104th Aero Squadron

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104th Aero Squadron
Salmson 2A2, 1918-1919[2][3]
Service record
Operations

V Corps Observation Group
Western Front, France: 7 August-11 November 1918[4]

  • Sorties: 474
  • Combat missions: 160
  • Enemy combats: 25
  • Killed: 1
  • Wounded: 2
  • Missing: 1
  • Aircraft lost: 15[2]
Victories
  • Enemy Aircraft shot down: 1[5]
  • Enemy Balloons shot down: 0[5]
  • Total Enemy Aircraft Destroyed: 1[5]

    • The 104th Aero Squadron was an

    Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I
    .

    The squadron was assigned as a Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the V Corps,

    1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron returned to the United States in June 1919 and became part of the permanent United States Army Air Service in 1921, when it was redesignated as the 13th Squadron (Attack) .[2][7]

    The current United States Air Force unit which continues its lineage and history is the 13th Bomb Squadron, assigned to the 509th Operations Group at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.[8]

    History

    The 104th Aero Squadron was organized on 25 August 1917. The unit was formed from all the unassigned recruits at Kelly Field, Texas, who were lined up in formation and 150 men were counted off to form the squadron. No attention was paid to the capabilities of its members at the time, because there were no facilities at Kelly Field for trade testing or flight training. The unit was instructed in close order drill and ordinary post duties.[2][9]

    The urgency of the need for men in France led to the squadron receiving orders to report to the Aviation Concentration Center at Garden City, New York, on 30 October. On 28 November the squadron sailed aboard the SS Baltic and arrived at Liverpool, England, on 7 December. The next day, the squadron proceeded to Winchester where they were quartered at the Windall Rest Camp. The Air Service attached the 104th to the British Royal Flying Corps for training. At Winchester, the squadron was split into four flights, with each flight going to a separate English flying school for training.[2][9]

    The headquarters flight was established at Winchester, before moving to the Central Flying School at RFC Upavon and then to Netheravon. Other flights went to the Mechanics School at RFC Salisbury, RFC Andover and the motor transport school at RFC Yatesbury.[2][9][10]

    On 10 July 1918, all four flights met at Winchester to prepare for movement to France, but an outbreak of

    group.[2][9]

    By 8 September the squadron was ready for action, and it moved to

    St. Mihiel offensive, serving primarily as the eyes of the artillery. Pilots flew reconnaissance, directed Allied artillery fire and pinpointed troop movements. The demand for artillery fire adjustments through aerial observation was constant in spite of difficulties encountered with air-to-ground communication. It was largely due to the photographs made by aerial reconnaissance that the Allied infantry knew where it was advancing. As the war progressed the demand for observation and reconnaissance by the 104th increased.[2][9]

    During the

    Barricourt.[2][9]

    The war ended on 11 November 1918, and by the end of that month the 104th was at

    Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome, where its equipment would be turned in. The squadron's Salmson 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. Personnel at Colombey proceeded to a staging camp at Libourne on 3 February where it remained until moving to the port of Bordeaux on 10 April. On 18 April, the squadron boarded the USS Orizaba, and nine days later it disembarked in New York.[2][9]

    The wholesale discharge of personnel soon depleted the l04th's strength. In May the squadron was down to one officer and one enlisted man and was classified as an administrative unit without personnel or equipment at

    Mitchel Field. New York.[2][9]

    For subsequent history see 13th Bomb Squadron

    Lineage

    • Organized as 104th Aero Squadron on 25 August 1917
    Redesignated 104th Aero Squadron (Corps Observation) on 1 August 1918
    Redesignated 104th Aero Squadron on 28 April 1919
    Redesignated 104th Surveillance Squadron on 25 May 1919[2][3]

    Assignments

    Stations

    Combat sectors and campaigns

    Streamer Sector/Campaign Dates Notes
    St. Mihiel Offensive Campaign
    		 12–16 September 1918 [11]
    Meuse-Argonne Offensive Campaign
    		 26 September-11 November 1918 [11]

    Notable personnel

    DSC: Distinguished Service Cross; SSC: Silver Star Citation[12]

    See also

    References

    Notes

    1. ^ AFHRA 13 Bomb Squadron History Archived 13 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
    2. ^
      OCLC 215070705
      .
    3. ^
      OCLC 72556
      .
    4. ^ Series "H", Section "O", Volume 29, "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.
    5. ^ a b c Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, Series M, Volume 38, "Compilation of Confirmed Victories and Losses of the AEF Air Service as of May 26, 1919"
    6. ^ "Maurer, Maurer (1978), The US Air Service in World War I, The Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF Washington" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
    7. ^ 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)
    8. ISBN 1-85780-197-0
      .
    9. ^ a b c d e f g h 13th Bomb Squadron History
    10. ^ "Operational History of the 13th Bomb Squadron – World War I". 13th Bomb Squadron. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
    11. ^ a b United States War Department (1920), Battle Participation of Organizations of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, Belgium and Italy, 1917–1919, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1920
    12. ^ Military Times Hall of Valor Search, 104th Aero Squadron

    Bibliography

    Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

    External links

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