In Hangar Of 94th Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group, Ace Major Raoul Lufbery Briefs Lieutenants Eddie Rickenbacker And Douglas Campbell Before Taking Them On Their First Flight Patrol Over The German Lines. Raoul Lufbery began His flying career in 1911 when he became the mechanic for French pilot Marc Pourpe. The pair barnstormed their way through China, Japan, India, and Egypt finally landing in Paris just as war broke. Pourpe joined the French Air Service while Lufbery tagged along as his mechanic. To avenge Pourpe's death at the end of 1914, Lufbery applied for pilot training and earned his wings. He joined other American pilots in the Lafayette Escadrille and scored his first kill in August 1916. By the end of 1917, Lufbery was a leading ace with 17 official kills. With America in the war, the pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille were absorbed into the American Air Service where their valuable experience was used to train the fledgling pilots. Lufbery was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron as a teacher and advisor. As a ressult of air combat Maj Lufbery would later jump to his death from the flaming aircraft he was piloting in 1918.
The 1st Pursuit Group Ace, Major Raoul Lufbery, briefs Lieutenants Eddie Rickenbacker and Douglas Campbell before taking them on their first flight patrol over the German enemy lines in World War I. Lufbery joined other American pilots in the decorated Lafayette Escadrille, and by the end of 1917 was a leading ace. When the United States formally joined the war, the pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille were absorbed into the American Air Service where their valuable experience was used to train the new pilots.
