This article is about the 20th Aero Squadron organized on 20 June 1917. For the 20th Aero Squadron organized on 13 June 1917, see 25th Space Range Squadron.
20th Aero Squadron
20th Aero Squadron Lieutenant Leslie P. Koepfgen with his crew. From the left: Howard W. Wolf, Marion Lappin, Koepfgen, James W. Mone and Earl G. Crain with Koepfgen's Airco DH.4. Koepfgen served four months as flight commander of the 20th Aero Squadron. He was cited for bravery in action by General John J. Pershing.
Active
26 June 1917 – Present
Country
United States
Branch
United States Army Air Service
Type
Squadron
Role
Day Bombardment
Part of
American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
Engagements
World War I
Commanders
Notable commanders
Lt. Cecil G. Sellers[1]
Insignia
20th Aero Squadron Emblem
Aircraft flown
Bomber
Dayton-Wright DH-4, 1918–1919[2][1]
Trainer
Curtiss JN-4, 1917 Standard J-1, 1917[2][1]
Military unit
Service record
Operations
1st Day Bombardment Group Western Front, France: 5 September-11 November 1918[3]
Sorties: 507
Combat missions: 33
Enemy combats: 11
Killed: 2
Wounded: 1
Missing: 10
Aircraft lost: 14[2]
Victories
Enemy Aircraft shot down: 11[4]
Enemy Balloons shot down: 0[4]
Total Enemy Aircraft Destroyed: 11[4]
The 20th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The squadron was assigned as a Day Bombardment Squadron, performing long-range bombing attacks on roads and railroads; destruction of materiel and massed troop formations behind enemy lines. It also performed strategic reconnaissance over enemy-controlled territory, and tactical bombing attacks on enemy forces in support of Army offensive operations.[5] After the 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, being re-designated as the 20th Squadron.[2][6]
The current United States Air Force unit which holds its lineage and history is the 20th Bomb Squadron, assigned to the 2d Operations Group, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.[1]
^ abcd"20 Bomb Squadron (ACC) AFHRA Lineage and History". Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ abcdSeries "E", Volume 4, History of the History of the 16th, 17th, and 19th–21st Aero Squadrons. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
^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.
^ abcGorrell'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 26 May 1919
^"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.
^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)
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United States
United States Army Air Service
