Frederick Libby Captain Frederick Libby ( 15 July 1891 – 9 January 1970 ) became the first American flying ace , while serving as an observer in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I . Libby transferred to the United States Army Air Service on 15 September 1917 . He returned to the United States and helped raise war funding through Liberty Loans . He was then invalided out of military service with spondylitis . Despite his disability , and the predictions that he would die early as a result of his condition , Libby prospered as an oil prospector and businessman . He was a founder of Western Air Lines . In his latter years , he wrote his memoirs , " Horses Don ' t Fly " , which was published after his death on 9 January 1970 . Early life . Frederick Libby was born on 15 July 1891 in Sterling , Colorado . His mother died of tuberculosis when he was four years old , leaving him to be raised by his widower father , an older brother , and a live - in housekeeper . He attended local schools for his formal education , and began learning to ride at the age of six . One of his youthful feats was roping a pronghorn at the age of ten . In the autumn of 1903 , he moved to Sabetha , Kansas to temporarily live with his older sister Minnie . By 1904 , Libby ' s father and elder brother had re - established themselves as horse brokers in Minco , Indian Territory ; one of their clients was Buffalo Bill . Frederick Libby rejoined them in 1904 . He then lived with his aunt in Marshfield , Massachusetts during the school year to attend high school during his fifteenth and sixteenth years . In 1910 , Frederick Libby moved to Phoenix , Arizona because of his father ' s concern ( which fortunately proved to be unfounded ) that his son might have tuberculosis . The younger Libby first worked for wages as a cowboy while there . He then became an itinerant cowboy and mustanger . Military service . Motor transport . Libby was in Calgary , Canada when the war began . He claimed to have joined the Canadian Army on 2 September 1914 , although his enlistment papers are dated 5 January 1915 and signed in Toronto . He gave his occupation as chauffeur upon enlistment . His enlistment papers describe him as being 5 ' 8 1 / 2 " ( 1 . 74 m ) tall , with a medium complexion , brown hair , and gray eyes . He was assigned to motor transport duty in the Canadian Expeditionary Force ' s supply column . When the Americans in Canadian service were notified that they could be discharged to avoid loss of their citizenship , Libby stayed on . Libby shipped out of Halifax , Nova Scotia for England on " HMCS Metagama " in April 1915 . Upon arrival , his unit staged a short - lived mutiny because they had not been paid . After being paid , they were equipped with brand new trucks – a melange of Locomobile s , Packards , Pierce Arrow s , Peerless es , Leyland s , and British Daimlers . They took their new trucks to Rouen , France to begin their assignment supporting the Canadian 2nd Division . After serving in this motor transport unit through the winter of 1915 – 1916 , he volunteered to join the Royal Flying Corps , becoming an observer in an F . E . 2b in 23 Squadron . No . 23 Squadron RFC . Frederick Libby volunteered for service with the Royal Flying Corps on a thirty - day probationary period ; he said it was to get in out of the constant rain . If he proved satisfactory as an aerial observer , he would be commissioned a second lieutenant ; if unsatisfactory , he would return to his old unit without prejudice . According to Libby , when he reported to 23 Squadron , he received his machine gun training in the morning , and went on flight status that afternoon . A crack shot since his childhood , he scored his first victory on his very first combat mission , coincidentally his birthday , 15 July 1916 , flying with Lieutenant E . D . Hicks . No . 11 Squadron RFC . In August 1916 , Libby was commissioned and transferred to 11 Squadron . Upon arrival there , the first pilots he met were Albert Ball , John Quested , and Ernest Foot . In his memoirs , written many years after the event , Libby claims to have designed and fabricated a buttstock for the Lewis machine gun s used by observers , that was widely adopted as a standard fitting . Actually of course the " ground " Lewis gun came already fitted with such a stock as standard , this being replaced in the standard " air " form of the gun with a spade grip , for " handiness " and to save weight . Libby was one of a number of observers , especially those serving in the precarious perch that was the front cockpit of an F . E . 2b , who preferred their Lewis guns with the original " rifle style " stock , braced against the shoulder . This suited his " marksman - type " shooting style ; it also freed up a hand that could be used to hang onto the aircraft , adding stability for more accurate fire , as well as greater safety for the observer . In any case there was no need to " design " or " fabricate " a standard Lewis gun spare part ! Libby claimed five victories while teamed with Captain ( later Major ) Stephen Price ; one of the victories was shared with Lionel Rees . He became an ace on 25 August 1916 , and by 20 October 1916 he was a double ace as an observer on Royal Aircraft Factory F . E . 2 s . His description of an observer ' s duties included the following passage about manning the rear gun on an F . E . 2 ) : On 15 September 1916 , Libby was an eyewitness to the first use of tank s in battle while he was on observation duty over the battlefield . Two days later Oswald Boelcke and Jasta 2 shot down 11 Squadron ' s entire C Flight , along with two escorting Airco DH . 2 fighters . Libby ' s B Flight was thrown into the resulting breach , but suffered no losses . On 28 October 1916 , Libby was posted to Home Establishment for pilot training . He was granted leave until 1 January 1917 . His leave was interrupted on 13 December 1916 when he and Captain Price were awarded the Military Cross by King George V in Buckingham Palace . No . 43 Squadron RFC ; No . 25 Squadron RFC . After completing pilot training on 5 March 1917 , Libby was posted to No . 43 Squadron on 7 March , piloting the Sopwith 1½ Strutter two - seater fighter / reconnaissance aircraft . After scoring two victories , he was reassigned to No . 25 Squadron as an Airco D . H . 4 bomber pilot in August 1917 , where he scored twice more . During this assignment , on 28 May 1917 he began flying the American flag as command streamers during his sorties . Upon promotion to Flight Commander , Libby transferred to 25 Squadron , which shared its airfield with 43 Squadron . He was assigned B Flight . Libby was nearly killed by accident around this time . The DH - 4 had controls accessible to the observer , and while engaged in a dogfight , a Lewis ammunition drum jammed the rudder , slewing it into a constant right hand turn . Once the problem was remedied , Libby returned to base . His experience led to the rear seat rudder bar being covered by plywood . Libby would serve with 25 Squadron until he left the RFC . By the time he transferred to U . S . service , his combat tally – as both observer and pilots – consisted of two enemy aircraft destroyed ( including one shared ) , and 12 driven down out of control ( including four shared ) . Transfer to American service . On 15 September 1917 , Libby transferred to the United States Army Air Service , at the request of General Billy Mitchell . He returned to the United States and reclaimed his citizenship . He participated in the Liberty Loan drive by auctioning off his flight streamers , before joining the 22nd Aero Squadron at Hicks Airfield in Texas . Libby was seriously ill by this time and was found to be permanently disabled by spondylitis and medically unfit for further military service . Libby never flew a combat mission for the United States Air Service . Post - war life . Frederick Libby lived a partial cripple for the rest of his life . Despite his disabilities and a doctor ' s prediction he would die before age 40 , Libby went into the oil prospecting business , founding Eastern Oil Company and consulting for Union Oil and Richfield . He was also the founder of Western Air Express . In the process , he made millions of dollars ; he also went broke . Eventually he wrote his memoirs , " Horses Don ' t Fly " , published after his death in Los Angeles on 9 January 1970 .