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148-679: Sent to France to lay a foundation for the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force as head of what became known as the "Bolling Mission," he remained in France instead of returning to the United States, served briefly in a number of staff positions and was selected for a future combat command. He was touring his future area of operations to learn the nature of the work he would be expected to perform when he

296-625: A 50-horsepower Gnome motor , and the services of 20-year-old Peter Carl "Tex" Millman as an instructor. By the end of July, Millman reported several of his students including Bolling were ready to try for their American Aero Club license. Bolling was in sympathy with the objectives of the Preparedness Movement , a group of influential Americans advocating military preparedness for involvement in World War I and drawn primarily from wealthy lawyers, bankers, academics, and politicians of

444-617: A Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" . In addition, the company attended weekly classes in aircraft engines and the theory of aviation at the Columbia School Of Engineering . The company, commanded by now-Captain Bolling, was mustered into federal service on July 13, 1916, and began a five-week encampment. The Army opened the "Signal Corps Aviation Station, Mineola " at the Garden City Aerodrome on July 22 and

592-606: A 100-horsepower Gnome and termed the "Military Tractor," from the camp to demonstrate its military usefulness. Despite a long delay caused by lack of a safe landing ground nearby, Millman made 20 flights over a three-day period. Bolling also arranged for use of the American Aero Club's six-person balloon, the America III , to make a demonstration for the trainees. In September, after the Plattsburgh encampment

740-706: A Director of Aircraft Production on April 28, 1918, and abolished the Air Division of the OCSO, creating a Division of Military Aeronautics (DMA) with Brigadier General William L. Kenly brought back from France to be its head, to separate supervision of aviation from the duties of the Chief Signal Officer. Less than a month later, Wilson used a war powers provision of the Overman Act of May 20, 1918, to issue Executive Order No. 2862 that suspended for

888-754: A First Lieutenant in the Air Force, was appointed to the New York National Guard. The estate was later razed, in 2007, by its current owner despite a public outcry. He attended the Penn Charter School in Philadelphia , graduating in 1896. He graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1900 and from the Harvard Law School in 1902. Bolling was an attorney at Guthrie, Cravath, and Henderson . A little after

1036-657: A combat command and was picked to become chief of air service for the U.S. II Corps when it formed in the spring. To prepare himself he visited aerodromes of the Royal Flying Corps in the vicinity of Amiens in March 1918 to observe air operations in support of the British Expeditionary Force during the German spring offensive . On the morning of March 26, 1918, during the opening phase of

1184-538: A final plan for 202 by June 1919. In Pershing's view, the two functions of the AEF's Air Service were to repel German aircraft and conduct observation of enemy movements. The heart of the proposed force would be its 101 observation squadrons (52 corps observation and 49 army observation), to be distributed to three armies and 16 corps. In addition, 60 pursuit squadrons, 27 night-bombardment squadrons, and 14 day-bombardment squadrons were to conduct supporting operations. Without

1332-568: A flight of seven Jennies from Mineola to New York harbor, where they were joined by a pair of JN-4s from the Governors Island school. One of Carroll's instructors in his own plane accompanied the group as the ten airplanes flew cross country together to Princeton, New Jersey , to attend the Yale - Princeton football game, the largest such formation of airplanes to date. In one of its final tactical maneuvers, led by Bolling on March 8, 1917,

1480-672: A former wife of Barclay Harding Warburton II and an heir to the John Wanamaker department store fortune, waited discreetly away from the media at a home in the Parisian suburb of Passy , France . When the divorce was final, the couple were married at the Hotel de Ville (city hall) in Paris on September 5, 1927. Vanderbilt became a legal stepfather to Barclay Harding Warburton III once they wed. Vanderbilt died on January 8, 1944, of

1628-693: A heart ailment. He was interred in the Vanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum on Staten Island, New York . In 1931, Vanderbilt had the Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, build for him the 264-foot diesel yacht Alva . The Alva was donated by Vanderbilt to the U.S. Navy on November 4, 1941. The Alva was converted to a gunboat and commissioned as the USS Plymouth (PG-57) on December 29, 1941. The Plymouth

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1776-495: A highly publicized personal investigation by Gutzon Borglum , a harshly vocal critic of the board. Borglum had exchanged letters with President Wilson, a personal friend, from which he assumed an appointment to investigate had been authorized, which the administration soon denied. Both the U.S. Senate and the Department of Justice began investigations into possible fraudulent dealings. President Wilson also acted by appointing

1924-663: A life of luxury, he was raised in Vanderbilt mansions , traveled to Europe frequently, and sailed the globe on yachts owned by his father. Willie was educated by tutors and at St. Mark's School . He attended Harvard University but dropped out after two years. While a great part of his life was filled with travel and leisure activities, Willie's father put him to work at the family's New York Central Railroad offices at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan . As such, in 1905 he joined other Vanderbilts on Fifth Avenue , building

2072-601: A new land speed record of 92.30 mph (148.54 km/h) in a Mercedes-Benz at the Daytona Beach Road Course at Ormond Beach, Florida . That same year, he launched the Vanderbilt Cup , the first major trophy in American auto racing . An international event, designed to spur American manufacturers into racing, the race's large cash prize drew the top drivers and their vehicles from across

2220-547: A new motor yacht, also named Tarantula . On May 9, 1917, the United States Navy commissioned the second Tarantula at Brooklyn Navy Yard as a patrol boat , with the hull number SP-124, and appointed Lieutenant Vanderbilt as its commander. The Navy chartered the yacht from him for the duration of the war. He was assigned to patrol duty in the waters of the 3rd Naval District , and escorted convoys in waters off New York and New Jersey. On October 1, 1917, he

2368-619: A permanent establishment. The National Defense Act of 1920 assigned the Air Service the status of " combatant arm of the line " of the United States Army with a major general in command. In France, the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force , a separate entity under commanding General John J. Pershing that conducted the combat operations of U.S. military aviation, began field service in

2516-515: A permanent part of the air forces. Observation planes often operated individually, as did pursuit pilots to attack a balloon or to meet the enemy in a dogfight . However the tendency was toward formation flying, for pursuit as well as for bombardment operations, as a defensive tactic. The dispersal of squadrons among the army ground units (each corps and division had an observation squadron attached) made coordination of air activities difficult, so that squadrons were organized by functions into groups ,

2664-904: A separate aviation department to act as the centralized authority for decision-making, both the War and the Navy Departments opposed it, and on October 1, 1917, Congress instead legalized the existence of the APB and changed its name to the " Aircraft Board ", transferring its functions from the Council of National Defense to the secretaries of War and the Navy. Even so, the Aircraft Board in practice had little control over procurement contracts and functioned mostly as an information provider between industrial, governmental, and military entities. Nor did

2812-489: A separate executive bureau to provide the aircraft needed. This arrangement lasted only until the War Department implemented the executive order on May 24 by issuing General Order No. 51 to coordinate the two independent agencies, with an eventual goal of creating a Director of Air Service . (The term "Air Service" had been in use in France since June 13, 1917, to describe the function of aviation units attached to

2960-514: A series of legislation in the next three months that appropriated huge sums for development of military aviation, including the largest single appropriation for a single purpose to that time, $ 640 million in the Aviation Act (40 Stat . 243), passed July 24, 1917. By the time the bill passed, the term Air Service was in widespread if unofficial usage to collectively describe all aspects of Army aviation. Although it considered creation of

3108-669: A wealthy heiress whose father, James Graham Fair , had made a fortune in mining the famous Comstock Lode . They spent their honeymoon at the Idle Hour estate but disaster struck when fire broke out and the mansion burned to the ground. Before their separation and divorce, Vanderbilt and his wife had a son and two daughters, the younger of whom was named for his sister: The Vanderbilts separated after ten years of marriage but did not formally divorce until 1927 when he wanted to remarry. Divorce proceedings were handled by his New York lawyers while he and Rosamund Lancaster Warburton (1897–1947),

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3256-661: A year there he began his career in the legal department of the United States Steel Corporation . By 1907 he was assistant general solicitor and married Anna Tucker Phillips, June 25, 1907, in Beverly, Massachusetts. She was the sister of William Phillips , a prominent career diplomat. He also joined the New York National Guard . He and his wife had four daughters and a son, one of whom, Cecelia Raynal Bolling, died in infancy. In 1913 he

3404-819: Is honored at the Memorial Church of Harvard University and by "Bolling Grove," a redwood grove on the Avenue of the Giants, paralleling U.S. Highway 101 along the South Fork of the Eel River in Humboldt Redwoods State Park , California. Bolling Field , District of Columbia , now a part of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling , was opened on July 1, 1918, and named to commemorate Bolling. United States Army Air Service#Air Service of

3552-605: The 94th Pursuit Squadron scored. The first mission by an American squadron across the lines occurred April 11, when the 1st Aero Squadron, led by its commander, Major Ralph Royce , flew a photo reconnaissance mission to the vicinity of Apremont . The first American balloon group arrived in France on December 28, 1917. It separated into four companies that were assigned individually to training centers and instructed in French balloon procedures, then equipped with Caquot balloons, winches, and parachutes. The 2d Balloon Company joined

3700-540: The American Expeditionary Force . Following his work with the commission, Bolling joined Col. Billy Mitchell 's aviation headquarters in Paris, which was still being organized, as Chief, Zone of the Interior, Air Service. On September 3, 1917, Pershing created the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force and chose Bolling to become Director of Air Service Supply, to administer the Air Service Zone of

3848-599: The Atlantic Ocean who had competed in Europe 's Gordon Bennett Cup . Held at a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York, the race drew large crowds hoping to see an American car defeat the mighty European vehicles. However, a French Panhard vehicle won the race and fans would have to wait until 1908 when 23-year-old George Robertson of Garden City, New York , became the first American to win

3996-486: The Bristol and SPAD VII fighters, but of its recommendations, only the deHavilland DH-4 was suitable for American production methods or engines and thus built in quantity before the war ended. Bolling prepared the preliminary aeronautical contract with the French, calling for delivery of 5,000 airplanes by July 1, 1918, which was signed on August 30, 1917, by the French air minister and General Pershing, now in command of

4144-568: The Curtiss Jenny as the primary trainer. Primary flying training school usually produced a candidate for commissioning in 15 to 25 hours of flight. At the assurance of the French that they could be rapidly trained in all phases, 1,700 cadets who had graduated from ground school were sent to Europe to undertake the entire flying portion of their training in Great Britain , France , and Italy . In December 1917, after receiving 1,400 of

4292-525: The Galapagos Islands . By 1922, Vanderbilt had commissioned the construction of a single-story building on his Long Island estate to serve as a public museum, and less than a decade later a second story was added on to accommodate the growing collection. William Belanske, who had accompanied Vanderbilt on his Galapagos voyage, was employed as the full-time curator of this museum. In 1913, Vanderbilt traded in his steam turbine yacht Tarantula for

4440-774: The Lafayette Escadrille and Lafayette Flying Corps . The first U.S. aviator killed in action during aerial combat occurred March 8, 1918, when Captain James E. Miller, commanding the 95th Pursuit Squadron , was shot down while on a voluntary patrol near Reims . The first aerial victory in an American unit was by 1st Lt. Paul F. Baer of the 103rd Aero Squadron, and formerly a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps, on March 11. The first victories credited to American-trained pilots came on April 14, 1918, when Lieutenants Alan F. Winslow and Douglas Campbell of

4588-686: The Legion of Honour by the French government and the Distinguished Service Medal by the United States Army. The sculptor Edward Clark Potter created a life-size statue of Bolling that was cast in bronze by the Gorham Foundry of Rhode Island for permanent display near the town commons of Greenwich, Connecticut. The Indiana limestone background of the memorial shows aircraft in combat in low relief . Bolling

Raynal Bolling - Misplaced Pages Continue

4736-681: The Reserve Military Aviator (RMA) qualification test. Intended for service in Mexico, the 1st Aero Company never left Long Island but did train 25 of its own members as pilots before mustering out of federal service in November 1916. It is recognized as the Air National Guard 's oldest unit and its lineage is carried by the 102d Rescue Squadron , New York ANG. The increasing numbers of Army aircraft at Mineola enabled

4884-562: The Sir Thomas Lipton Cup in 1900 with his new 70-foot (21 m) sailing yacht he had named Virginia in honor of his new bride. In 1902, Vanderbilt began construction on his own country place at Lake Success on Long Island that he named " Deepdale ." In 1903 he bought Tarantula , the first turbine -powered steam yacht in the World. However, sailing took second place to his enthusiasm for fast cars. In 1904, Willie set

5032-724: The State Department 's transatlantic telegraph cable . Bolling reported to the Chief Signal Officer from Paris on August 15 and recommended that the United States send materials, engines, and parts for assembly of airplanes in Europe. To accelerate the number of American pilots, the report recommended that the best cadets then in ground schools be shipped to France to complete their primary flight training under French instructors. The report further recommended an air force of "fighting airplanes and bombers" well beyond

5180-540: The U.S. War Department during World War I by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson : on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation Section, Signal Corps as the nation's air force; and March 19, 1919, establishing a military Director of Air Service to control all aviation activities. Its life was extended for another year in July 1919, during which time Congress passed the legislation necessary to make it

5328-546: The William K. Vanderbilt House at 660 Fifth Avenue . Already extremely wealthy from a trust fund and from his income as president of the New York Central Railroad Company, on his father's death in 1920 Willie inherited a multimillion-dollar fortune. Although he developed an interest in horse racing and yachting , he was particularly fascinated with automobiles. At age 10, during a stay in

5476-413: The mass production methods of the automotive industry , which used considerable amounts of metallic materials instead, and the priority of mass-producing spare parts was neglected. Though individual areas within the aviation industry responded well, the industry as a whole failed. Efforts to mass-produce European aircraft under license largely failed because the aircraft, made by hand, were not amenable to

5624-661: The "Equipment Division" of the Signal Corps exercise such control. Established by the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (OCSO) as one of the operating components of the Aviation Section, its task was to unify and coordinate the various agencies involved but its head was a commissioned former member of the APB who did nothing to create any effective coordination. Moreover, the largely wood and fabric airframe designs of World War I did not lend themselves to being made with

5772-625: The "Military Tractor" and Gallaudet's earlier prototype, the C-1. Authorization to form an aviation section in the Signal Corps of the Guard was announced by New York Governor Charles S. Whitman in October, and Bolling, who had just completed his flying instruction, was then appointed to the ACA's special committee to support its implementation. In November 1915, Bolling was appointed as a first lieutenant in

5920-408: The "Million-Dollar Guard". The backlog was finally cleared by opening an Air Service primary school at Tours and devoting part of the advanced school at Issoudun to preliminary training for a period of time. The U.S. training program produced more than 10,000 pilots as new first lieutenants in the Signal Officers Reserve Corps (S.O.R.C.). 8,688 received ratings of Reserve Military Aviator in

6068-473: The 1st Aero Company participated in an exercise that involved 25 aircraft and half of the company's 44 personnel, simulating battlefield reconnaissance of camouflaged equipment and fortifications, and smoke from a simulated artillery battery. Despite their achievements, Bolling's report to the Chief of the Militia Bureau concluded that the development of national guard aviation was not practical at that time because of difficulties in attracting skilled mechanics into

Raynal Bolling - Misplaced Pages Continue

6216-473: The 1st Aero Company received regulation training from two regulars , 1st Lieutenants Joseph E. Carberry and Walter G. Kilner , both veterans of the Punitive expedition in Mexico with the 1st Aero Squadron . On August 1 the aviation school received the first of forty new aircraft to be delivered over the next eight months, most of them Curtiss Jennies, authorization to buy fuel, and to hire three civilian instructors and seven mechanics as staff. In addition to

6364-408: The 1st Aero Company, the newly formed 2nd Aero Company NYNG also arrived for training (but was not federalized or subject to Carberry's orders), as did 14 officers from the guards of other states, all of which enabled the company to train as a unit. Bolling passed a flying test for an expert pilot's license on October 25, receiving Fédération Aéronautique Internationale certificate No. 536, and passed

6512-419: The 1st Pursuit Group of four pursuit squadrons relocated from Selfridge Field, Michigan, to add their weight to the effort. Collectively the three groups (the entire combat strength of the Air Service in the continental United States) comprised the 1st Wing . In January 1920 only the surveillance group continued the patrols, which gradually diminished until June 1921 when they ceased entirely. Another group

6660-470: The 3rd and 4th Regiments reorganized, delaying their deployment until the end of July. By the Armistice all four regiments were configured as aircraft repair and maintenance units, and designated Air Service Mechanics Regiments . The primary aircraft used by the AEF at the front (the "Zone of Advance") were the SPAD XIII (877), Nieuport 28 (181), and SPAD VII (103) as pursuit aircraft, the DeHaviland DH-4B (696) and Breguet 14 (87) for daylight bombing, and

6808-533: The 9th Observation, was formed. The 7th Bombardment and 8th Fighter Groups were designated but not activated until the end of the decade. Sect. 13a. There is hereby created an Air Service. The Air Service shall consist of one Chief of Air Service with the rank of major-general, one assistant with the rank of brigadier-general, 1,514 officers in grades from colonel to second lieutenant, inclusive, and 16,000 enlisted men, including not to exceed 2,500 flying cadets... — Section 13a, Public Law 242, 41 Stat . 759 With

6956-410: The AEF The United States Army Air Service ( USAAS ) (also known as the "Air Service" , "U.S. Air Service" and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the "Air Service, United States Army" ) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1918 and 1926 and a forerunner of the United States Air Force . It was established as an independent but temporary branch of

7104-434: The AEF accelerated in December and January, and all but two of these squadrons returned to the United States. Mitchell was replaced in January as commander of the Third Army Air Service by Col. Harold Fowler , a combat veteran of the Royal Flying Corps and former commander of the American 17th Pursuit Squadron. On April 15, 1919, the Second Army Air Service in France also closed down. Its former air units were transferred to

7252-473: The Air Service Concentration Barracks at Saint-Maixent received all newly arrived Air Service troops, distributing them to 26 training fields and schools throughout the central and western regions of the country. Flying training schools, equipped with 2,948 airplanes, supplied 1,674 fully trained pilots and 851 observers to the Air Service, with 1,402 pilots and 769 observers serving at the front. The observers trained in France included 825 artillery officers from

7400-405: The Air Service branch, receiving new commissions. During the war its responsibilities and functions were split between two coordinate agencies, the Division of Military Aeronautics (DMA) and the Bureau of Aircraft Production (BAP), each reporting directly to the Secretary of War, creating a dual authority over military aviation that caused unity of command difficulties. The seven-year history of

7548-530: The Air Service consisted of 185 flying, 44 construction, 114 supply, 11 replacement, and 150 spruce production squadrons; 86 balloon companies; six balloon group headquarters; 15 construction companies; 55 photographic sections; and a few miscellaneous units. Its personnel strength was 19,189 officers and 178,149 enlisted men. Its aircraft inventory consisted primarily of Curtiss JN-4 trainers, de Havilland DH-4B scout planes, SE-5 and Spad S.XIII fighters, and Martin MB-1 bombers. Complete demobilization of

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7696-411: The Air Service to that desired by the General Staff to maintain the aviation arm as an auxiliary component controlled by ground commanders in furtherance of the mission of the infantry. A Chief of Air Service was authorized with the rank of major general to replace the previous Director of Air Service , and an assistant chief created in the rank of brigadier general (from 1920 to 1925 this position

7844-412: The Air Service was accomplished within a year. By November 22, 1919, the Air Service had been reduced to one construction, one replacement, and 22 flying squadrons; 32 balloon companies; 15 photographic sections; and 1,168 officers and 8,428 enlisted men. The combat strength of the Air Service was only four pursuit and four bombardment squadrons. Although the leaders of the reorganized Air Service persuaded

7992-430: The Air Service was housed in the Munitions Building in Washington, D.C., and consisted of an executive staff including the chiefs of the Finance and Medical Sections, and four divisions, each administered by a chief: Personnel Group, Information Group (Intelligence), Training and War Plans Group, and Supply Group. William Kissam Vanderbilt II William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – January 8, 1944)

8140-461: The Air Service, with 6,811 in France, conducting and supporting the dangerous duty of spotting for the artillery at the front. In all, 211 squadrons of all types trained in Great Britain, with 71 arriving in France before the Armistice. At its peak establishment in November 1918, the Air Service was based at 31 stations in the Services of Supply (rear areas) and 78 aerodromes in the Zone of Advance (combat area). The 740 combat airplanes equipping

8288-551: The Allies. A byproduct of the training program was the creation of the American airmail system . On May 3, 1918, Col. Henry H. Arnold , Assistant Director of the DMA, was ordered to put together a daily route for moving mail by airplane between New York City , Philadelphia , and Washington, D.C. He assigned the task to the Executive Officer for Flying Training, Major Reuben H. Fleet . The Air Service, using six pilots (four instructor pilots and two new graduates) and six Curtiss JN-4H "Jenny" trainers modified to carry mail, began

8436-431: The American Expeditionary Force.) It delayed the appointment of a director as long as the BAP operated as a separate executive bureau. In August, the Senate completed its investigation of the Aircraft Board, and while it found no criminal culpability, it reported that massive waste and delay in production had occurred. As a result, the Director of Aircraft Production (who was also chairman of the Aircraft Board), John D. Ryan,

8584-523: The American aircraft fleet. Of aircraft manufactured in America, the de Havilland DH-4B (3,400) was the most numerous, although only 1,213 were shipped overseas, and only 1,087 of those assembled, most used in observation units. The facilities of the Air Service in the United States totaled 40 flying fields, 8 balloon fields, 5 schools of military aeronautics, 6 technical schools, and 14 aircraft depots. 16 additional training schools were located in France, and officers also trained at three schools operated by

8732-552: The Army and Navy. Aided by a wave of pacifism following the war that drastically cut military budgets, opponents of an independent air force prevailed. The Air Service was renamed the Army Air Corps in 1926 as a compromise in the continuing struggle. Although war in Europe prompted Congress to vastly increase the appropriations for the Aviation Section in 1916, it nevertheless tabled a bill proposing an aviation department incorporating all aspects of military aviation. The declaration of war against Germany on April 6, 1917, putting

8880-446: The Army's most experienced divisions, and Mitchell was appointed Chief of Air Service, Third Army, on November 14, 1918. As with the ground forces, the most veteran units of the Air Service were selected to form the new Air Service. A pursuit unit, the 94th "Hat in the Ring" Aero Squadron; a day bombardment squadron, the 166th; and four observation squadrons (1st, 12th, 88th, and 9th Night) were initially assigned. The demobilization of

9028-441: The Army, Navy and industry, to study the Europeans' experience in aircraft production and the standardization of aircraft parts. The Board dispatched Major Raynal C. Bolling , a lawyer and military aviation pioneer, together with a commission of over 100 members, to Europe in the summer of 1917 to determine American aircraft needs, recommend priorities for acquisition and production, and negotiate prices and royalties. Congress passed

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9176-407: The Aviation School in San Diego, then served as executive officer of the school to gain administrative experience in aviation matters. Mitchell, Bolling and Dodd were promoted to colonel and given senior positions in the Air Service hierarchy. Bolling was made Director of Air Service Supply (DASS) to administer the "Zone of the Line of Communications" (sic), later called the Service of Supply, and Dodd

9324-407: The Aviation Section developed a maintenance organization of four large units termed Motor Mechanics Regiments, Signal Corps , each regiment consisting of four battalions of five companies totaling more than 3,600 men. The key innovative element was the use of junior officers recruited from the automobile industry as "technical officers" to supervise maintenance. In February 1918, Colonel S.D. Waldon of

9472-501: The BAP and DMA into the Air Service, United States Army . Anticipating the order, Director of Air Service Maj. Gen. Charles Menoher undertook a sweeping re-organization on March 15, using the " divisional system " of the AEF as a model. Menoher created an advisory board representing the key branches of the Army, and appointed an Executive to coordinate policy between four groups, each headed by an Assistant Executive: Supply, Information, Training and Operations, and Administrative. With

9620-501: The Board. His commission consisted of himself, two Army pilots trained in aeronautical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , two naval officers, seven civilian industrial experts, and 93 civilian manufacturing technicians. The commission was charged with studying the types of military aircraft being used by the Allied Powers , recommend types to be put into production in the United States, and determine what types should be purchased directly from European sources. Bolling

9768-459: The DH-4 and Salmson 2 A.2 (557) for observation and photo reconnaissance. The SE-5 operated as the main trainer for the Air Service. Balloon companies operated the French-designed Goodyear Type R, a winch-tethered, hydrogen -filled, captive " Caquot " observation balloon of 32,200 cubic-foot (912 cubic meters) capacity, deploying one balloon per company. The United States adopted a national insignia for all military aircraft in May 1917 using

9916-432: The French 91st Balloon Company at the front near Royaumeix on February 26, 1918. On March 5 it took over the line and began operations supporting the U.S. 1st Division , becoming the "first complete American Air Service unit in history to operate against an enemy on foreign soil." By the beginning of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive the Air Service AEF consisted of 32 squadrons (15 pursuit, 13 observation, and 4 bombing) at

10064-509: The French at Issoudun, Clermont-Ferrand , and Tours, respectively. By November 11, 1918, the Air Service both overseas and domestically had 195,024 personnel (20,568 officers; 174,456 enlisted men) and 7,900 aircraft, constituting five per cent of the United States Army. 32,520 personnel served in the Bureau of Aircraft Production and the remainder in the Division of Military Aeronautics. The Air Service commissioned over 17,000 reserve officers. More than 10,000 mechanics were trained to service

10212-411: The General Staff to increase the combat strength to 20 squadrons by 1923, the balloon force was demobilized, including dirigibles , and personnel shrank even further, to just 880 officers. By July 1924, the Air Service inventory was 457 observation planes, 55 bombers, 78 pursuit planes, and 8 attack aircraft, with trainers to make the total number 754. The Air Service replaced its wartime structure with

10360-543: The Lines of Communication. Bolling was promoted to colonel and his duties were a continuation of those under Mitchell: the supervision of training, the administration of personnel records, the operation of Air Service lines of communication (supply), the activities of the Balloon Division, and the establishment of training schools and air depots for equipment and repair. The most important sections of his new office were those which performed flying training, all balloon activities, and aerial photography units. One of his first tasks

10508-404: The Naval Reserve until he was transferred to the Honorary Retired List on January 1, 1941, for physical disability. In 1925, he traded the luxury yacht Eagle for ownership of Fisher Island, Florida , a place he used as a winter residence. He built a mansion complete with docking facilities for his yacht, a seaplane hangar, tennis courts, swimming pool, and an eleven-hole golf course. This home

10656-476: The New York National Guard and organized the "Aviation Detachment, First Battalion Signal Corps , National Guard, New York." During the winter of 1915-1916, when it reached its authorized strength of four officers and 40 enlisted men, the detachment was designated the "1st Aero Company" and was the first national guard aviation unit in the United States. The pilots of the company were prominent young New Yorkers, many of whom had already had some flight instruction over

10804-664: The Northeast. Starting August 10, he was a participant in the first " Business Men's Camp ", a volunteer summer military training camp organized and funded by the Preparedness Movement in Plattsburgh, New York , with the encouragement of Major General Leonard Wood , commanding the Army's Eastern Department. There he organized a "motor machine gun troop" and arranged for Millman to fly Gallaudet's C-2, re-engined with

10952-466: The Services of Supply. A major air depot at Colombey-les-Belles ; three other maintenance depots at Behonne , LaTrecey , and Vinets ; four supply depots at Clichy , Romorantin , Tours , and Is-sur-Tille ; and 12 air park squadrons maintained the combat and training forces. Aircraft acquired from European sources were accepted at Aircraft Acceptance Park No. 1 at Orly , while those shipped from

11100-480: The Signal Corps returned from observing British factory and field methods in aviation operations, just as the Bureau of Aircraft Production concluded that the French were unable to meet their aircraft production goals. Waldon recommended that the regiments be reorganized for aircraft instead of automobile mechanics. The change came too late to affect the 1st and 2nd Regiments, which landed in France in March 1918, but both

11248-473: The Signal Reserve Corps. Ultimately 17 men participated, ten completed the course, and seven including Carroll received ratings and commissions by May 1917. In its second winter of operations but no longer under federal control, the 1st Aero Company continued training flights in conjunction with the small force of reserve candidates flying from Governors Island. On November 18, 1916, Bolling led

11396-695: The Third Army Air Service in Germany. The Third Army and its air service were inactivated in July 1919 after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles . Aviation Officer, AEF Chiefs of Air Service, AEF "Though the casualties in the air force were small compared with the total strength, the casualty rate of the flying personnel at the front was somewhat above the Artillery and Infantry rates... The results of allied and American experience at

11544-458: The United States and were assigned to newly created squadrons or as instructors. 1,609 more were commissioned in Europe, with their commissions backdated in February and March 1918 to those of their peers trained in the United States. Pilots in Europe completed an advanced phase in which they received specialized training in pursuit, bombing, or observation at Air Service schools acquired from

11692-404: The United States for assembly in France were delivered to Air Service Production Center No. 2, built on the site of a former pine forest at Romorantin. Ferry operations of over 6,300 new aircraft to the air depots in "often...far from perfect" weather conditions resulted in the successful delivery of 95% and the loss of only eight pilots. A large training establishment was also set up. In France

11840-749: The United States in World War I , came too quickly (less than eight months after its use in Mexico chasing Pancho Villa ) to solve emerging engineering and production problems. The reorganization of the Aviation Section had been inadequate in resolving problems in training, leaving the United States totally unprepared to fight an air war in Europe. The Aviation Section consisted of 131 officers, 1087 enlisted men, and approximately 280 airplanes. The administration of President Woodrow Wilson created an advisory Aircraft Production Board in May 1917, consisting of members of

11988-582: The Vanderbilt Cup. The Vanderbilt Cup auto races repeatedly had crowd control problems and at the 1906 race a spectator was killed. Seeing the potential to solve the safety issue as well as improve attendance to his race, and with encouragement from AAA official A. R. Pardington , Vanderbilt formed a corporation to build the Long Island Motor Parkway , one of the country's first modern paved parkways that could not only be used for

12136-530: The armistice, the AEF actually received 4,874 aircraft from the French, in addition to 258 from Great Britain, 19 from Italy, and 1,213 of American manufacture, for a total of 6,364 airplanes. 1,664 were classed as training craft. The United States recognized that French skilled labor was severely limited by war casualties, and promised to train and deploy 7,000 automobile mechanics to aid the French Motor Transport Corps. In December 1917

12284-716: The best of their knowledge the oncoming German forces were still five kilometers distant. With this assurance, they headed towards a hill about 2.5 km away from which they might be able to observe the battlefield. Only Bolling was armed, and that an officer's service revolver. After driving only 300 meters, their car was ambushed by hidden German machine guns on both sides of the Amiens-Saint-Quentin Road ( 49°52′30″N 2°46′48″E  /  49.875°N 2.780°E  / 49.875; 2.780  ( Amiens-Saint Quentin Road ) ). Before Holder could turn

12432-472: The cadets, the French requested that further movement of cadets be halted because of training backlogs of as much as six months, and no further student pilots were sent to France until they had completed their primary training and been commissioned. During the backlog, more than 1,000 cadets were used as cooks, guards, laborers and other menial jobs, while paid at cadet salary (in the grade and rank of private first class ), for which they became derisively known as

12580-524: The car around, German fire disabled its motor. Holder and Bolling took cover in separate shell holes, which were connected by a ditch that enabled Bolling to see Holder. The fire of the machine guns lasted fifteen minutes, after which two German soldiers approached Holder's position. When one of them fired twice at the unarmed Holder crouching in his hole, Bolling shot and killed the German with his revolver. The other soldier killed Bolling with two shots, one to

12728-411: The chest and the other to the head. The German troops continued west, and while Holder pretended to be dead in hope of escaping through the lines after dark, he was captured a half-hour later by follow-on troops and made a prisoner of war . Bolling was the first high-ranking air service officer killed on the battlefield in World War I. His remains were never recovered. Bolling was posthumously awarded

12876-462: The colors specified for the U.S. flag, consisting of a white five-pointed star inside of a blue circumscribed circle, with a red circle in the center of the star having a diameter tangent to the pentagon of the interior points of the star. The insignia was ordered painted on both wingtips of the upper surface of the top wing, the lower surface of bottom wings, and the fuselage of all Army aircraft on 17 May 1917. However due to concerns about confusion with

13024-484: The combat units balked at taking orders from Foulois' non-flying staff. Considerable house-cleaning of the existing staff resulted from Patrick's appointment, bringing in experienced staff officers to administrate, and tightening up lines of communication. Pershing had in September 1917 called for creation of 260 U.S. air combat squadrons by December 1918, but slowness of the buildup reduced that on August 17, 1918, to

13172-472: The company to continue flying even after it returned to the jurisdiction of the national guard. At the same time as these events involving Bolling's unit, a parallel private pilot training program was underway. After American troops under General John J. Pershing entered Mexico in March 1916, a group of wealthy New Yorkers underwrote another school at nearby Fort Jay in New York City. The organizer

13320-424: The control systems being used in Europe. Like the rest of the Army, the Aviation Section concluded that training Reserve officers was the solution to its manpower needs and sent a panel of three representatives from each of six U.S. universities to Toronto from 7 to 11 May 1917 to study Canada 's pilot training program. The Chief Signal Officer assigned Major Hiram Bingham III , an adventurer and reserve officer on

13468-524: The county governments in lieu of the $ 80,000 due in back taxes. His new high-speed road complemented a train service that allowed a rapid exit from Manhattan. Becoming the first suburban automobile commuter, in 1910 Willie began work on the much more elaborate and costly " Eagle's Nest " estate at Centerport, Long Island . An avid collector of natural history and marine specimens as well as other anthropological objects, he traveled extensively aboard his yacht as well as overland to numerous destinations around

13616-508: The duration of the war plus six months the statutory responsibilities of the Aviation Section and removed the DMA entirely from the Signal Corps (reporting directly to the Secretary of War). The DMA was assigned the function of procuring and training a combat force. In addition, the executive order created a Bureau of Aircraft Production (BAP), a military organization with a civilian director, as

13764-700: The existing members. Bolling was relieved by Foulois and assigned to be chairman of the Joint Army-Navy Aircraft Committee, ostensibly to coordinate the activities of the military and the aviation industry in procuring aircraft. He was also Pershing's nominal aviation representative on the Supreme War Council ; however, Foulois sat on both these committees. The assignment proved frustrating as his staff work and proposals were often undermined by competing interests, political in-fighting, and administrative delays. Bolling sought

13912-547: The faculty of Yale , to organize a training program on the Canadian model. A three-phase Flying Cadet program came into being, and although systematic, pressing needs for manpower saw many overlaps of the phases. The first phase was an eight-week ground school course conducted by the Schools of Military Aeronautics Division, organized at the six (later eight) American universities, and commanded by Bingham. The first class at

14060-408: The first aerial victory by the U.S. military while flying as a gunner-observer with a French day bombing squadron on February 5, 1918. As other squadrons were organized, they were sent overseas, where they continued their training. The first U.S. squadron to see combat, on February 19, 1918, was the 103rd Aero Squadron , a pursuit unit flying with French forces and composed largely of former members of

14208-559: The first of these being the I Corps Observation Group , organized in April 1918 to patrol the Toul Sector between Flirey and Apremont in support of the U.S. 26th Division . On May 5, 1918, the 1st Pursuit Group was formed, and by the armistice the AEF had 14 heavier-than-air groups (7 observation, 5 pursuit, and 2 bombardment). Of these 14 groups, only the 1st Pursuit and 1st Day Bombardment Groups had their lineage continued into

14356-537: The formation of six permanent groups in 1919, four of which were based in the United States and two overseas. The first of the new groups, the Army Surveillance Group, was organized in July to direct the operations of three squadrons patrolling the border with Mexico, where revolution had broken out, from Brownsville, Texas to Nogales, Arizona . In addition, the 1st Day Bombardment Group was formed to control four bombardment squadrons at Kelly, while

14504-506: The front indicate that two aviators lose their lives in accidents for each aviator killed in battle." — Report of the Secretary of War, 1919 The Air Service, American Expeditionary Force, totaled 78,507 personnel (7,738 officers and 70,769 enlisted men) at the armistice. Of this total, 58,090 served in France; 20,075 in England; and 342 in Italy. Balloon troops made up approximately 17,000 of

14652-722: The front, while by November 11, 1918, 45 squadrons (20 pursuit, 18 observation, and 7 bombardment ) had been assembled for combat. During the war, these squadrons played important roles in the Battle of Château-Thierry , the St-Mihiel Offensive , and the Meuse-Argonne. Several units, including the 94th Pursuit Squadron under the command of Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker , and the 27th Pursuit Squadron , which had "balloon buster" 1st Lt. Frank Luke as one of its pilots, achieved distinguished records in combat and remained

14800-481: The globe. He acquired a vast array of artifacts for his collection during his well-documented travels and after service with the United States Navy during World War I , he published a book titled " A Trip Through Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, and Southern France ." A few years later, he engaged William Belanske, an artist from the American Museum of Natural History to take part with him in a scientific voyage to

14948-485: The ground schools began 21 May 1917 and concluded 14 July 1917, graduating 147 cadets and enrolling another 1,430. By mid-November, 3,140 had graduated and more than 500 had become rated officers . Out of more than 40,000 applicants, 22,689 were accepted and 17,540 completed ground school training. Approximately 15,000 advanced to primary (preliminary) flying training, a six-to-eight week course conducted by both military and civilian flying instructors, using variants of

15096-457: The guard to maintain the aircraft. As a result, and because of a curtailment of federal funding for the project, the War Department decided not to use national guard aero squadrons for service in the war. The 1st Aero Company was disbanded on May 23, 1917. By that time the United States was at war with Germany . Bolling was called to active duty as a major in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps on April 27, 1917, "for duty in connection with

15244-1099: The infantry divisions who volunteered to fill a critical shortage in 1918. After the Armistice, the schools graduated 675 additional pilots and 357 observers to serve with the Third Army Air Service in the Army of Occupation . The 3rd Aviation Instruction Center at Issoudun provided 766 pursuit pilots. 169 students and 49 instructors died in training accidents. Balloon candidates made 4,224 practice ascensions while training. Air Service combat losses were 289 airplanes and 48 balloons with 235 airmen killed in action, 130 wounded, 145 captured, and 654 Air Service members of all ranks dead of illness or accidents. Air Service personnel were awarded 611 decorations in combat, including 4 Medals of Honor and 312 Distinguished Service Crosses (54 were oak leaf clusters ). 210 decorations were awarded to aviators by France, 22 by Great Britain, and 69 by other nations. Executive Order 3066, issued by President Wilson on March 19, 1919, formally consolidated

15392-619: The mail service on May 15. It later extended the route to Boston and added Curtiss R-4LMs to its small fleet, carrying mail until August 12, 1918, when the U.S. Post Office took over. Sent to Europe in March 1917 as an observer, Lieutenant Colonel Billy Mitchell arrived in Paris just four days after the United States declared war and established an office for the American "air service." Upon his arrival in France in June 1917, American Expeditionary Force commanding general John J. Pershing met with Mitchell, who advised Pershing that his office

15540-629: The markings of enemy aircraft , in early 1918 a red, blue, and white roundel similar to those used by the Allied Powers, in the former color arrangement of the defunct Imperial Russian Air Service , was instead ordered painted on all U.S. aircraft operating in Europe, remaining in effect until 1919. On May 6, 1918 Foulois established a policy authorizing creation of emblems for aviation units, and ordered all squadrons to create an official insignia to be painted on each side of an airplane fuselage: "The squadron will design their own insignia during

15688-641: The more precise American manufacturing methods. At the same time the Aeronautical Division of the OCSO was renamed the Air Division with continued responsibility for training and operations but with no influence on acquisition or doctrine. In the end the decision-making process in aircraft procurement was badly fragmented and production on a large scale proved impossible. The Aircraft Board came under severe criticism for failure to meet goals or its own claims of aircraft production, followed by

15836-523: The necessity of forming an "air force" to centralize control over tactical aviation. In the St-Mihiel Offensive, commencing September 12, 1918, the American and French offensive against the German salient was supported by 1,481 airplanes directed by Mitchell, totaling 24 Air Service, 58 French Aéronautique Militaire , and three Royal Air Force squadrons in coordinated operations. Observation and pursuit planes supported ground forces, while

15984-491: The numbers of airplanes providing auxiliary support of ground forces by observation. In particular Bolling and his Army colleagues, Captains Edgar S. Gorrell and Virginius E. Clark , were impressed by the concept of long-range strategic bombing, influenced by the Italian use of Caproni bombers against Austrian targets. It was one of a number of aircraft the commission recommended for manufacture by American industry, including

16132-585: The offensive, Bolling and his driver, Private Paul L. Holder of the 22nd Aero Squadron , left their hotel in Amiens , headed for the British aerodrome at Harbonnières . They found it deserted and continued driving east toward the front lines, where they encountered three British Army officers in Estrées-Deniécourt , including a major with whom Bolling had an acquaintance. The officers indicated that to

16280-493: The organization of the 1st Reserve Aero Squadron," pursuant to authorization of the National Defense Act of 1916 . On May 26, 1917, shortly after the national guard company was disbanded, he organized the new 154-man squadron, the first air reserve unit in the United States. The squadron became the 26th Aero Squadron after it deployed to France and had as its cadre the former guardsmen of the 1st Aero Company and

16428-692: The other two-thirds of the aerial force bombed and strafed behind enemy lines. Later, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive , Mitchell employed a smaller concentration of airpower, nearly all American this time, to keep the German army on the defensive. Promptly after the armistice, the AEF formed the Third United States Army to march immediately into Germany, occupy the Coblenz area, and be prepared to resume combat if peace treaty negotiations failed. Three corps were formed from eight of

16576-527: The passage of the National Defense Act, June 4, 1920 (Public Law 66-242, 41 Stat . 759-88), the Air Service was statutorily recognized as a combatant arm of the line along with the Infantry , Cavalry , Field Artillery , Coast Artillery , Corps of Engineers , and Signal Corps , and given a permanent organization with a fixed complement of personnel. However this also legislated the form of

16724-520: The period of organizational training. The design must be submitted to the Chief of Air Service, AEF, for approval. The design should be simple enough to be recognizable from a distance." The first U.S. aviation squadron to reach France was the 1st Aero Squadron , which sailed from New York in August 1917 and arrived at Le Havre on September 3. A member of the squadron, Lt. Stephen W. Thompson , achieved

16872-449: The post-war Air Service was marked by a prolonged debate between adherents of airpower and the supporters of the traditional military services about the value of an independent Air Force. Airmen such as Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell supported the independent air concept. The Army's senior leadership from World War I , the United States Navy , and the majority of the nation's political leadership favored integration of all military aviation into

17020-431: The post-war Air Service. In July 1918 the AEF organized its first wing formation, the 1st Pursuit Wing, made up of the 2d Pursuit, 3rd Pursuit, and 1st Day Bombardment Groups. Each army and corps echelon of the ground forces had a chief of air service designated to direct operations. The Air Service, First Army was activated August 26, 1918, marking the commencement of large scale coordinated U.S. air operations. Foulois

17168-540: The race but would open up Long Island for easy access and economic development. Construction began in 1907 of the multimillion-dollar toll highway that was to run from the Kissena Corridor in Queens County over numerous bridges and overpasses to Lake Ronkonkoma , a distance of 48 miles (77 km). However, the toll road was never able to generate sustainable profits and in 1938 it was formally ceded to

17316-424: The reserve military aviators with whom Bolling had trained in 1916-17. Before Bolling could actually take command of his unit, he was detached in June 1917 for staff duty. French premier Alexandre Ribot had sent U.S. President Woodrow Wilson a telegram at the end of May urging the United States to contribute 4,500 aircraft; 5,000 pilots; and 50,000 mechanics to the war effort. Because of his legal experience Bolling

17464-460: The signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, President Wilson relinquished his war powers under the Overman Act, and on July 11 Congress granted legislative authority to continue the Air Service as a temporary independent branch of the War Department for another year, easing fears of airmen that the Air Service would be demobilized out of existence. At the end of November 1918,

17612-541: The south of France he had ridden in a steam-powered tricycle from Beaulieu-sur-Mer the 7 kilometers to Monte Carlo . As a twenty-year-old, in 1898 he ordered a French De Dion-Bouton motor tricycle and had it shipped to New York. Soon, he acquired other motorized vehicles and before long began to infuriate citizens and officials alike as he sped through the towns and villages of Long Island, New York , en route to Idle Hour , his parents' summer estate at Oakdale . A skilled sailor, he took part in yacht racing , winning

17760-491: The spring of 1918. By the end of the war, the Air Service used 45 squadrons to cover 137 kilometers (85 miles) of front from Pont-à-Mousson to Sedan . 71 pursuit pilots were credited with shooting down five or more German aircraft while in American service. Overall the Air Service destroyed 756 enemy aircraft and 76 balloons in combat. 17 balloon companies also operated at the front, making 1,642 combat ascensions. 289 airplanes and 48 balloons were lost in battle. The Air Service

17908-540: The summer. Within a month, half of the 48 states had applied to the ACA for financial assistance in purchasing aircraft and equipment. Flying instruction began immediately at Garden City Aerodrome , with 56 flights in November alone. Throughout the winter of 1915-1916 the 1st Aero Company conducted flying operations, but by April continuing bad weather and engine problems slowed progress in training. The company returned its rented trainers to Gallaudet and acquired five more of disparate manufacture and age, including purchase of

18056-540: The time or infrastructure in the United States to equip units to send overseas using aircraft designed and built in the U.S., the AEF Air Service acquired Allied aircraft designs already in service with the French and British air services. On August 30, 1917, the American and French governments agreed to a contract for the purchase of 1,500 Breguet 14 B.2 bombers-reconnaissance planes; 2,000 SPAD XIII and 1,500 Nieuport 28 pursuits for delivery by July 1, 1918. By

18204-728: The units at the front on November 11, 1918, were approximately 11% of the total combat aircraft strength of the Allied forces. The 45 squadrons in the Zone of Advance had 767 pilots, 481 observers, and 23 aerial gunners, covering 137 kilometers of front from Pont-à-Mousson to Sedan . They flew more than 35,000 hours over the front lines. The Air Service conducted 150 bombing missions, the longest 160 miles behind German lines, and dropped 138 tons (125 kg) of bombs. Its squadrons had confirmed destruction of 756 German aircraft and 76 German balloons, creating 71 Air Service aces . Rickenbacker finished

18352-502: The war as the leading American ace, with 26 aircraft destroyed. 35 balloon companies also deployed in France, 17 at the front and six en route to the Second Army, and made 1,642 combat ascensions totaling 3,111 hours of observation. 13 photographic sections were assigned to observation squadrons and made 18,000 aerial photographs. 43 flying training, air park (supply), depot (maintenance), and construction squadrons were located in

18500-487: Was activated on October 12 with Col. Frank P. Lahm as chief but was not ready for operations until just before the armistice. The Air Service, Third Army was created immediately after the armistice to provide aviation support to the army of occupation, primarily from veteran units transferred from the First Army Air Service. Despite their fractious relationship, Mitchell and Foulois were of one mind on

18648-471: Was an American motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman , and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family . He was born on October 26, 1878, in New York City , the second child and first son of William Kissam Vanderbilt and Alva Erskine Smith . His maternal grandfather was Murray Forbes Smith . Known as Willie K., he was a brother to Harold Stirling Vanderbilt and Consuelo Vanderbilt . Born to

18796-521: Was appointed to the vacancy on January 2, 1919, but the patchwork nature of laws and executive orders that had created the various parts of the Air Service prevented him from exercising all their legal powers and ending the unity of command problems caused by dual authority. The United States began the World War with 65 pilots, a few of which were veterans of the Mexican Expedition , and some who were still in training. None were familiar with

18944-448: Was appointed to the vacant position of Second Assistant Secretary of War and designated as Director of Air Service, nominally in charge of the DMA. The Department of Justice report followed two months later and also blamed the delays on administrative and organizational deficiencies in the Aviation Section. Ryan's appointment came too late for any effective consolidation of both agencies, continuing an obstructive division of authority that

19092-617: Was assigned to assist in the drafting of legislation to fund the development of military aviation in response to Ribot's proposal. The subsequent Aviation Act (40 Stat . 243), passed July 24, 1917, was the largest single appropriation for a single purpose to that time, $ 640 million. In conjunction with that duty, he was also appointed to the advisory Aircraft Production Board of the Council of National Defense to head an aeronautical commission to Europe known as "the Bolling Mission," to represent Secretary of War Newton D. Baker and

19240-538: Was attorney Phillip A. Carroll, who had been one of the nine men trained by Millman the previous summer. Called the Governors Island Training Corps, the small group of candidates began instruction on May 2. They trained daily under the authority of and in conformance with regulations set down by General Wood with the goal of passing the RMA test and being commissioned in the new aviation section of

19388-625: Was called Alva Base and the architect was Maurice Fatio . In addition to this property, and his Long Island estate, Eagle's Nest , which was designed by Warren & Wetmore , Vanderbilt also owned a farm in Tennessee and Kedgwick Lodge, a hunting lodge designed for his father by architect Stanford White , on the Restigouche River in New Brunswick , Canada. In 1899, Vanderbilt married Virginia Graham Fair (1875–1935),

19536-715: Was chosen for his business and legal skills in negotiating prices and royalties. The commission left for Europe on June 17, 1917, and arrived in Liverpool on June 26. After a week in London , where its members fanned out to English airfields and aircraft factories, the commission repeated the process in Paris for two weeks, Italy for ten days, and then returned to Paris. Bolling took advantage of his mission's "quasi-diplomatic" status and his brother-in-law's authority as an Assistant Secretary of State to communicate with Washington using

19684-536: Was constructed between 1912 and 1914. Greyledge was an English-style manor situated on an estate that sprawls from 137 Doubling Road to Boulder Brook. In addition to a sitting room, family room, library and thirteen fireplaces, the estate was also home to a shooting gallery. Upon completion in 1914 Colonel Raynal Bolling and Anna Tucker Phillips Bolling moved in to Greyledge with their family of four daughters and one son. However, Bolling spent virtually no time enjoying his family and new home. In November 1915, Bolling, then

19832-517: Was held by Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell). The primary missions of the Air Service were observation and pursuit aviation, and its tactical squadrons in the United States were controlled by the commanders of nine corps areas and three overseas departments created by the Act, primarily in support of the ground forces. The Chief of the Air Service retained command of training schools, depots, and support activities exempted from corps area control. The headquarters of

19980-651: Was killed in action by German troops during the opening days of the 1918 spring offensive . He was the namesake of Bolling Air Force Base . Bolling was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas , and was a resident of Greenwich, Connecticut , from 1911 until 1915. In 1912, he commissioned Carrère and Hastings , the architects of the New York Public Library, to build an estate for him at 137 Doubling Road in Greenwich that he later named Greyledge . Greyledge

20128-515: Was named Director of Air Service Instruction (DAI). Kenley proved to be only an interim commander, as Brig. Gen. Benjamin Foulois replaced him on 27 November 1917, arriving in France with a large but untrained staff of non-aviators. This resulted in considerable resentment from Mitchell's smaller staff already in place, many of whom in key positions, including Bolling, Dodd and Lt. Col. Edgar S. Gorrell , were immediately displaced. Mitchell, however,

20276-645: Was named chief of the First Army Air Service over Mitchell, who had been directing air operations as chief of the I Corps Air Service since March, but Foulois voluntarily relinquished his post to Mitchell and became the Assistant Chief of Air Service, Tours, to unsnarl delays in personnel, supply, and training. Mitchell went on to become a brigadier general and chief of the Army Group Air Service in mid-October 1918, succeeded at First Army by Col. Thomas Milling . The Air Service, Second Army

20424-572: Was named general counsel of US Steel at the age of 36. In the summer of 1915 Bolling, along with his brother-in-law and seven New York businessmen, all members of the American Aero Club , began taking flying lessons on property owned by the Wright Company near Garden City, New York . They contracted with an aviation school operated by Edson and Herbert Gallaudet for the use of their Gallaudet C-2 dual-controls trainer, which had

20572-525: Was never resolved during the war. Following the Armistice, Ryan resigned on November 27, leaving both the BAP and DMA, as well as the original Aircraft Board, leaderless. In addition certain powers, primarily those of dealing legally with the government-owned Spruce Production Corporation , had been delegated to Ryan by name, not to his position as Director of Aircraft Production, and as such could not be legally conferred on any successor. Maj. Gen. Charles Menoher

20720-615: Was not replaced and became a source of persistent discord with Foulois. Pershing restated the responsibilities of the Air Service AEF with G.O. No. 81, May 29, 1918, in which he replaced Foulois as Chief of Air Service AEF with a West Point classmate and non-aviator, Major General Mason Patrick . Air Service staff planning had been inefficient, with considerable internal dissension as well as conflict between its members and those of Pershing's General Staff. Aircraft and unit totals lagged far behind those promised in 1917. Officers in

20868-502: Was organized overseas in 1920 to administrate squadrons in the Philippines . In 1921, the three groups based within the United States were sequentially numbered one through three and assigned different combat roles. The fourth was inactivated. The next year the groups overseas were numbered four through six as "composite" groups. In 1922 plans were formulated for three more groups to flesh out the anticipated GHQ Air Force, but only one,

21016-540: Was over, Bolling began preparations for organizing an aero company for the guard. He secured the services of three additional flying instructors and began recruiting personnel. He received $ 12,500 in funding from the Aero Club of America (ACA) The funds provided Bolling were donated anonymously by two wealthy New Yorkers, including William K. Vanderbilt , specifically to establish a unit for the NY Guard. and rented both

21164-571: Was primarily employed as a convoy escort on the East Coast and in the Caribbean and was sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat on August 5, 1943, at 21.39 with the loss of 95. By the 1940s, Vanderbilt had organized his will so that, upon his death, the Eagle's Nest property along with a $ 2 million upkeep fund would be given to Suffolk County, New York , to serve as a public museum . Since 1950,

21312-537: Was ready to proceed with any project Pershing might require. Pershing's aviation officer, Major Townsend F. Dodd , first used the term "Air Service" in a memo to the chief of staff of the AEF on 20 June 1917. The term also appeared on July 5, 1917, in AEF General Order (G.O.) No. 8, in tables detailing staff organization and duties. Mitchell replaced Dodd on 30 June 1917, with the position renamed "Chief of Air Service" and its duties described. After Mitchell

21460-631: Was released from active duty and given a temporary leave of absence to resume his duties of vice-president of the New York Central Railroad . A few months later, he was elected president of the New York Central Railroad and acted in this capacity for the remainder of the war. After the war, Vanderbilt was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve on May 17, 1921. He remained in

21608-555: Was superseded in September by Kenly, he remained as ex officio chief through his influence on Kenly as Air Commander, Zone of the Advance (ACA). The Air Service, American Expeditionary Forces was formally created on 3 September 1917 by the publication of AEF G.O. No. 31 and remained in being until demobilized in 1919. Kenly, an artillery officer, had been a student the previous winter in the Field Officers Course at

21756-399: Was the accelerated construction of a large flying school at Issoudun to provide advanced training to cadets completing their preliminary instruction in France, as he had earlier recommended. On November 17, 1917, the headquarters of the Air Service AEF underwent a shakeup when its new commander, General Benjamin Foulois , arrived from Washington, D.C. , with a large staff and displaced all

21904-409: Was the first form of the air force to have an independent organizational structure and identity. Although officers concurrently held rank in various branches, after May 1918 their branch designation in official correspondence while on aviation assignment changed from "ASSC" (Aviation Section, Signal Corps) to "AS, USA" (Air Service, United States Army). After July 1, 1920, its personnel became members of

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