THE NATIONAL, GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



In America the European types of air- 

 planes and motors will be built, at first, 

 to aid the English and French factories, 

 in order that the Allies may have the 

 largest possible number of battle planes 

 at the earliest possible moment. Then 

 the new airplanes, more powerful and 

 better armed, will be built to be used 

 during the summer of 1918. 



The unlimited resources of American 



industry will make it possible to carry 

 out these two building programs, first, 

 to insure victory in the spring, which will 

 soon be here ; and, second, to provide for 

 the future by building machines with the 

 latest improvements. 



The Allies are anxiously awaiting the 

 aid of the American air fleet. If this 

 fleet comes in time for the 1918 battle, 

 it will be the deciding factor. 



ACES OF THE AIR 



By Captain Jacques De Sieyes 



Of the French Aviation Service 



A VIATION is a game — an amazing 



l\ game, a game of adventure, of 

 l\ countless thrills, of soul-stirring 

 excitement, a game in which courage, dar- 

 ing, resource, determination, skill, and 

 intelligence achieve honor in life or, if 

 the fates so decree, glory in death. 



To the pleasure of accomplishing one's 

 duty is added that of reaping immortal 

 rewards — perhaps the reputation of a 

 Guynemer, of a Nungesser, of an Heur- 

 teaux — men whose names the whole 

 world repeats and acclaims. 



The duty is glorious. If an aviator can 

 accomplish his task by sacrificing him- 

 self for others, death can be faced with 

 equanimity. And American history is 

 sufficiently rich in glorious examples of 

 sacrifice, of devotion, of abnegation, to 

 prove that the sons of heroes of the past 

 will be just as brave as their forefathers 

 and just as ready to die, if need be, for a 

 worthy cause. 



Indeed, Americans have already proved 

 their valor in the Lafayette Escadrille, 

 some of whose members have fallen, but 

 which has continued to increase in num- 

 bers until now it is the richest in pilots 

 of any squadron in France. I lived in 

 the Somme with this squadron. One of 

 my friends, Captain Thenault, com- 

 manded it. 



The Lafayette squadron is a squadron 

 of pursuit, equipped with one-seater ma- 

 chines — swift, light, fast climbing, well 

 armed, made to battle against enemy ma- 



chines, to prevent their entering our lines 

 and attacking our scouting machines 

 while we are at work. 



I had the good fortune to be in the 

 aviation service at Verdun and on the 

 Somme in 1916. These two operations, 

 one defensive at first and the other of- 

 fensive, resulted in the adoption by the 

 aviation service of the organization now 

 employed. 



EIVING IN THE MIDST OF HEROES 



I was in the pursuit branch of avia- 

 tion, living in the midst of heroes who 

 have glorified French flying. I have wit- 

 nessed in the air acts of legendary cour- 

 age; have heard on the ground reports 

 of fights that thrilled us with admira- 

 tion. There was an extraordinary fever 

 among aviators, each one realizing the 

 importance of his role and wanting to 

 do more than* his duty, and the aviation 

 corps was flying in all weathers — in wind, 

 in storm, in the midst of or below the 

 clouds, at less than 200 meters. 



The watch in the sky was never re- 

 laxed. From our aviation field, where 

 the group of squadrons of pursuit was 

 stationed, a squadron of 12 machines left 

 every two hours, to replace another on 

 the front. If reinforcements were asked, 

 others left. Lastly, at each attack, the 

 sky was swept by the entire group of 

 nine squadrons, and each day brought 

 new satisfaction. Each day brought also 

 a fresh harvest of heroic actions, bloody 



