The 49th Aero Squadron 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 ...

. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the

2d Pursuit Group The 2nd Pursuit Group was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the Air Service, First United States Army. It was demobilized in France on 10 April 1919. There is no modern United ...

First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...

. Its mission was to engage and clear enemy aircraft from the skies and provide escort to reconnaissance and bombardment squadrons over enemy territory. It also attacked enemy observation balloons, and perform close air support and tactical bombing attacks of enemy forces along the front lines.Maurer, Maurer (1978), The US Air Service in World War I, The Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF Washington
/ref> After the

1918 Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, the squadron returned to the United States in March 1919 and was demobilized. On 16 October 1936, the World War I Aero squadron was consolidated with the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

49th Bombardment Squadron to preserve the lineage and history of the unit. Today, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air 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 of the United States Army Signal ...

49th Test and Evaluation Squadron performs flight testing at

Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB ...

, Louisiana.AFHRA 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron

History

Organization and training

Formed at

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. In ...

No. 1, San Antonio, Texas on 6 August 1917. During its initial indoctrination training at Kelly Field, many squadron members were reassigned to other squadrons, however on 25 August, personnel from the 68th Aero Squadron were assigned to the 49th. After about a month of basic training as soldiers, the squadron was moved to the newly opened Kelly Field No. 2 where they began training with

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for th ...

Jennys as a school squadron.Series "E", Volume 8, History of the 47th, 49th and 50th Aero Squadron. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War, Volume 3, Part 3, Center of Military History, United States Army, 1949 (1988 Reprint) On 16 November, training ended and the squadron moved back to Kelly Field No. 1 to await orders for overseas deployment. On 21 November, an additional 65 men were assigned to the 49th Squadron, and the unit entrained in San Antonio bound for Garden City, Long Island, New York. The squadron arrived in New York on 3 January 1918. Several weeks were spent at the Aviation Concentration Center, sailing for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England on 9 January, arriving on 23 January. The squadron disembarked the ship the next day and marched to the Liverpool railway station where a train took them to

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, Hampshire, on the south coast of England. Winchester was reached that evening and the squadron detrained and marched to the Romsey Rest Camp where the squadron remained for a week. On 31 January, the 49th Squadron was divided up into separate flights for training by the Royal Flying Corps in England. Flight "A" and "D" were assigned to the

Castle Bromwich Aerodrome Castle Bromwich Aerodrome was an early airfield, situated to the north of Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. The site now falls within the City of Birmingham. History Creation to 1937 A large piece of Warwickshire grassland (Ca ...

, Birmingham; Flight "B" was assigned to Bicester Aerodrome, Oxford, and "C" flight to Rendcomb Aerodrome, Cirencester. The flight officers wee ordered to the Third Air Instructional Center,

Issoudun Aerodrome Issoudun Aerodrome was a complex of military airfields in the vicinity of Issoudun, Centre, France. They were used during World War I as part of the Third Air Instructional Center, American Expeditionary Forces for training United States airmen ...

, France for combat training. The squadron was re-assembled at Castle Bromwich Aerodrome on 5 April where additional training was received until 24 June. From there the squadron departed for France, arriving at Issoudun for additional training on French aircraft. Several weeks were spent there before being assigned to the 3d Pursuit Group and transferring to Vaucouleurs Aerodrome. There the squadron received French

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 ...

pursuit planes, then being transferred again to

Gengault Aerodrome Toul-Croix De Metz Airfield is a former military airfield which is located approximately northeast of Toul (Département de Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine); east of Paris. The airfield had its probable origins as early as 1912, as an ''Aéronau ...

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul h ...

where the squadron was reassigned to the 2d Pursuit Group.

Combat Operations

Combat patrols began on 18 August when at 06:15 three aircraft took off from Toul. Two of the aircraft had engine problems and were forced to return, leaving Lt Buford alone. At 07:30 he encountered a German

Rumpler Rumpler-Luftfahrzeugbau GmbH, Rumpler-Werke, usually known simply as Rumpler was a German aircraft and automobile manufacturer founded in Berlin by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler in 1909 as Rumpler Luftfahrzeugbau.Gunston 1993, p.259 The fir ...

biplane at 5,000 meters. Lt Buford engaged the enemy aircraft and got on the tail of the Rumpler and fired a long machine-gun burst. The Rumpler caught fire and he saw the plane go into a straight nose dive.Maurer, Maurer (1978) The US Air Service in World War I, Volume I, The Final Report and a Tactical History, The Office of Air Force History Headquarters USAF Washington, On 23 September, the squadron moved to

Belrain Aerodrome Belrain Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located South of Belrain, in the Meuse department in the Lorraine region in northeastern France. Overview Construction of Belrain Aerodrome was originally started by th ...

near

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, sh ...

. On 4 October, a patrol of seven aircraft encountered a formation of six

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...

s in the region of Doulcon. Turning, several aircraft of the squadron moved into position to attack, while the remainder remained above. During the course of the combat, several other Fokkers attacked the high flight of the squadron. During the course of the combat, eleven enemy aircraft were seen to go down, the remaining aircraft turning back. One squadron pilot was lost in the battle and another squadron plane was damaged and had to make a forced landing on the friendly side of the lines after receiving several enemy bullets in his engine. Four of the 49th squadron planes encountered four enemy aircraft during a patrol on 10 October. The squadron attacked the enemy aircraft, seeing one begin to burn and falling in a straight nose dive and crashing to the ground. During the battle one of the squadron's SPAD's lost a wing and begin to fall, being followed down by a Fokker. The enemy aircraft was attacked and driven off. The last Fokker was attacked and it burst into flames, seeing it dive to the ground out of control. The last combat patrol was flown on 23 October when a formation of four squadron aircraft on patrol encountered four Fokkers. Attacking out of the sun and from above, the 49th Squadron shot down all four enemy aircraft without loss. On 6 November the squadron moved to

Souilly Aerodrome Souilly Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located Northeast of Souilly, in the Meuse department in north-eastern France. Overview With the Battle of Verdun raging on in the early part of 1917, a cluster of new a ...

, however bad weather led to no combat flying being made before the Armistice on 11 November.

Demobilization

After the Armistice, members of the squadron began taking leave in France, with the organization standing down, although some cross-country flights were made. On 6 December orders were received from First Army for the squadron to report to the 1st Air Depot,

Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome : ''see also: Organization of the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force'' When the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, the Air Service of the United States Army existed only as a branch of the Signal Corps, and was kno ...

to turn in all of its supplies and equipment and was relieved from duty with the AEF. The squadron's SPAD aircraft were delivered to the Air Service American Air Service Acceptance Park No. 1 at Orly Aerodrome to be returned to the French. There practically all of the pilots and observers were detached from the squadron.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 at Colombey 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. Finally, in March, the squadron boarded a ship bound for New York, and upon return to the United States, the men of the 49th Aero Squadron were demobilized and returned to civilian life. During its time in Combat, the 49th Aero Squadron downed 25 enemy aircraft, losing six pilots killed, wounded, or missing.

Lineage

* Organized as 49th Aero Squadron, on 6 August 1917 : Re-designated: 49th Aero Squadron (Pursuit), July 1918 : Demobilized on 22 March 1919

Assignments

* Post Headquarters, Kelly Field, 6 August-21 November 1917 * Aviation Concentration Center, 3–23 January 1918 * Air Service Headquarters, AEF, British Isles, 23 January 1918 : Attached to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

for training, 24 January-28 July 1918 * 3d Air Instructional Center, 2–28 July 1918 * 3d Pursuit Group, Air Service, 1st Army, AEF, 28 July-2 August 1918 *

, Air Service, 1st Army, AEF, 2 August-7 December 1918 * 1st Air Depot, AEF, 7 December 1918 * Commanding General, Services of Supply, December 1918 – March 1919 * Eastern Department, March 1919

Stations

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, 6 August 1917 *

Aviation Concentration Center Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September ...

, Garden City, New York, 3 January 1918 * Port of Entry,

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

:: Overseas transport: 9–23 January 1918 *

, England, 24 January 1918 *

, England, 25 January 1918 * RFC Castle Bromwich,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 31 January-24 June 1918 : Flight "A" and "C" detached to: RFC Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, 31 January-5 April 1918 : Flight "B" detached to: RFC Bicester, Oxford, 31 January-5 April 1918 : Flight "D" detached to: RFC Rendcomb, Cirencester, 31 January-5 April 1918 : Squadron reformed at RFC Castle Bromwich, 5 April-24 June 1918 *

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 2–28 July 1918 * Vaucouleurs Aerodrome,

, 28 July 1918 – 2 August 1918 * Croix de Metz Aerodrome, Toul,

, 2 August 1918 – 23 September 1918 *

, 23 September 1918 – 7 November 1918 *

, 7 November 1918 – December 1918 *

, December 1918 – Early 1919 * France, Early 1919 – March 1919 * Garden City,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, March-22 March 1919

Combat sectors and campaigns

Notable personnel

* Lt. David H. Backus, DSC (2x), 4 aerial victories * Lt. George R. Baxter, SSC * Lt. Hugh Brewster, DSC, 2 aerial victories * Lt. Hugh Bridgman, SSC, 1 aerial victory * Lt. Z. William Colson, SSC * Cpt. George F. Fisher, DSC, SSC, 1 aerial victory * Lt. Hugh L. Fontaine, DSC (2x), 4 aerial victories * Lt. Henry W. Hume, SSC * Lt. Clair A. Kinney, DSC, 1 aerial victory (KIA) * Lt. James F. Manning, Jr., DSC, 4 aerial victories * Lt. James R. McKay, DSC, 1 aerial victory * Lt. Ora R. McMurry, DSC (2x), 3 aerial victories * Lt. Lewis C. Plush, DSC, 2 aerial victories * Lt. Alexander P. Schenck, DSC, 3 aerial victories * Lt. Charles H. Woolley, SSC DSC:

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

; SSC:

Silver Star Citation The Citation Star was a Department of War personal valor decoration issued as a ribbon device which was first established by the United States Congress on July 9, 1918 (Bulletin No. 43, War Dept. 1918). When awarded, a silver star was placed o ...

; KIA: Killed in Action

References

* {{US Air Force navbox Fighter squadrons of the Air Service, United States Army 0049 Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919