page_title: 1st Reconnaissance Squadron
section_title: Punitive expedition
hierarchical_section_title: 1st Reconnaissance Squadron / History / Punitive expedition
caption_attribution_description: English: Lt. Carleton G. Chapman in 1st Aero Squadron Curtiss JN-3 Signal Corps No. 53 preparing to takeoff at Casas Grande, Mexico
context_page_description: The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron, assigned to the 9th Operations Group, Beale Air Force Base, California.
  The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is the United States military's oldest flying unit, first established on 5 March 1913. The squadron has maintained an unbroken heritage of over a century from its founding. Originally organized in anticipation of a potential breach in security along the border between the United States and Mexico, General John J. Pershing directed the 1st Aero Squadron to become the first tactical aviation unit to participate in American military action. The 1st RS has flown 47 different aircraft while being stationed worldwide at 52 locations, including 4 stints at sea.
  Since 1922 the 1st Squadron has been associated with the 9th Bomb Group and the USAF 9th Reconnaissance Wing, where it continues to be an active flying training unit operating the Lockheed U-2 and the RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance aircraft.
context_section_description: During the Mexican Revolution, hundreds of Pancho Villa's horsemen crossed the United States border and raided Columbus, New Mexico on 9 March 1916. The town was looted and burned, and 17 Americans were killed.
  President Wilson immediately asked President Carranza of Mexico for permission to send United States troops into his country, and Carranza reluctantly gave permission "for the sole purpose of capturing the bandit Villa." Wilson then ordered General John J. Pershing to "pursue and disperse," the forces commanded by Villa. In his orders to Southern Department commanding general Frederick Funston, United States Secretary of War Newton D. Baker instructed him to have the 1st Aero Squadron moved to Columbus to provide liaison and aerial reconnaissance for Pershing's headquarters.
  Despite the shortcomings, the squadron was ordered to send all available aircraft, pilots and personnel to support Pershing. There would be neither replacements nor a reserve. The squadron disassembled its aircraft and left Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, by train on 13 March. Two days later it arrived in Columbus with eight Curtiss JN-3 aircraft, 11 pilots and 82 enlisted men and established an airfield to the southeast of the town. From Columbus, the squadron flew its first reconnaissance sortie on 16 March.
  On 19 March 1916, the squadron received orders to fly into Mexico and report without delay to his headquarters at Casas Grandes. Shortly after 17:00, the planes took off but one returned almost immediately with engine problems. Darkness proved a formidable challenge and none of the aircraft completed the movement on the first day. Four landed near La Ascension, about halfway to destination, and completed the flight the next morning, although one was a total loss in a landing accident. Another aircraft overflew Casas Grandes in the dark and landed in the desert, where it was destroyed by vandals. Two others landed in the desert short of Casas Grandes, where one continued on the next morning, but the last did not arrive until repairs were completed to it on 26 March. Pershing had only five operational airplanes available for immediate duty.
  It was found that the squadron's 90 horsepower (67 kW) Curtiss JN-3 airplanes were unable to climb over the 10,000 to 12,000-foot (3,700 m) mountains of the region or overcome the high winds of the passes through them. Dust storms frequently grounded the aircraft and wooden propellers de-laminated in the heat. Using its base in Columbus, the 1st Aero Squadron concentrated on carrying mail and dispatches between Columbus and Pershing's Army columns moving south into Mexico. During the last few days of March, the squadron's planes flew approximately 20 missions with messages for the various columns of Pershing's command. By 20 April, only two airplanes remained in service (neither flyable, and both were destroyed), four having crashed and two others scavenged to provide replacement parts.  After the losses, the remaining two JN-3s and the rest of the squadron were ordered back to Columbus for refitting.
  While the Punitive Expedition searched for Villa and his men, events in the United States provided some help for the 1st Aero Squadron. Secretary of War Baker was following the squadron's activities closely. On the following day, Congress took action to deal with the deficiencies reported from Mexico. On 31 March, it passed the Urgent Deficiency Act, which provided the army with $500,000 for the immediate purchase of twenty-four airplanes, eight for the 1st Aero Squadron. The initial practical result of this legislation was the delivery of four Curtiss N-8s, S.C. Nos. 60–63, which were essentially variants of the JN–3 with a different wing and airfoil and powered by a 90 hp engine. Tests conducted over the next six days verified that these were incapable of meeting the operational conditions in Mexico. On 1 May, it was concluded that the Curtiss N–8 was too slow and under-powered and the landing gear too weak for rough terrain. The squadron packed up the N–8s and shipped them to the Signal Corps Av
caption: : Lt. Carleton G. Chapman in 1st Aero Squadron Curtiss JN-3 Signal Corps No. 53 preparing to takeoff at Casas Grande, Mexico.
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