A replica Nieuport 28 painted in the motif of the 95th Aero Squadron at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
Active
20 August 1917 – 18 March 1919
Country
United States
Branch
Air Service, United States Army
Type
Squadron
Role
Pursuit
Part of
American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
Fuselage Code
"Kicking Mule"
Engagements
World War I
Commanders
Notable commanders
Capt. James E. Miller Capt. Seth Low Maj. Davenport Johnson Maj. David M. Peterson Capt. John Mitchell[1]
Insignia
95th Aero Squadron Emblem
Aircraft flown
Fighter
Nieuport 28, 1918 Spad XIII, 1918[1]
Military unit
Service record
Operations
1st Pursuit Group Western Front, France: 4 May-11 November 1918[2]
Sorties: 1,368
Enemy combats: 146
Killed: 5
Wounded: 4
Missing: 12 (8 POW)[3]
Victories
Enemy Aircraft shot down: 35[4]
Enemy Balloons shot down: 12[4]
Total Enemy Aircraft Destroyed: 47[4]
Air Aces: 6[5]
Lt. Harold R. Buckley, 5 (1 balloon, 4 shared)
Lt. Edward P. Curtis, 6 (5 shared)
Lt. Lancing C. Holden, 7 (5 balloons, 1 shared)
Lt. James Knowles, Jr. 5 (1 shared)
Maj. David M. Peterson, 5 (1 probable)
Capt. Sumner Sewell, 7 (2 balloons, 4 shared)[6]
The 95th Aero Squadron was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. It was the first American pursuit (fighter) squadron to fly in combat on the Western Front, beginning on 8 March 1918.[7]
The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 1st Pursuit Group, First United States Army. 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.[8]
In combat, squadron members shot down 35 enemy aircraft and 12 observation balloons and had 6 Air Aces. Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, the youngest son of President Theodore Roosevelt was assigned to the 95th. He lost his life in combat on 14 July 1918.
After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron returned to the United States in March 1919 and was demobilized.[3] The current United States Air Force unit which holds its lineage and history is the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron, assigned to the 55th Operations Group, RAF Mildenhall, England.[1]
^ abc"AFHRA 95 Reconnaissance Squadron (ACC) Factsheet". Archived from the original on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
^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.
^ abSeries "E", Volume 12, History of the 95th Aero Squadron. 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
^95th Aero Squadron@www.theaerodrome.com
^Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918 Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. ISBN 0- 948817-54-2, ISBN 978-0-948817-54-0.
^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)
^"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 1 September 2013.
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