USAS 1st Pursuit Group

Starting operations in the relatively quiet Toul sector in March 1918, the 94th and 95th Aero Squadrons of the 1st Pursuit Group initially flew Nieuport 28s, a type available to the Americans because the French didn’t want them. They soon showed their aggressiveness, with Douglas Campbell becoming the first American-trained fighter pilot in the US Army Air Service to shoot down a German aircraft and soon after the USAS’s first ace. Expanded by the addition of the 27th and 147th Aero Squadrons, the 1st Pursuit Group went to war in earnest over Chateau Thierry in July and suffered heavy losses at the hands of first-class German opposition. Re-equipped with Spad XIIIs, the battle-seasoned group went on to fame over St. Mihiel and the Argonne. By the time the war ended, it had claimed the most enemy aeroplanes of any group in the USAS and the 94th became the highest-scoring single squadron. Amongst its pilots it numbered the American ‘ace of aces’, Eddie Rickenbacker, and America’s balloon busting ace, Frank Luke, both of whom also earned the Medal of Honor. Discover the history of America’s first fighter aces as numerous first-hand accounts reveal their thrilling combat experiences.