Savage transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, and after completing flight training, was appointed a flying officer on 19 September 1917. He spent two months based at Turnberry serving in No. 82 Squadron, before being posted to No. 62 Squadron to fly the Bristol F.2 two-seater fighter. He travelled with No. 62 Squadron to France at the end of January 1918, taking part in patrols, bomber escort, and ground attack missions during the enemy offensive around St. Quentin in the second half of March, being credited with an enemy aircraft driven down out of control on the 26th. However his squadron suffered heavy casualties, losing 24 aircrew killed, wounded or taken prisoner by the end of the month.