American aero squadron histories

[JulianB]

I'm trying to find out when the following officers were shot down / captured (and anything else about them, particularly their imprisonment !)

1st Lt Blanchard B Battle 91 aero sqdn

1st Lt Harold H Gile 49 aero sqdn (cap 12 Jul '18)

1st Lt William Hazel Plyler 27 aero sqdn (cap 13 Jun '18)

Capt Joseph Frederick Williamson 91 areo sdrn

thanks

Julian

[JulianB]

OK following a bit more research;

Battle was shot down on 1st June 1918

Gile was captured sometime BEFORE 12 July (which was the date of the newspaper article reporting it !)

I also now need to add Lt Burr Watkin Leyson, but I have no idea of which squadron he was with, certainly captured by 2 July 1918

thanks

Julian

[Dolphin]

Julian

1Lt B B Battle was flying in a Salmson 2A2 of the 91st Observation Sqn, with 1Lt J F Williamson as observer, as escort to a photographic reconnaissance mission on 12 June 1918. The propeller was damaged when testing the pilot's machine gun on return, and they were forced to land behind the German Lines; both men were taken prisoner.

1Lt H H Gile was flying DH 9 D1723 of No No 49 Sqn RAF, with 2Lt EM Nicholas as observer, on a bombing raid to Ricquesbourg on 13 June 1918. They were last seen going down in control near Orvillers.

2Lt W H Plyer was flying a Nieuport 28 of the 27th Pursuit Sqn when he was separated from the rest of his patrol during combat with enemy aircraft. The fabric on the wing of his aeroplane shredded and he was captured.

As indicated above, 1Lt J F Williamson was 1Lt Battle's observer on 12 June 1918.

1Lt B W deB Leyson was flying Sopwith Camel D1963 of No 73 Sqn RAF on a low ground attack mission on 10 June when he was last seen going down out of control; he was taken prisoner. Ltn Joseph Jacobs of Jasta 7 claimed a Camel south of Poperinghe at 0745; it was the 20th of Jacob's eventual 48 victories.

I hope that this is useful.

Cheers

Gareth

[JulianB]

Gareth, That's great, thank you very much.

I'm puzzled as to why Gile and Leyson were with RAF squadrons ??

In Gile's case the American POW list has him with "49 aero sdn" which I had presumed was American !

On Leyson, I'm impressed by the initials you give him - exactly what I had originally but I had assumed it was a mistake because the only one I could find after extensive web searches - including NYT refs to his capture, appearance in American POW lists etc - was to Burr Leyson.

So, do you know anything else about him ?

At least I have a date for Williamson too, as you see he is only wearing a "one wing" breast badge which I presume is observer ! I also thought he was a captain - which is why he is sitting in the front

(the naval officer Isaacs I've discovered had a very interesting career - the only US naval officer captured, by a U boat !)

By the way, do you have any idea what insignia they have on their collars ?

Julian

[Dolphin]

Julian

Many USAS pilots flew with RAF squadrons, a practice that gave them exposure to the operational experience of their Allies while the USAS was still building itself up. Some USAS officers (not just men who flew with the RAF) had their tunics re-tailored to be more like the British General Service tunic, and worn with a collar and tie.

I think that the collar insignia on the men in the photo would be the badge of the US Army Signal Corps (which was worn on the side of the neck) and the initials US in front of it. The USAS was a branch of the Signal Corps. The photo below is the best I can find after a hasty search this morning.

Best wishes

Gareth

[JulianB]

Gareth, thank you again. Could I ask what your references were (for bibliographic purposes).

Yes, I see that Gile is wearing a British style tunic.

Is B W de B the same as Burr Watkin Leyson then ? The latter seems to have been a prolific author but I can't find any biographical info on the net. If BWL then he was only 19/20 at this time.

(I think I need to find a guide to US insignia somewhere - ranks, collars, wings etc, Leyson has some sort of chevron too)

The reason for all this is that the photo is pasted into an album my grandfather compiled after the war - which included a short stint at Karlsruhe so I wanted to try to tie down dates - and although it's a commercial; (German) photograph, I would guess that g'fthr met these chaps at K.

Julian

[Dolphin]

Julian

My primary source was Trevor Henshaw's The Sky Their Battlefield, ISBN 0 898697 30 2, which lists all British, Empire and US air casualties due to enemy action.

I also looked in Sturtivant & Page's The Camel File, ISBN 0 85130 212 2, for further information on 1Lt Leyson, and found that he attached himself to a formation of RAF SE 5as before he went down. Perhaps he was lost and hoped that they would lead him back to the western side of the lines. Both the books I looked at show his initials as B W deB. The same authors' The DH 4/DH 9 File, ISBN 0 85130 274 2, mentions 1Lt H H Gile, but adds no more to the information I had from Henshaw.

I can't help on the chevrons on the US uniforms, though I have an idea that they may denote overseas service. Perhaps you could ask in the Uniforms section of the Forum.

If you're looking for a good general guide to USAS activities, you could look out for J J Hudson's Hostile Skies, ISBN 0 8156 0465 3.

Good luck with your research.

Gareth