147th Aero Squadron

147th Aero Squadron
Lt. Wilbert Wallace White, 147th Aero Squadron. He was a Flight Commander for the Squadron and gained 8 victories during his service.
Active11 November 1917–Present
Country United States
Branch  United States Army Air Service
TypeSquadron
RolePursuit
Part ofAmerican Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
Engagements
World War I
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Maj. Geoffrey H. Connell
Lt. John A. Hambleton
Capt. James A. Meissner[1]
Insignia
147th Aero Squadron Emblem
Aircraft flown
FighterNieuport 28
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
Airco DH.4
Spad XIII[1]
TrainerCurtiss JN-4, 1917[1]
Service record
Operations 1st Pursuit Group
Western Front, France: 29 May-11 November 1918[2]
Victories
  • Enemy Aircraft shot down: 28[3]
  • Enemy Balloons shot down: 3[3]
  • Total Enemy Aircraft Destroyed: 31[3]

Air Aces: 6

Operations Office of the 147th Aero Squadron in France, May–June 1918

The 147th 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 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.[5]

After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron returned to the United States in March 1919 and became part of the permanent United States Army Air Service in 1921, being re-designated as the 17th Squadron (Pursuit).[6][7]

The current United States Air Force unit which holds its lineage and history is the 17th Weapons Squadron, assigned to the USAF Weapons School, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.[8]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference AHFRA147 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c Gorrell'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
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Series "E", Volume 18, History of the 147th Aero Squadron. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.