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The 4th Pursuit Group was a
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 war ...
unit that fought on the Western Front during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as part of the Air Service,
Second United States Army Second Army was most recently located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia as a Direct Reporting Unit to Headquarters U.S. Army, Chief Information Officer (CIO)/G-6. Under the CIO/G-6, Second Army served as the single point of contact for Army missions a ...
. It was demobilized in France on 15 April 1919. There is no modern
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
unit that shares its lineage and history.


History

The group was organized on 26 October 1918 at Croix de Metz Aerodrome (Toul), France. On 27 October the 141st and 25th Aero Squadrons (Pursuit) were assigned to the unit. Both were new units, recently deployed to France and equipped with
SPAD XIII The SPAD S.XIII is a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by '' Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII. During early 1917, the French designer Louis ...
s. The Sixth Air Park was assigned to the Group on 30 October, it was equipped with trucks, cars, motorcycles and side-cars for the use of the Group.Series "C"; Volume 11, History of the 3d-5th Pursuit Groups, Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C. via http://www.fold3.com The sector to be patrolled by the 4th PG was bounded on the west by Manheulles and
Meilly-sur-Rouvres Meilly-sur-Rouvres (, literally ''Meilly on Rouvres'') is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. The triple divide between the Loire, Rhône, and Seine basins lies within the commune. Population See also *Communes of the ...
, and on the east by Custines, Landremont and Clémery. Operations began on 28 October when Captain Hobie Baker, 141st Squadron, engaged six enemy Fokkers near
Prény Prény () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department of France. The ...
and shot down one of them. Ten more enemy aircraft attacked the patrol from a higher altitude and the squadron managed to return to Allied lines without loss. Given the limited number of aircraft and pilots assigned to the Group, as many combat patrols as possible were flown each day. On 4 November, the 17th and 148th Aero Squadrons were assigned to the Group, which brought the unit up to full strength. These two squadrons had previously been assigned to the British Royal Flying Corps and had been transferred to the Second Army and equipped with new SPAD XIII aircraft. On 5 November, a patrol of the 141st Squadron destroyed an enemy Halberstadt D.II aircraft near Hagéville. The enemy aircraft was returning from an aerial leaflet drop when attacked. Several days of bad weather kept the group grounded until the armistice on 11 November, after which no aircraft was permitted to cross into enemy territory. After the Armistice with Germany and the conclusion of the war, squadron flying continued on a limited basis to keep the pilots proficient in their skills. However, the main endeavors of the Group was Army administrative paperwork. The 17th Aero Squadron left Toul for the 1st Air Depot at Colombey-les-Belles on 12 December. When the Second Army was ordered demobilized on 15 April 1919, the 25th and 148th Squadrons in their turn were ordered to proceed to the 1st Air Depot, to turn in all of their supplies and equipment and were relieved from duty with the AEF. Planes were delivered to the Air Service Production Center No. 2. at
Romorantin Aerodrome Romorantin - Pruniers Air Detachment (DA 273) is a French Air Force military facility, located southwest of Romorantin-Lanthenay, in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France. Pruniers airfield was part of a huge depot built for the United ...
. The 141st was transferred to the 5th Pursuit Group, Third Army for occupation duty in the Rhineland, Germany.Series "D", Weekly Statistical Reports of Air Service Activities, October 1918 – May 1919. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C. Personnel were subsequently assigned to the Commanding General, Services of Supply and ordered to report to one of several staging camps in France. There, personnel awaited scheduling to report to one of the Base Ports in France for transport to the United States and subsequent demobilization.


Lineage

* Organized in France as: 4th Pursuit Group on 26 October 1918 : Demobilized in France on 15 April 1919


Assignments

* Second Army Air Service, 26 October 1918 – 15 April 1919


Components

* 17th Aero Squadron (Pursuit), 4 November 1918 – 12 December 1918 * 25th Aero Squadron (Pursuit), 27 October 1918 – 15 April 1919 * 141st Aero Squadron (Pursuit), 27 October 1918 – 15 April 1919 * 148th Aero Squadron (Pursuit), 4 November 1918 – 15 April 1919


Stations

* Croix de Metz Aerodrome (Toul), France, 26 October-15 April 1919


See also

*
Organization of the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force The Organization of the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force on November 11, 1918, represents its maximum strength in World War I. Units of the Air Service are listed as assigned to the order of battle for that date, which was that of t ...


References

{{Wwi-air Groups of the Air Service, United States Army Fighter aircraft units and formations 0004 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919