argonne-Meuse Offensive .............. 245 X Part Three: Tactlcal Hlstory of Army Observation I . On the Toul Sector ............................................... 259 II. The St . Mihiel Offensive ........................................... 269 Ill. The Argonne-Meuse Offense ...................................... 275 Part Four: Tactical History of Pursuit Aviatlon . I. The Toul Sector .................................................. 283 II. Chateau-Thierry .................................................. 291 111. St . Mihiel Offensive ............................................... 301 I’d . Argonne-Mme Offensive ......................................... 313 V . American Pursuit Units on the British Front .......................