On 19 March 1916, eight Curtiss JN-3 “Jenny” airplanes took off from Columbus, New Mexico, in the first combat air mission in U.S. history. The FIRST AERO SQUADRON, organized in 1914 after the outbreak of World War I, was on a support mission for the 7,000 U.S. troops who invaded Mexico following General Pancho Villas attach on Columbus on 9 March. On 15 March, U.S. Brigadier General John J. Pershing launched a punitive expedition into Mexico in an attempt to capture Villa. Four days later, the First Aero Squadron was sent into Mexico to scout and relay messages for General Pershing. Despite numerous mechanical and navigational problems, and despite the fact that U.S. forces failed to capture the elusive Villa, the American fliers flew hundreds of missions for Pershing and gained important experience that would later be used by the pilots over the battlefields of Europe during World War One.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 10:09:09 +0000
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