page_title: 99th Aero Squadron
section_title: Combat in France
hierarchical_section_title: 99th Aero Squadron / History / Combat in France
caption_attribution_description: English: Members of the 99th Aero Squadron and French 1st Escadrille with a French Salmson 2A2, Dogneville Aerodrome, France, August, 1918
context_page_description: The 99th Aero Squadron was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
  The squadron was assigned as a Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the V Corps, United States First Army sector of the Western Front in France, providing battlefield intelligence. After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron returned to the United States in June 1919 and became part of the permanent United States Army Air Service in 1921, being re-designated as the 99 Squadron.
  The current United States Air Force unit which holds its lineage and history is the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron, assigned to the 9th Operations Group, Beale Air Force Base, California.
context_section_description: The initial operations of the squadron began on 1 April with missions being flown in conjunction with the 3d Artillery Observation School at Mailly, France, as part of the First Army Observation Group.  This work continued daily until 31 May, when orders were received to move to Amanty Aerodrome.  On 20 June, the first casualty of a flying officer occurred, while testing an aircraft at the French airdrome at Epiez, a 99th pilot was killed in a crash.
  The first flight across the lines into enemy territory occurred on 22 June 1918 when Lieutenants Alexander, Kahle, and Nutt, along with three observers, flew over the enemy lines on a reconnaissance mission over the Toul-Moselle Sector.  All of the aircraft returned with holes in the wings, attesting to the accuracy of enemy anti-aircraft artillery.
  Missions in the Toul Sector were of brief duration and on 1 July, the squadron was ordered to Luxeuil-les-Bains Aerodrome and transferred to the V Corps Observation Group.  Being the first American Aero Squadron to arrive at Luxeuil, the squadron was given an unusually cordial reception.   There, the squadron received the latest in French observation planes, the Salmson 2A2, as the Sopwiths were found to be unsatisfactory for reconnaissance over enemy territory.
  Missions began immediately with the V Corps Infantry Aviation School at Luxeuil.  A detachment of flying officers were dispatched to Corcieux Airdrome, Vosges, France for flights over the lines with the French SAL 285 Squadron.   The mission of the squadron at Corcieux was to cooperate with the French Air Force and enable the pilots and observers to learn the St. Die Sector.   In order to learn the sector, the American Observers flew with French pilots, and French Observers flew with American pilots.   In these flights, frequent combat was encountered with German aircraft.
  On 24 July the SAL 285 was ordered to move and the 99th's 3d Flight, consisting of seven Salmsons, seven pilots, seven observers and their maintenance crews moved from Luxeuil-les-Bains, to the French Dogneville Airdrome.  There, the flight was assigned to the 33rd French Corps, was ordered to carry on the work over the sector formerly covered by the 285th Squadron.  The 99th flew reconnaissance missions and directed artillery fire in support of U.S. Army, 5th Division's offensive against German soldiers entrenched at Frapelle.
  From Dogneville, the 3rd Flight flew photographic missions more than 40 kilometers behind enemy lines.  No other unit, in this sector, had ever photographed deeper than ten kilometers before.  When the 5th Division began its attack on 17 August 1918, the 3rd kept two aircraft airborne throughout the day.  One observed enemy positions and directed artillery fire.  The other maintained contact with Allied infantry and advised headquarters of the line-of-advance.  Since the ground troops never displayed panels to show their position, pilots often had to fly low enough to distinguish between friendly and enemy uniforms.  This exposed the aircraft and crew to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire.  Contact crews often aided the ground offensive by attacking machine-gun sites and firing at enemy troops.  After the successful offensive, 3d Flight crews photographed the new front lines
  Observers developed an effective means of communicating their information to the ground commanders.  They first radioed the data to their ground station.  Pilots then flew over the unit command post and observers dropped a written message confirming the radio call.  They next flew over corps headquarters and dropped another note verifying their radio communication.  Despite what seemed to be an efficient method, aviators and artillery troops often had difficulty communicating and seldom made an effective team.
  The 99th also aided the 5th Corps during the St. Mihiel offensive from 12 through 16 September.  The squadron had moved to Souilly Aerodrome on 7 September.  German soldiers were well entrenched and prepared for a prolonged defense of their positions.  Before the attack, crews flew photographic reconnaiss
caption: Members of the 99th Aero Squadron and French 1st Escadrille with a French Salmson 2A2, Dogneville Aerodrome, France, August 1918.
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