| Show 4 ID 13 D D D X al n 0 fri pta f L u ai Z IV lip uv za 00 Is group pursuit by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HE next time you hear the drone of an airplane motor in the distance run and get your field glasses and see gee if it Is a united states army plane you will recognize it as an army plane of course by the lie familiar circle and star on the lower side of the wings C it it is look on the fuselage and C see what the design Is there for S fill all of our war birds now carry 4 distinctive insignia find and back bach of every one of them Is an interesting story As everybody knows the use of airplanes attained a swift development during the world war at first there were no distinctive markings so that tte the aviators winging their way through the clouds had no means of knowing whether the airplane which they might encounter up there was friend or foe there were a few exceptions to this rule however baron von richthofen the german ace chose to paint his entire plane a brilliant red and no one could possibly have mistaken his plane for any other similarly the stork squadron led by the famous frenchman capt charles guynemer was easily recognized and when the ninety fourth squadron united states air appeared on the western front with the symbol of uncle sams hat in the ring it meant that the united states was really in the war at last later the planes of the central powers were decorated with an iron cross and the allied powers with three concentric rings of red white and blue all insignia which were strictly national had bad been dropped and all of the allied aircraft carried the same general identification so that th enemy plane could not tell whether one bearing the red white and blue rings was french english american or belgian from the lessons learned during the world war and also to perpetuate some of its history there has bar evolved the distinctive markings of our army aircraft so when you see these symbols on the sides of our army planes you are looking at the very latest development in heraldry and you are seeing emblematic history in the making it dates from as recent as september 10 19 1923 1023 when an air corps order authorized the various organizations in the corps to submit designs of coats of arms and other insignia for approval since then each aviation av lation unit including some gome which are organized as yet only on paper has chosen its symbol and has had it approved in order to understand clearly the symbolism of these insignia it should be explained first that the air corps is made up of groups each of which in turn torn Is made up of two or more squadrons the groups are designated by numbers and by description of its chief fun function action wh whether ether pursuit attack bombardment or observation the squadrons are also designated by number and description of their functions but in addition to the pursuit attack bombardment and observation squadrons there are also service squadrons those hardworking units charged with engineering and repair work for the group of which they are a part in the air corps at the present time there are only onar four theoretically complete tactical units they are the first pursuit group stationed at selfridge self ridge field midi mich and composed of the se seventeenth en twenty seventh and ninety fourth pursuit squadrons and the fifty seventh service squadron the second bombardment group stationed at langley field va and composed of the twentieth forty ninth and ninety sixth bombardment bar dment squadrons and the pitty fifty jintil service squadron the ahti third attack group stationed at fort crockett Croc kelt galveston texas and composed of the eighth thirteenth and ninetieth attack squadrons and the sixtieth service squadron and the ninth observation group stationed at mitchell field long island N Y and composed of the ninety ninth observation squadron the sixty first service sen ice squadron and the fourteenth photo section each group has its own coat of arms and in addition to this coat of arms each squadron has its own insignia under the order of september 19 1 all insignia must conform to the following general regulations they must muk be of real value to the service simple find and yet possess some historic significance they must be dignified and in good taste they should tell a picture story significant ant of the organization and of course they should be distinguishable in the air on the other land band the same order sets forth what abat they should or shall not be insignia may not contain numerals the letters U S the air corps insignia the american flag fins the united states cont coat of far arms or any part of it the complete arms of any state or country outlines of geographic maps foreign decorations etc it was this prohibition of using the united states flag or any part of it which brought about the passing of the famous ilat hat ln la the th biting elting symbol the coat ot of arrais of the first pursuit group has a shield of green with live diagonal black strip stripes representing the alie five organizations of the group when it was in ili active service green und and black were the original colors of the air corps under the stripes are live five iron crosses representing the five major engagements of the world war in which this group participated most significant of the mission of this group Is the crest a fieldor fiel field dof of sky blue representing the high altitudes at which tumult planes work ir ic wt field a winged winced arrow 1 ol 01 attara grou a ck Attack Group 11 POth 94 th almi L squad of it pursuit group pursuit squad of group attack group service nd bodib G roup er carn L mba squadron Squad roy darts downward as does the pursuit plane in its attack and oler oer till all Is the motto aut ant aut ant morl mori conquer or die which Is exactly what pursuit craft must do having no defensive armament to their rear these planes must tight fight it out to the end for to turn tell tall would be to perish the coat of arms of the second bombardment group Is very simple but it tells a story in a striking manner the shield is a cloudy blue significant ant ot of the sky surmounted by five pa lets or scallops of alternate green and black representing the life five major engagements aasne aisne marne st michlel Mili fel chateau thierry and meuse argonne la in which the group fought in tire the center of the five is a fleur de lis symbolical of the organizations aenice sen ice in france in the lower half of the shield four blue and gold bombs plunge downward and in the crest Is a patch of blue sky ringed with clouds across which aich darts a jagged streak of lightning denoting the suddenness and deadliness with which alch the bombs strike the motto Is self explanatory mors et destructs death and destruction the third attack group Is the buby baby of the air corps and the group as such has no war history although its various squadrons has as indicated by the 19 iron crosses in the border of 0 the shield on the coat of arms representing the number of enemy planes which members of these squadrons shot down during the world war the crest is a knights helmet and a pair of wings symbol symbolical ica I 1 of the knight errantry of oc an army aviator in an attack plane the motto la Is non solum armis not by arms alone observation pilots are not primarily fighters in the sense that pursuit attack and bombardment pilots are arc for their job Is to fly over the lines and learn the disposition of the enemy forces but they must also tight off attack in order to get back to their hangars safely so the coat of arms of the ninth observation group proves that its members have been fighters for across the shield Is a line of four iron crosses which have a double symbolism that the group participated in four our major engagements in france and that it brought down the greatest number of enemy planes four in any one engagement the crest of this outfit carries evidence of the tact fact that one of its squad squadrons squadron roD s wa was s the first ever organized in the united states army that it was as the alie first eter cier to take part in an american ralli military tary expedition and that it was living up to its motto of semper Pa ratus always ready before tire the world war the crest Is a branch of cactus around which a rattlesnake is colled this represents the service of tho the first aero acre squadron with ings expedition into downward across the black and green shield runs a navy white line hoe which represents the rio grande the coat of arms usually is carried on only one plane in a group the plane flown by the group commander put cut the squadron insignia Is worn by b Y all the planes in that squadron and it Is in the squadron symbols that you will see the greatest variety of emblems the bizarre the unusual the humorous the sinister and the patriotic patri otle but all significant from the character of the pursuit squadrons duties one would naturally expect these thebe units to use symbols indicating the idea of the chase so the seventeenth pursuit squadron of the first pursuit group has for its insignia a snowy owl swooping down upon its prey this bird also symbolizing bol izing the arctic weather experienced five miles aloft at which elevation pursuit aviation fights the twenty seventh pursuit squadron of this same group has a hawk diving down ti tv attack and the ninety fourth pursuit squadron the old hat anat in the ring ning outfit has the indian uttering his war whoop as he pursues the enemy but the element of the chase Is not evident in the symbols of all the pursuit outfits as witness the insignia of the ninety fifth pursuit squadron of the seventh bombardment group now stationed nt at rockwell field in california it Is a white roule mule doubled up ready to give a mighty wallop to an enemy the natural interpretation of course Is that this Is an army mule and every one knows the danger that lies iles in the heels of this long eared equine closely akin to the idea expressed in the insignia of the pursuit squadrons is that of the attack units one of the most striking of 0 these is the grim reaper which tells of the work of the thirteenth attack squadron of the third attack group this white skeleton strides across a dark background mowing as he goes with a yellow scythe the blade of which Is dripping with red thus indicating vividly how an attack plane destroys troops and supply trains on the ground with machine gun fire and light bombardment the ninetieth attack squadron of the third attack group has an insignia which is more humorous than indicative of its war record it consists of two red dice showing two naturals which are indicative of the seven enemy planes places which members of the squadron brought down during the world war it served as a corps observation atlon squadron in the tout toul sector at st ml met and in both battles of the meuse argonne and as an observation unit its job was to avoid fights but as a matter of fact it engaged in 23 aerial battles winning seven victories and suffering three casualties two killed and one wounded one of the best known of all the squadron insignia is that of the twentieth bombardment squadron of the second bombardment group it is a sweeping mustached viciously grinning pirate dashing to attack with a grenade in hand he treads upon a horizontal aerial bomb with two bands and eleven iron crosses cro ases recalling the major offensives in which the squadron participated during the world war and the eleven enemy planes which it brought down while defending itself on its bombing raids over the lines A red devil thumbing his nose at his target whatever that target may be on the ground and holding an aerial bomb Is the insignia of the ninety sixth bombardment squadron squad ion of the second bombardment group the fact that observation squadrons squad rois some sometimes fight although that is not maril their duty Is reflected inthe in the insignia of the ninety first oh ob squadron stationed at gin bin francisco it shows an armored knight on his capara capari horse bearing a shield upon which appears a doub lecross in pursuit of a red devil and prodding him in the rear with ills his lance not so grim as the insignia of the other three branches of an air corps group are the symbols of the service squadrons whose hard working members keep the lighters in the air A beaver symbol of their busy life Is worn by the fifty ninth service squadron of the second bombardment group the emblem of the fifty seventh service squadron of the first pursuit group Is a hawk with a broken wing perched on a post while that of the sixty sixth service squadron shows a large gear ceol with four smaller gears radiating from the master gear at 90 degree intervals this latter squadron Is part of the composite group in the fillippine islands and the four smaller gears represent the four squadrons of a well balanced composite group pursuit attack bombardment and observation 0 by ula |
