The Wilmington morning star., 1945-02-23
WASHINGTON CALLING 6
by .M!IM
MARQUIS CH1LDS -

Ac1AD~x ~ 1Aso, ". .. First
Tactical Air Force, In France-To
hear the story of the revival of the
French Air Force Is to believe in
miracles. The span of time is in
reality so short from those desper-
ate months in 1910 when French
airmen were flying suicidal mis-
sions in antiquated planes against
first-rank German Messerschmitts
That was part of the "phony war"
when a sham military force await
ed only the slightest punch to dis
intergrate.
The American who has had the
most to do with helping to bring
about the revival of the French
Air Force is 42-year-old Brigadier
General Gordon P. Saville. AS
commanding officer of the U. S.
First Tactical Air Force, Saville
has under his command the
French, First Air Corps which,
since August, 1943, he has helped
to nurse into being.
Saville's first assignment over
seas was as chief of staff OF the
Mediterranean Air Command un-
der Air Chief Marshal Tedder.
That was in June, l943. Shortly
afterward, he was given addition
al responsibility as chairman Of
the Allied Joint Air Commission
created to set up a program for
re-euuipping and rebuilding the
French air arm. Up to that time,
French flyers in North Africa had
been given only one squadron of
P-40s named the Lafayette squad
ron after the famed Lafayette Es-
cadrille which was manned by
Americans fighting for France in
the last war.
The objective Of the air commits
sion was to give the French the
nucleus of a full-fledged air force
that could be expanded later. Mil
itary planners were thinking of
course, in terms of the major share
of the policing of Germany which
is expected to fall to France. For
that task, a first-class air force
will be essential.
The beginning was a small tacti-
cal air force to work with the
small French ground forces in
North Africa. This was to be a
complete unit, with medium bonn
bers, heavy bombers and coastal
patrol aircraft. The program in
Guided a provision in the U. S. and
empire training scheme for French
pilots to be trained at bases in
North America.
A considerable number Of French
pilots now have had American
training. incidentally, they have al
so picked up American slang and
jokes.
Seeing French plane crews oper-
ating under an American command
you get strong sense of the inter.
nationalism of the air. General
Saville says their record is just as
good as that of American crews
doing the same job.
The faces of the French pilots at
a briefing have the same tense
ness and alertness as those of the
young Americans. While the pro-
cedure is little more formal, it
is otherwise very much the same.
Even the language difference is
not so great as usual, since so
many words in connection with
flight and air combat have come
into international use.
The internationalism of the air
was particularly striking at brief
ing I attended, since most of the
instruction about the target and
the flack in its environs was given
by a Captain Guyen who is of
1ndo-China. Captain Guyen, one of
the best pilots in the medium bomb
er division, spoke with tense d.
rectness to the crews crowded into
the small briefing room. III the dim
DOM, his light brown face gave
an extraordinary effect of force
and strength as he went on with
out pause while the pilots hastily
scrubbed notes.
Listening, you felt that, if there
could be this internationalism of
the air in war, somehow the air
must also be international in
peace. These men, French and
Americans alike, know that nation
al boundaries are a wholly arbi-
trary, almost mythical, heritage Of
a past when the rate Of travel was,
at the most, 80 miles a day on
land and somewhat more at sea if
you were fortunate enough to have
the wind with you. In helping to
put the French Air Force together
again, General Saville is one Of
the men who are helping to mold
the future.
A conscientious effort was made