Lafayette Escadrille, known in French as the Escadrille La Fayette, was a famous squadron of the French air service during World War I (1914-1918). Most of the squadron’s pilots were from the United States. The unit was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, a French soldier who famously fought for the United States during the American Revolution (1775-1783). Escadrille is French for squadron.
The United States remained neutral in the early years of World War I. Eager to fight for what they considered a just cause, a number of Americans joined the French Foreign Legion, a branch of the French military. Most American volunteers served in infantry units, but several began flying in the French air service.
To organize and publicize the efforts of the American pilots, the French military created the Escadrille Américaine (American Squadron) on April 20, 1916. The squadron’s official name was Nieuport 124 (N.124). Nieuport was the manufacturer of the fighter planes flown by the group. The commanders and ground crew of N.124 were French, but most of the pilots were U.S. citizens.
N.124 began operation with seven American pilots at Luxeuil-les-Bains, near the Swiss border, in May 1916. The Americans soon earned aerial “kills” fighting German planes over the Battle of Verdun . However, the group also lost its first pilot in combat.
In October, N.124 moved to an airfield near Amiens . There, it flew missions over the last weeks of the Battle of the Somme . As a result of diplomatic pressure from the United States, the American Squadron was renamed the Escadrille des volontaires (Volunteer Squadron) in November. The name was changed again in December to the Escadrille La Fayette.
The United States entered World War I when it declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. However, American air squadrons were not yet ready to fight in France, so the Lafayette Escadrille remained in French service. Planes manufactured by the French company Spad replaced the unit’s Nieuports. As a result, the squadron was retitled Spad 124 (SPA 124).
The squadron fought in the skies above several more battles, including the battles of the Aisne and Passchendaele . The group was finally disbanded in February 1918. The Lafayette Escadrille was credited with the destruction of 57 enemy aircraft. Nine of its pilots were killed.
The Lafayette Escadrille was the only American squadron in the French air service. However, many U.S. pilots flew in other French units. The 180 American flyers were collectively known as the Lafayette Flying Corps. Most transferred to the U.S. Air Service as combat pilots and instructors in the spring of 1918. In 1928, a memorial arch to the 68 American pilots killed flying for France in World War I was dedicated in the Paris suburb of Marnes-la-Coquette.
See also Air Force, United States (World War I (1914-1918)) ; Foreign Legion ; Lafayette, Marquis de ; Nordhoff and Hall ; World War I (The war in the air) .
