page_title: 13th Aero Squadron
section_title: Demobilization
hierarchical_section_title: 13th Aero Squadron / History / Demobilization
caption_attribution_description: English: 13th Aero Squadron - Souilly Aerodrome, France, November 1918.
context_page_description: The 13th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
  The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit Squadron as part of the 2d Pursuit Group, First United States Army. Its mission was to engage and clear enemy aircraft from the skies and provide escort to reconnaissance and bombardment squadrons over enemy territory. It also attacked enemy observation balloons, and perform close air support and tactical bombing attacks of enemy forces along the front lines. After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron returned to the United States in March 1919 and demobilized.
  On 16 October 1936 the squadron was re-constituted, and consolidated with the United States Army Air Corps 13th Attack Squadron. Today, the current United States Air Force unit which holds its lineage and history is the 13th Bomb Squadron, assigned to the 509th Operations Group, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
context_section_description: After the armistice, the squadron remained at Souilly until 16 December 1918 when orders were received from First Army for the squadron to report to the 1st Air Depot, Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome to turn in all of its supplies and equipment and was relieved from duty with the AEF. The squadron's SPAD aircraft were delivered to the Air Service American Air Service Acceptance Park No. 1 at Orly Aerodrome to be returned to the French.  There practically all of the pilots and observers were detached from the Squadron.
  Personnel at Colombey were subsequently assigned to the Commanding General, Services of Supply and ordered to report to the staging camp at Le Mans, France.  There, personnel awaited scheduling to report to one of the Base Ports in France for transport to the United States and subsequent demobilization. From 6 February to 3 March 1919, the squadron was at the port of Brest before crossing the Atlantic aboard the SS America. From 13–29 March 1919 the squadron was at Mitchell Field, New York, where it was demobilized.  It remained inactive until it was reconstituted in 1936.
caption: Squadron photo after the Armistice, November 1918
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