Show S own 00 of 10 0 0 U IR ahr D 11 IRM D I 1 TAT M Q IN R N N kursu pursuit brokup graur by ELMO SCOTT WATSON III next time you ya hear the drone ot of an airplane motor in the distance run ond and get your sour field glasses and see it if it Is a united st states army plane you will recognize it as an army plane ot of course by the familiar circle and star on oil the lower side of the wings if it Is look on the fuselage and ad see what the design la Is there for all of our war birds now curry carry 4 distinctive insignia and back of ev every ry one of them Is an interesting story As everybody knows the use of airplanes attained a swift development during the world war at first th there ere were no distinctive markings so that the aviators winging their way vay through the live 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 choie to paint Ms his entire plane a bri brilliant want red and no one could possibly have mistaken tits his plane for or any other similarly the 1 stork squadron led by the famous r frenchman I 1 hman C capic apt charles Guy nemyer was easily recognized and ad when the ninety fourth squadron united tates states air service appeared on the western front with the symbol of uncle sams hat in the ring it jeanith me meant anith that at 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 pow era with three concentric rings of red white and blue all insignia which were strictly national had been dropped and all of the allied aircraft carried the same general identification so BO that th enemy plane could not t tell ell jv hether one bearing the red white and blue rings was F reach french english american or belgian from the lessons learned during the world war and also to perpetuate some of its history there has 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 th the e very latest development in heraldry and you are seeing emblematic history in the making it dates from as recent as aa september 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 unit including some which are organized as aa 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 corys corps la Is made up of groups each of which in turn Is made up of two or more squadrons the groups are designated by numbers and by d description ese alp of its chief function whether pursuit attack bombardment or observation the squadrons ons are also designated by number and description of their functions but in addition to the pursuit attack bombardment and oU observation squadrons there are also service squadrons those liard hard working units charged cli arged 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 tour four theoretically complete tactical units they are the first pursuit group stationed at selfridge field mich and composed of the seventeenth twenty seventh and ninety fourth pursuit squadrons and the fifty seventh service squadron the second bombardment group stationed tion edat at langley field va and ancl composed of the twentieth forty ninth and ninety sixth bombardment bar dment squadrons and nd the F fifty efty ninth service squadron the third attack group stationed at fort crockett 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 X Y and composed of the ninety ninth observation squadron the sixty first service squadron and the fourteenth photo section each group has its ita own coat chatot of arms and in art ad to this coat of arms each squadron has its own insignia Und under erthe the order of september 10 19 1023 1923 all insignia must conform to the following general regulations they must be of real value to the service simple and yet possess some historic significance they must be dignified and in g good 0 od taste they should tell a picture story significant sigg bigg n ant of them the 0 organization and of course they should be distinguishable in the air on the other handtke hand the same order sets forth what they should or shall not be insignia may not contain numerals the litters letters U S the air corps insignia the american flag tho the united states coat ot of arms arma or any part of it the complete arms of any state or country outlines ot of geographic maps foreign decorations etc it was this prohibition of using the united states flag or any part of it which brought about abode the passing of tho the famous hatin hat in the ring symbol the oat ot of arms of the first pursuit group has a shield of green with five diagonal black stripes representing tho the five organizations of bf the kroup group when it was tri in active service green and black were the original colors of the air corps under the stripes are five iron crosses representing the five major engagements of the world war in which this group participated most alost significant of the mission of this group is the crest a field of sky blue the high altitudes at which pursuit planes work iv in Ws JU field a winged arrow r t of G ro u Y A aj ara SWAM S COM bomb group pursuit squad of pu tsui t A j k b 0 ju asui L oro rol p tp 3 rd group V sath service and 2nd bomb L imal ay insignia gro octh tit bombardment nt squadron darts downward its as does the pursuit pa plane ne in its attack and over all la Is the motto aut ant ant morl conquer or die which Is exactly what pursuit craft must do having no defensive armament to their rear these planes must fight it out to the end tor for to turn tall would be to perish the coat of the second bombardment group Is very simple but it tells a story I 1 in 12 a a striking manner the shield Is a cloudy blue alg of the sky surmounted anted by five pa lets or scallops of alternate green and black representing the five major engagements cantieny cantigny alane marne st Sli biel chateau thierry and meuse argonne in which the group fought in the center of the five Is a fleur de Us its symbolical service in F france in the lower halt half of the shield tour four blue and gold bombs plunge downward and in the crest to la a patch of blue sky ringed with clouds across which darts a jagged streak of lightning denoting the suddenness and deadliness with which the bombs strike the motto Is self explanatory mors et destructs Destruct oll death and destruction the third attack group Is the baby of the air corps and and the group as such has no war history although its various squadrons has as Indica indicated tid by the 10 19 iron crosses in an the he border odthe of the shield on I 1 the coat of arms representing the number of enemy planes which members of these squadrons shot down during the world war the crest Is ji a knights helmet and a pair of wings symbolical of the knight errantry of an army aviator in an attack plane the motto Is non solum arms not by arms alone observation pilots are not primarily fighters in the sense th that at pursuit attack and bombardment pilots are for their job Is to fly over the lines and learn the disposition of the enemy forces but they must also fight off attack in order to get back to their hangars safely so the coat of arms of the ninth observation group graup 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 la four major engagements in france and t that hat it brought down the greatest number of enemy planes tour four in any one engagement the crest of 0 this outfit carries evidence of the fact that one ot of its squadrons was the first ever organized in the united states army that it was the first ever to take part in an american military expedition and that it was living up to tta its motto of semper Pa tatus always ready before the world war the crest Is a branch of cactus around which a rattlesnake rattle anake Is coiled this r represents abe service of the first aero aqua squadron dron with ings expedition into mexico downward across the black ind and green shield runs a wavy wary white line which represents the illo grande the coat of arms arma usually Is carried on only one plane in a group the plane flown by the group commander but the squadron insignia la Is worn wom by 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 but all significant from the character of the pursuit squadrons duties one would naturally expect these 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 tta its prey this bird also symbolizing bol izing the arctic weather experienced five miles aloft at which elevation pursuit aviation fights the tha twenty seventh pursuit squadron of this same group has a hawk bank diving down to attack and the ninety fourth pursuit squadron the old hat in the ring outfit has the indian uttering hla his war whoop A he pursues the enemy but bat the element of tho the chase Is not evident in the symbols of all the pursuit outfits ns as witness thi the insignia of the ninety fifth pursuit squadron ol of the seventh bombardment group now stationed at rockwell field in california it la Is a white mule doubled up ready readi to give a mighty wallop to an enemy the natural interpretation of course la Is that this Is an army mule and every one knows the danger that lies in tha heels of this long earod 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 these Is the grim reaper which tells of the work of the thirteenth attack squadron of tire 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 ot 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 ll naturals which are indicative of the seven enemy planes plane which members of tho the squadron brought down during the world war it served as a corps observation squadron in the tout toul sector at st ml alel and in both battles of the meuse aleuse 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 ile he treads upon a horizontal aerial bomb with two bands and eleven iron crosses recalling tho 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 ills his target whatever that target may be on the ground and holding an aerial bomb la is the insignia of the ninety sixth bombardment squadron of 0 the second bombardment group graup 40 f the fact that observation squadrons squad rois roLs sometimes light fight although that Is not primarily their duty la Is reflected in the insignia of the ninety first observation squadron stationed at xan san francisco it shows an armored knight on his richly capara horse bearing a shield upon which appears a double doub lecross ross in pursuit of a red devil and prodding him in the rear with 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 hardworking hard haid working members keep the fighters inthe in the air A beaver symbol of their busy life la Is worn by the fifty ninth service squadron of the second bombardment group the emblem of the fifty seventh service squadron ot 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 wheel with tour four smaller gears radiating from the master gear at 80 90 degree intervals this latter squadron Is part of 0 the composite group in n the philippine islands and the four smaller gears represent the four squadrons of a well vell balanced composite group Pur pursuit sult attack bombardment and observation 0 by katr par ajai |