The La Fayette Escadrille was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the Aéronautique Militaire was composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters. It was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War. In September 1917, the escadrille was transferred to the US Army under the designation 103rd Aero Squadron. In 1921, The French Air Force recreated a N124 unit who claimed lineage from the war-time La Fayette escadrille and is now part of the escadron 2/4 La Fayette.
Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in 1917 he served briefly as Minister of War. From 1921 he was a Marshal of France. He was dubbed the French empire builder, and in 1931 made the cover of Time.
The Eagle Squadrons were three fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed with volunteer pilots from the United States during the early days of World War II, prior to America's entry into the war in December 1941.
Polish 7th Air Escadrille, better known as the Kościuszko Squadron, was one of the units of the Polish Air Force during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. Formed in late 1918, it was re-formed in late 1919 from US volunteers. It was one of the most active Polish squadrons in the war.
Chefchaouen, also known as Chaouen, is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name, and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue. Chefchaouen is situated just inland from Tangier and Tétouan.
Charley's War was a British comic strip about the First World War, written by Pat Mills and drawn by Joe Colquhoun.
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the aerial warfare service of the United States from 1914 to 1918, and a direct statutory ancestor of the United States Air Force. It absorbed and replaced the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and conducted the activities of Army aviation until its statutory responsibilities were suspended by President Woodrow Wilson in 1918. The Aviation Section organized the first squadrons of the aviation arm and conducted the first military operations by United States aviation on foreign soil.
The Rif War was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between the colonial power Spain and the Berber tribes of the Rif mountainous region of Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several defeats on the Spanish forces by using guerrilla tactics and captured European weapons. After France's military intervention against Abd el-Krim's forces and the major landing of Spanish troops at Al Hoceima, considered the first amphibious landing in history to involve the use of tanks and aircraft, Abd el-Krim surrendered to the French and was taken into exile.
Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni (b. 1871, Zinat, Tétouan – d. April 1925, Tamasint, Al Hoceima was a Sharif, and a leader of the Jebala tribal confederacy in Morocco at the turn of the 20th Century. While he was regarded by foreigners and the Moroccan government as a brigand, some Moroccans, especially among the Jebala, considered him a heroic figure, fighting a repressive, corrupt government, while others considered him a thief. Historian David S. Woolman referred to Raisuni as "a combination Robin Hood, feudal baron, and tyrannical bandit." He was considered by many as "The last of the Barbary Pirates" though Barbary Coast piracy had ended by the middle of the 19th century. On the other hand, according to Douglas Porch, an American historian, Raisuni was part of the rule rather than the exception in that every successful Moroccan politician at the time combined villainy with sainthood. He died in April 1925 after having been captured and imprisoned by his rival Abd el Krim.
Kiffin Yates Rockwell (1892–1916) was an early aviator and the first American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft in World War I. On May 18, 1916, Rockwell attacked and shot down a German plane over the Alsace battlefield. For this action he was awarded the Médaille militaire and the Croix de guerre.
Lowell Herbert Smith was a pioneer American airman who piloted the first airplane to receive a complete mid-air refueling on June 27, 1923, and later set an endurance record of 37 hours on August 28, both in a De Havilland DH-4B. Smith also piloted the Douglas World Cruiser Chicago, which along with one other made the first aerial circumnavigation in 1924. Smith held 16 records for military aircraft in speed, endurance and distance. He was awarded the best achievement in flight Mackay Trophy twice.
No. 121 Squadron was a Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft squadron that during the Second World War was one of the three Eagle Squadrons manned by American volunteers. The squadron today is part of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets in Nuneaton.
Lieutenant Colonel Georges Thenault was the commander of the Lafayette Escadrille – the famed branch of the French air force in World War I composed of American volunteer pilots. The Lafayette Escadrille was created before the United States gave up its neutrality and joined France and Britain in the war against Germany. Once the United States formally entered the war, the Lafayette Escadrille was absorbed into the U.S. Army.
The 99th Flying Training Squadron flies Raytheon T-1 Jayhawks and they have painted the tails of their aircraft red in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame, known as the "Red Tails," whose lineage the 99 FTS inherited.
Vernon Lee Burge was an aviation pioneer. He was the first American enlisted man to be certified as a military pilot. After ten years as an enlisted man, Burge was commissioned during World War I and served the next 25 years as an officer.
Dragonfly Squadron is an American Korean War war film by Lesley Selander from 1954. The film is set in the period shortly before and during the invasion of South Korea by North Korean troops.
Martial Henri Valin was a French Air Force general. He initially served as a cavalryman in the First World War. After nine years cavalry service in the chasseurs d'Afrique, dragoons, spahis, and hussars, he eventually volunteered for the French Army's aviation branch, the aéronautique militaire, in 1926. He commanded the Free French Air Forces from July 1941 to June 1944, and was then Chief of General Staff of the French Air Army from October 1944 until 1946. He participated in both World Wars and the Rif War.
The 116th Operations Group is a Georgia Air National Guard unit assigned to the 116th Air Control Wing. The unit is stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The 116th Group controls all operational Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint STARS aircraft of the 116th Air Control Wing. It was activated in 1992, when the Air Force implemented the Objective Wing organization, and was successively equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer before converting to the E-8C in 2002.
The Eagle Squadrons Memorial is a Second World War memorial in Grosvenor Square, London. It commemorates the service of the three Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons from 1940 to 1942, during the Battle of Britain, and in particular their 244 Americans and 16 British fighter pilots, of whom 71 were killed. The bronze sculpture of an eagle which tops the memorial is by Elisabeth Frink.
Charles Michael Sweeny was an American soldier of fortune, United States Army lieutenant colonel, French Foreign Legion officer, Polish army brigadier general, Royal Air Force (RAF) captain, and journalist who fought in numerous conflicts in the 20th century. He recruited fellow Americans to fight in World War II prior to the United States entering the war.
