Kiffin Rockwell, the Lafayette Escadrille and the Birth of the United States Air Force

Kiffin Rockwell, the Lafayette Escadrille and the Birth of the United States Air Force
Author: T.B. Murphy
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2016-08-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476664013

With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Kiffin Yates Rockwell, from Asheville, North Carolina, volunteered to fight for France. Initially serving with the French Foreign Legion as a soldier in the trenches, he soon became a founding member of the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron made up mostly of American volunteer pilots who served under the French flag before the United States entered the war. On May 19, 1916, Rockwell became the first American pilot of the war to shoot down a German plane. He was killed during aerial combat on September 23, 1916, at age 24. This book covers Rockwell's early life and military service with the Lafayette Escadrille, the first ever American air combat unit and the precursor to the United States Air Force.

Kiffin Rockwell, the Lafayette Escadrille and the Birth of the United States Air Force

Kiffin Rockwell, the Lafayette Escadrille and the Birth of the United States Air Force
Author: T.B. Murphy
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2016-08-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476624313

With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Kiffin Yates Rockwell, from Asheville, North Carolina, volunteered to fight for France. Initially serving with the French Foreign Legion as a soldier in the trenches, he soon became a founding member of the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron made up mostly of American volunteer pilots who served under the French flag before the United States entered the war. On May 19, 1916, Rockwell became the first American pilot of the war to shoot down a German plane. He was killed during aerial combat on September 23, 1916, at age 24. This book covers Rockwell's early life and military service with the Lafayette Escadrille, the first ever American air combat unit and the precursor to the United States Air Force.

Flying Camelot

Flying Camelot
Author: Michael W. Hankins
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2021-12-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1501760661

Flying Camelot brings us back to the post-Vietnam era, when the US Air Force launched two new, state-of-the art fighter aircraft: the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It was an era when debates about aircraft superiority went public—and these were not uncontested discussions. Michael W. Hankins delves deep into the fighter pilot culture that gave rise to both designs, showing how a small but vocal group of pilots, engineers, and analysts in the Department of Defense weaponized their own culture to affect technological development and larger political change. The design and advancement of the F-15 and F-16 reflected this group's nostalgic desire to recapture the best of World War I air combat. Known as the "Fighter Mafia," and later growing into the media savvy political powerhouse "Reform Movement," it believed that American weapons systems were too complicated and expensive, and thus vulnerable. The group's leader was Colonel John Boyd, a contentious former fighter pilot heralded as a messianic figure by many in its ranks. He and his group advocated for a shift in focus from the multi-role interceptors the Air Force had designed in the early Cold War towards specialized air-to-air combat dogfighters. Their influence stretched beyond design and into larger politicized debates about US national security, debates that still resonate today. A biography of fighter pilot culture and the nostalgia that drove decision-making, Flying Camelot deftly engages both popular culture and archives to animate the movement that shook the foundations of the Pentagon and Congress.

Kiffin Rockwell

Kiffin Rockwell
Author: Marc Eric McClure
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 92
Release: 2017-08-31
Genre: Fighter pilots
ISBN: 9781975998295

During the summer of 1914 the drumbeat of war excited public attention the world round. Among those following events that looked to drag all of Europe into the abyss of war was 21-year-old Kiffin Rockwell. As the diplomatic crisis in Europe unfolded, Kiffin sensed that the opportunity to pursue a life of action had at last arrived. By summer's end he would step out and boldly grasp the chance to pursue a life of purpose. That decision would not only transform his life but would enshrine his place in history and make him America's first renowned hero of the Great War. A color edition of this work is also available. To access it type 7529544 in the search box above. Selections from the foreword: "I have, on a number of occasions, pointed out that the 38 pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille created a culture that influenced all combat pilots who came after them, even today. The Air Force values of courage, discipline, and commitment go right back to these young Americans who held and displayed those virtues. Among those men Kiffin Rockwell best exemplified Air Force values...in fact he shaped them. His French captain, Georges Thénault, described Rockwell as "a great soldier with a high sense of duty" and praised the young pilot for serving "simply and valiantly, without boasting and without ambition." "Rockwell was quiet and kept to himself but in the air he was a fearless, skilled, and ferocious combat pilot. Fortunately, the taciturn Rockwell expressed himself eloquently and openly in letters to family and friends. Those letters have been a source of inspiration since 1925, when his brother, Paul, first published them. Those letters serve as the foundation for Marc McClure's book Kiffin Rockwell: First American Hero of the Great War as well as the author's new documentary film Valor. These two works offer an intimate understanding of the young American soldier and pilot, who continues to be an example of excellence and a source of inspiration." T. Michael Moseley General (Ret.) United States Air Force 18th Chief of Staff

The Lafayette Escadrille

The Lafayette Escadrille
Author: Steven A. Ruffin
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2016-05-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612003516

“A fresh look at the 38 Americans in the Escadrille Américaine . . . a finely-researched, well-written and well-illustrated book. It is recommended highly” (Over the Front). The Lafayette Escadrille was an all-volunteer squadron of Americans who flew for France during World War I, arguably the best-known fighter squadron ever to take to the skies. In this work, the entire history of these gallant volunteers—who named themselves after the Marquis de Lafayette, who came to America’s aid during its revolution—is laid out in both text and pictorial form. Along with archival photographs and documents, current snapshots of existing markers and memorials honoring the Lafayette Escadrille were taken by the author in France. In several cases, he was able to match his present-day color photos with older images of the same scene, thus creating a jaw-dropping then-and-now comparison. To add even more color, the author included artwork and aircraft profiles by recognized illustrators, along with numerous full-color photographs of artifacts relating to the squadron’s men and airplanes, as they are displayed today in various museums in the United States and France. The result is undoubtedly the finest photographic collection of the Lafayette Escadrille to appear in print. Along with expert text revealing air-combat experiences, as well as life at the front during the Great War, it is a never-before-seen visual history that both World War I aviation aficionados and those with a passing interest in history will appreciate. “This magnificent book probably provides everything needed by someone wishing to learn about this famous fighting unit.” —Cross and Cockade “When it comes to describing aerial combat in all its bloody fury, [Ruffin] excels.” —Air and Space Magazine

The Dream of Civilized Warfare

The Dream of Civilized Warfare
Author: Linda Raine Robertson
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780816642700

In "The Dream of Civilized Warfare, Robertson presents the compelling, story of the creation of the first American air force--and how, through the propaganda of the flying ace, a vision of "clean" or civilized combat was sold to politicians and the public. She traces the long history of the American desire to exert the nation's will throughout the world without having to risk the lives of ground soldiers--a theme that continues to reverberate in public discussions, media portrayals, and policy decisions today.

Like A Thunderbolt: The Lafayette Escadrille And The Advent Of American Pursuit In World War I [Illustrated Edition]

Like A Thunderbolt: The Lafayette Escadrille And The Advent Of American Pursuit In World War I [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Roger G. Miller
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2015-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1786252473

Includes 29 Illustrations The advent of an American squadron, or “escadrille,” within the French air force, the Service Aeronautique, had been far from a simple process. French leaders initially held the belief, common at the time, that the war begun in 1914 would be a short one. The potential value of American volunteers fighting for France both for propaganda purposes and for helping bring the power of the New World into the war on the side of the Allies was thus irrelevant at first. By early 1915, however, the French began to accept American volunteers and assign them to escadrilles. In early 1916, the Service Aeronautique united several of these men in an elite chasse unit, which quickly earned an enviable reputation for audacity, bravery, and élan. Success of this unit, the Lafayette Escadrille, had three consequences. First, its existence encouraged a large number of Americans, far more than needed in one escadrille, to volunteer for French aviation. These individuals, identified unofficially as members of a “Lafayette Flying Corps,” served in numerous French air units. Second, the publicity surrounding the Lafayette Escadrille contributed favorable press for the Allied cause, strengthened ties between France and the U.S., and ultimately helped prepare the U.S. to participate on the Allied side of the conflict. Third, the existence of a large body of experienced American pilots provided combat veterans for the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France when the U.S. ultimately entered the war. These veterans helped instill in the U.S. Air Service the attitudes and practices of the Service Aeronautique, an infusion especially reflected in two U.S. pursuit squadrons, the 103rd Aero Squadron, made up of Lafayette Escadrille pilots, and the 94th Aero Squadron, the most famous American combat squadron of the war.

The Vivid Air

The Vivid Air
Author: Philip M. Flammer
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2008-05-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0820331260

The Vivid Air recreates the story of the famed Lafayette Escadrille, the American volunteer unit which fought with the French during World War I. A unique and elite squadron since its inception, the unit was destined for world renown even before it flew its first mission. Their role as the "vanguard of American volunteers" and the remarkably high caliber of the Lafayette Escadrille pilots easily set them apart and ignited the admiration of the world. The idealized glamour of aviation in the Great War, a direct consequence of the grim, heroless contest on the ground, highlighted combat flying and gave pilots a special place in the public imagination. Yet when the war came to its tragic end, widespread appreciation for crusading idealism lay buried in the ruins, and with it the true story of the Lafayette Escadrille. Philip Flammer's clear, fully documented study is the first complete scholarly account of this singular volunteer fighting unit, based on extensive research in Europe and the United States.