On 18th of April, 1916, squadron No.124 was established by the French Air Service. Many American volun‐
teers chose to enlist with the French Air Service and as direct result of this the French government sanc‐
tioned an American Squadron on 4th November 1916, Escadrille des Volontaires was born. On 6th of De‐
cember 1916 it was renamed Escadrille La Fayette No.124, after Marquis de La Fayette, who went to Amer‐
ica to fight against the British and served as a major general alongside George Washington, in the American
Revolutionary War.
Initially commanded by the Frenchman Capt. Georges Thenault, No.124 comprised seven American pilots:
Victor Chapman, Elliot Cowdin, Bert Hall, James McConnell, Norman Prince, Kiffin Rockwell and William
Thaw. Its inaugural flight mission took place on 13 May 1916 and the Escadrille's first aerial 'kill' occurred
five days later, when Kiffin Rockwell claimed victory over a German two‐seater L.V.G., in October 1916. A
Seminole Indian head was chosen by Capt. Thenault, changed to a Sioux sometime later, as the symbol for
Escadrille Lafayette No.124. As their fame grew worldwide an increasing number of American volunteers
sought service with No.124. Although not all the applicants became members of the No.124, many of them
nevertheless passed through the Lafayette Flying Corps. About 200 Americans eventually passed through
the French Air Service's training program.
After America's formal entry into the war the Escadrille passed into American hands in February 1918.
The history of the La Fayette Escadrille did not end when the squadron was incorporated into the American
Air Service. From 1920 to 1939, The French Ministère de l' Air (Air Ministry) assigned the title Lafayette Esca‐
drille in recognition of the American flyers, and to carry on the tradition, among them:
In 1920 7th Squadron of the 35th Aero Regiment, and its planes carried the Sioux head insignia.
In 1933, the Sioux Squadron was joined with the other elite group, Cigognes (the Storks) to form the
At the beginning of WWII, the La Fayette unit was re‐formed in North Africa where it flew with the Free
French Air Force. Initially outfitted with Curtiss “Hawks” they were soon upgraded with the superior P‐40F
“Warhawks.” Over the course of the War, the Groupe 2/5 flew in the North African, Italian, French and Ger‐
man theatres. In April 1944, the P‐47D became the unit’s aircraft which it flew until 1949. In January 1945,
the Group 2/5 returned to th \*