168th Aero Squadron The 168th Aero Squadron was a 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 IV Corps , United States Second Army sector of the Western Front in France , providing battlefield intelligence . The squadron saw limited combat , and with Second Army ' s planned offensive drive on Metz cancelled due to the 1918 Armistice with Germany , the squadron was assigned to the United States Third Army as part of the Occupation of the Rhineland in Germany . The squadron returned to the United States in July 1919 and was demobilized . The squadron was never reactivated and there is no current United States Air Force or Air National Guard successor unit . History . Origins . The 168th Aero Squadron was organized on 12 December 1917 at Kelly Field , Texas , with 154 recruits being assigned to the squadron on the 19th . The squadron began a program of drill and indoctrination into the Air Service . On 18 December , the squadron was ordered to report to the Aviation Concentration Center , Hazelhurst Field , Long Island , and arrived on 26 December for overseas duty . There , about 60 members of the squadron were placed in training schools for three weeks while the remainder performed guard duty and camp maintenance duty . On 31 January 1918 , the squadron was ordered to report to the United States Port of Entry , Hoboken , New Jersey and boarded the HMS Adriatic . The crossing of the Atlantic was uneventful , the Adriatic being in a convoy of 14 ships , arriving at Liverpool , England on 16 Funerary . From Liverpool , the squadron traveled by train to the Ramsey Rest Camp , Winchester . Training in England . After spending 11 days at Ramsey , the 168th was assigned to the Royal Flying Corps ( RFC ) for training . The squadron was divided into four flights , A , B , C , and D . A and B Flights were sent to RFC Tedcester in Yorkshire and C and D Flights were sent to RFC Doncester , also in Yorkshire to be trained by the British in aircraft assembly , engine repair , motor vehicles and other aspects of operating a combat squadron on the front . After five months of training , the squadron was re - assembled at Flower Down Rest Camp , Winchester on 7 August 1918 . A final inspection there was made , and preparations were made for the squadron to be sent into combat in France . On 11 August , orders were received for the 168th to proceed to the Air Service Replacement Concentration Center , St . Maixent Replacement Barracks in France . The squadron first went to Southampton for the cross - channel trip to Le Harve , reaching St . Maxient on 14 August where the 168th was classified as a Corps Observation squadron . From there , the squadron proceeded to the Air Service Production Center No . 2 . , Romorantin Aerodrome , on 19 August where the squadron received Dayton - Wright DH - 4 aircraft . The next stop on the journey to the front lines was to the 1st Air Depot at Colombey - les - Belles Airdrome on 26 August where the men of the squadron were fully equipped and given gas mask training . Next , on 2 September , a move was made to Autreville Airdrome where for the next five weeks , the squadron trained on the DH - 4s and performed camp duties . Toul Sector . Finally , on 5 October , the 168th moved to Gengault Aerodrome , near Toul , where the squadron was assigned to the IV Corps Observation Group , Second Army and immediately began preparations for active combat service . Initially , the squadron flew patrols with the 8th Aero Squadron , acting as protection for their planes and also enabling the pilots to acquaint themselves with the Toul Sector . Beginning on 12 October , the 168th formally took over the observation area for the 7th Infantry Division and began flying combat observation missions . The squadron flew about ten sorties per day , with a few exceptions when weather limited operations . During the first few days of active flying , the squadron did not encounter any enemy aircraft . However , by 30 October , the sky was full of enemy Fokkers , generally found in groups of five to seven . On that day , Lieutenants Myers and McCollough with Lieutenants White and Bruett as protection were attacked by a group of five enemy aircraft . One of the enemy aircraft managed to get on the tail of one of the protection aircraft but Lt . Myers placed his aircraft in a position which enabled Lt . McCollough to shoot it down . On the same day , three other combats were reported . After that day , each mission was met and attacked by Enemy Aircraft . On 3 November , a squadron plane on a photo - reconnaissance mission passed near an enemy observation balloon and fired on it . As luck would have it , the squadron had just received a supply of incendiary bullets which had been loaded in the aircraft ' s machine guns . By good shooting the balloon was hit and set on fire . Up until the Armistice on 11 November , the squadron flew observation , artillery adjustment and photo - reconnaissance missions to support the 7th Division as they advanced . During the combat the squadron was engaged in , two Distinguished Service Cross es , were awarded to Lieutenant Pandell and Lieutenant Armstrong , both on 4 November for flying extremely hazardous missions over enemy territory . Third Army of Occupation . With the end of hostilities , the squadron first moved to the 2d Air Instructional Center at Tours Aerodrome on 24 November , where the squadron was called upon to cover 45 sq . miles of the Hindenburg Line with aerial photography . The squadron photographed 8 of the 11 Metz forts & photographed everything on the surface of the ground . After the Hindenburg line was photographed , the 168th was then assigned to Weißenthurm Airdrome , Germany to serve as part of the occupation force of the Rhineland under the Third Army Air Service , III Corps Observation Group . There , the squadron was able to perform test flights on surrendered German aircraft . Flights of the Fokker D . VII , Pfalz D . XII , Halberstadts and Rumpler aircraft were made and evaluations were made . Demobilization . On 18 June 1919 orders were received from Third 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 planes were delivered to the Air Service Production Center No . 2 . at Romorantin Aerodrome , and there , practically all of the pilots and observers were detached from the Squadron . Personnel were subsequently assigned to the Commanding General , Services of Supply and ordered to report to one of several staging camps in France . There , personnel awaited scheduling to report to one of the Base Ports in France for transport to the United States . The squadron arrived at Camp Mills , New York in late July 1919 . There most of the men returned to civilian life , being discharged from Army service .