The Second Army Air Service Book
Toul, France: Headquaters Air Service Second Army, 1919. Quarto, original two-tone cloth with winged crest ornament; unpaginated, but a total of eighty leaves including rear sections of cartoons and poems by the airmen. Joints split but binding still quite firm, boards bumped at corners, internally in very good condition. This publication, prepared at the close of the war as and gifted to servicemen as a momento of their experience, is a somewhat chaotic medley of reminiscences, potted biographies, cartoons, songs, informal photographic images, and humorous vignettes.
The Second Army Air Service was founded on 14 October 1918 by General Order. Their headquarters were based at Gengault Aerodrome, Toul, France. The Second Army was made up of the IV and VI Army Corps of the United States Army and the 2ème Corps d'Armée Colonial (French). They were tasked to provide and assign the units necessary for the two American Army Corps along with pursuit and bombardment units for general operation with the Army.
The 168th Aero Squadron was assigned to the Group at Toul, where they commenced operations immediately afterwards with photographic and visual observation missions for the Second Army. On November 4th, the 85th Aero Squadron was sent to IV Corps. in addition, the 28th, 47th and 227th French Squadrons formed the French Corps Observation Group and began their operations from the St. Mihiel Airdrome. Following the Armistice with Germany, American occupation forces were sent to the German Rhineland. On 15 April 1919, the Second Army Air Service was demobilized under orders received from Paris. Item #2590
With contemporary ownership inscription of Lawrence Lewin, G Company, 75th Infantry Battalion, U.S. Army.
Price (AUD): $225.00