13th Aero Squadron

13th Aero Squadron
13th Aero Squadron - SPAD XIII assigned to Major Charles Biddle, likely taken at Souilly Airdrome, France, 1918
Active	14 June 1917-29 March 1919
Country	United States
Branch	Air Service, United States Army
Type	Squadron
Role	Pursuit
Part of	American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
Fuselage Code	"Grim Reapers"
Engagements	World War I
Commanders
Notable commanders	Captain (later Major) Charles J. Biddle Lt. Dickinson Este
Insignia
13th Aero Squadron Emblem "Grim Oscar"
Aircraft flown
Fighter	SPAD XIII, 1918
Trainer	Curtiss JN-4, 1917

Service record
Operations	2d Pursuit Group Western Front, France: 28 June-11 November 1918 Sorties: 1,374 Combat missions: 179 Enemy combats: 89 Killed: 0 Wounded: 3 Missing: 12 Aircraft lost: 11
Victories	Enemy Aircraft shot down: 29 Enemy Balloons shot down: 0 Total Enemy Aircraft Destroyed: 29 Air Aces: 5 Maj. Charles J. Biddle, 5 (4 shared)* * Biddle had a total of 7 aerial victories, one while serving with Spa73 of the French Air Service and 1 (with one other probable) with the 103d Aero Squadron before he joined the 13th Aero Squadron. Lt Murray K. Guthrie, 6 (4 shared) Lt Frank K. Hayes, 6 (4 shared) Lt John J. Seerley, Jr., 5 (5 shared) Lt William H. Stovall, 6 (3 shared)

2d Pursuit Group
Western Front, France: 28 June-11 November 1918

Air Aces: 5

The 13th 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 Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 2d Pursuit Group, First United States Army. Its mission was to engage and clear enemy aircraft from the skies and provide escort to reconnaissance and bombardment squadrons over enemy territory. It also attacked enemy observation balloons, and perform close air support and tactical bombing attacks of enemy forces along the front lines. After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron returned to the United States in March 1919 and demobilized.

On 16 October 1936 the squadron was re-constituted, and consolidated with the United States Army Air Corps 13th Attack Squadron. Today, the current United States Air Force unit which holds its lineage and history is the 13th Bomb Squadron, assigned to the 509th Operations Group, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.

The 13th Aero Squadron was organised at Kelly Field, Texas on 14 June 1917. After a short period of organization, which included "snake-chasing and cactus-cutting", the squadron was moved to Wilbur Wright Field, Ohio in the beginning of July where its aviation cadets began flight training on the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny trainer. Training in Ohio lasted until 1 November when it received orders for overseas duty. The squadron proceeded to the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, New York, where it awaited transport to Europe. At the end of November, the squadron moved to Philadelphia, where it boarded the SS Northland, and departed the United States on 4 December. The ship arrived at Liverpool, England on 25 December where the same day, they boarded a train for Winchester, England where they were temporarily assigned to a Rest Camp. After a cross-channel crossing from Southampton to Le Havre, France, the squadron boarded a French train south, arriving at the St. Maixent Replacement Barracks, 1 Jan 1918.

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