Major Harry L. Wingate, Pilot, Instructor - WW1, 3rd. Aviation Instruction Center, Issoudun, France

[Steven M]

One last shot.

[Steven M]

Here is a large photo of the Major wearing the same uniform and wing shown in this thread.

[Steven M]

The student's progression through these fields at Issoudun was typically as follows:

1. Start at Field 1
2. Walk over to Field 2
3. Progress to Field 3
4. Go to Field 9 for introduction to the Nieuport 18M (Graduates either proceeded to Field 10 for 2-seater training or to Field 4 for pursuit training
5. Field 4 for spiral turns
6. Field 5 for taxiing, taking off, and landing and wing slips
7. Field 6 for advanced acrobatics (NO)
8. Field 9 for training with Nieuport 15M with 80 HP engine
9. Field 7 for training with Nieuport 15M with 120 HP engine
10. Field 8 for aerial combat training
11. Field 14 for machine gun training

Aircraft used at each field were as follows:

Field 1: Morane rouleurs (preliminary training)
Field 2: Nieuport 23M, 80 HP dual control aircraft
Field 3: Nieuport 23M, 80 HP single seat (solo) aircraft
Field 4: Nieuport 18M, 80 HP (Feb-July 1918 only. After that part of Fields 5 & 6).
Field 5: Nieuport 15M, 80 HP and 120 HP aircraft with instruction in taxiing, taking off, and landing
Field 6: Nieuport 15M with 120 HP engine with instruction in advanced acrobatics
Field 7: Formation flying and patrol tactics using 120 HP Nieuport 15M aircraft
Field 8: Introduction to Aerial Combat using 120 HP Nieuport 15M aircraft
Field 9: Nieuport 18M, 80 HP from 1 July 1918 to the end of the war
Field 10: DH-4 aircraft for observation pilot training (opened late in the war)
Fields 11 and 12: Not put into operation.
Field 14: Machine gun training using Nieuport 24 aircraft

Operating the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center required a large number of organizations. Serving at Issoudun were the following U.S. Aero Squadrons: 10th, 21st, 26th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 35th, 37th, 43rd, 101st, 149th, 158th, 173rd, 257, 369th, 372nd, 374th, 640th, 641st, 642nd, 644th, 801st, 802nd, and 1104th


I think this grouping will yield much more as the research developes; there are so many possibilities that radiate from Major Wingate's far reaching and significant contributions.

[Steven M]

This is a letter written by then Cpt. Wingate to Col. Gerrell during the occupation regarding his perceptions about inefficiencies observed during the war. It is very interesting to get a look into the false perceptions that cavalry, or infantry officers were qualified to perform efficiently and effectively in the fledgling Air Service with ill preparation/training in the specifics of this very different branch of service.

[Steven M]

I have been doing some more research and I came up with some fascinating information on the specifics of training at Field #8 of which Maj. Wingate was in charge.

Here are some excerpts from the book entitled "AN EXPLORER IN THE AIR SERVICE" written in 1920 by Hiram Bingham, Lt. Col., US Air Service



Instructors sacrifices

"With true American devotion to high ideals, the great
majority of the first-class pilots selected as instructors cheer-
fully gave up the chance of becoming aces themselves in
order to perfect the output of the school and thus to help
increase the total number of American aces at the Front
In order to prevent our self-sacrificing instructors from
getting stale, a few were allowed to take turns in going to
the Front for a month at a time. This gave them new ideas
and new experiences. When they came back to the school
they had the advantage in every case of having success-
fully brought down one or more Huns. This increased their
prestige with their students and let them feel that they had
had their chance at a little real action. Occasionally, pilots
who had been at the Front for six months or more and who
were tired out were sent back to the school as teachers. Those
who have been in the teaching profession know that a teacher
who is tired is seldom very effective. These pilots were no
exception to the general rule. Two or three of them were
unusually good, but our experience with the majority led
us to believe that the best instructors were not those who
had become unfitted for duty at the Front, but those who had
learned the importance of teaching and were glad to take
advantage of a few weeks at the Front to increase their effi-
ciency in the game for which they were preparing others."


Flying demands

"It was on Field 8 that a pilot had an opportunity to use
every bit of the flying ability which he had acquired in all
his previous experience. Some of the American trained pi-
lots, who had flown too long on the old type of preliminary
training planes, found it difficult to accustom themselves to
the rapidity of manoeuvre demanded by the instructors at
this field. While it was necessary that the pilot should have a
good foundation in ordinary flying before coming here and
should be able to do aerial acrobacy with skill and confidence,
it was also essential that he should not have acquired any bad
habits. The good combat pilot must be able to fly in any di-
rection and in any attitude with supreme confidence in his
machine and in his ability to put it in any desired position.
He must be extremely alert. He must have formed the habit
of seeing every visible plane in the sky and of knowing by
instinct its approximate location at any given moment. It
was said that the remarkably long life of Fonck at the Front
was due to his constant inspection of every sector of the air.
Probably seventy-five per cent of the pilots shot down at the
Front were the victims of surprise attacks, and had no idea
that there was an enemy in the immediate vicinity until he
was so close that it was impossible to escape."


Aggressive nature

"It was here on Field 8 that the aggressive spirit of a
good polo player or of a first-class football player placed
him in the front ranks of the combat pilots. The sluggish
flyer is likely to leave himself open to attack by an aggres-
sive pilot. The active, energetic, aggressive fighter is not only
more likely to gain the advantage of offensive tactics, but
will also be more likely to spot his enemy first and gain the
benefit of position. The American boy is particularly good in
games requiring quick judgment and correct action. This
trait made him excellent in meeting the rapidly changing
conditions of aerial combat There were no hard and fast rules
that could be laid down as to how to win out in a "dog fight,"
as the rough and tumble aerial combats were called. "If a
Hun gets on your tail and you see the tracers coming close,
you will most likely do some acrobatics that you never have done before."
"In this work a steady hand, a cool head, and
an all-seeing eye are the essential features of safety. Add
to them ability to fly and skill in using the machine gun,
and your results spell success." So we were told by pilots
from the Front."


Aerial gunnery

All the planes used on Field 8 were equipped with cam-
era guns built like a machine gun, but shooting pictures
instead of bullets. The pictures register the position of the
enemy at the moment that the trigger is pulled. In this way
it is possible for the instructor and the student to see what
would have happened in actual combat. Examination of
these pictures illustrates the tendency of one pilot to shoot
when still at too great a distance for effective work, of an-
other pilot to overshoot the mark, and of a third to fail to
make sufficient allowance for the speed of the opposing
machine."


Major Wingate's contributions

"At the time the Armistice was signed, Captain (later
Major) Harry L. Wingate, who was in charge of the field,
was extraordinarily successful in overcoming the difficulties
of keeping in commission a large number of the mono-
planes and other types of small scout machines which were
in use at this field, and which received very severe handling
in the course of aerial combat work. Constant inspection of
machines after they had come in from flight, a high morale
among the enlisted mechanics, and a splendid determina-
tion to overcome every obstacle at no matter what cost, en-
abled Captain Wingate to graduate from fifteen to twenty
men every flying day at his field. Considering the type of
planes that he had to work with and the severity of their
use, this was a remarkable achievement"

[Steven M]

The monument at the Issoudun Training Field site...

[Steven M]

The below is a listing of the individuals who were killed in training while at the 3rd. AIC.



BILLARD, Philip Louis Lt. AAS b.27 Apr 1891, Topeka, KS Son of Mayor Julius B. and Hermance P. (LAURENT) BILLARD, Topeka, KS DIA 25 July 1918 in air accident at the Issoudun advanced flying school airfield in France. With the 3rd Aviation Inst Center. Remains cremated and scattered at Issoudun Flying School, France


3rd Aviation Instruction Center Monument
A stone obelisk commemorating those Americans of the Third Instruction Center who were killed while training with the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center during WWI. The text on this monument, plus the 4 bronze plaques, are as follows : 1917 – 1918 – 1919 ; Third Aviation Instruction Center. Below this text, a French Blue, White, and Red "Cockard" carrying the words "Souvenir Francais" has been fixed to the monument.



The front bronze plaque carries the following names:

Pvt. Ernest L. Simpson, PVT. George Astialine, 1st Lt Joseph H. Mason A. S., 1st Lt. Phil Billard A. S., Sgt. Robert W. Holt Jr., 2nd Lt. Cecil S. Huntington A. S., Pvt. Walter D. Sobiske, Pvt. Joshua D. Slonaker, 1st. Lt Mark F. Hamilton A. S., Pvt. 1st. Cl. Thomas A. Addis, 2nd Lt. Wedwin B. Schreiber A. S., 1st Lt. Lenwood N. Ott A. S., 2nd. Lt. William C Carmack, A. S., 2nd Lt. Donald M. Sage A. S., 2nd Lt. Samuel A. Greenwood A. S., 1st Lt. Robert M. Wood Jr., A. S., 1st. Lt Leroy G. Woodward A. S., 1st Lt. Edward J. Smyth A. S., 1st. Lt. Clinton I. Sutton A. S., 2nd. Lt. Lewis M. Smith A. S., 1st Lt. John Hubbard A. S., 2nd. Lt. Arthur J. Stahler A. S., 1st Lt. Stephen T. Webster A. S., 2nd Lt. Greayer Clover A.S., Cpt Roger W. Jannus A.S., Pvt. Ruby Barnes, 2nd Lt. Hugo L. Stock A. S., Pvt Lonnie C. Hall, Pvt. Virgil Kiper, Pvt. Carmic Price, Pvt. William E. Krausz, Pvt Earl Mills, Pvt. Grover Dummitt, 2nd Lt. Horace B. Forman A.S., Pvt. Arthur L. Zollman, 2nd Lt. Cecil M. Anderson A. S., Sgt. Gustave L. Soniat, 1st. Lt. William F. Nerrick A. S., 1st. Lt. Sylvester B. Moore A.S., 1st Lt. Kimsy L. Stewart A. S., Pvt. Clark W. Flack, CPL. Harold F. Owens, Pvt. Robert N. Feldner.


List of names carried on R.N. Bronze plaque :
Pvt. Edward S. Stilley, Pvt. Louis Lafasse, Pvt. Jesse B. Jones, 2nd. Lt. George S. Reisz A. S., Pvt. Robert C. Castteel, Sgt Wilbur E. Moore, Pvt. Daniel W. Fox, Pvt. Bernard F. Romacosa, Cpl. Lester F. Robie, Cpl. John W. Wainwright A. S., Cpl Raymond W. Thornton, Pvt. Ernest Gautier, 2nd Lt. Walter W. Goddard Jr. A. S., 2nd. Lt James R. Crowe A.S., 2nd. Lt Lawrence E. Vilas A. S., Sgt. Otto T. Dreher, Sgt. 1st. Cl. Harry D. Magness, Pvt. Mitchell L. McClurg, 2nd. Lt. Paul S. Whitehead A.S., 2nd. Lt Benjamin Wohl A. S., Sgt Fred M. Woods, Sgt Edward M. Moriarty, 2nd. Lt. Albert F. Gilmore A. S., 2nd. Lt. Walter L. Harrison A. S., Cpl. Leon Brannon, 2nd. Lt. Edward R. Richte A. S., Sgt. Ingle S. Smith, Pvt. Edward J. Daly, Cpl. Paul K. Willson, Sgt. Verne I. Mounts, Pvt. 1st. Cl. Danforth E. Buck, Cdt. Paul W. Lindsley A. S., Sec Joseph Franklin Hardy, Y.M.C.A., Pvt. Clarence R. Shaw, Pvt. James Stinziano, Cpl. William J. Clarke, Pvt. Charles J. Corsiglia, Pvt. Joseph T. Gee, Pvt. 1st. Cl. Lawrence B. Barnes, Sgt. 1st. Cl. Walter H. Wills, 1st Lt Vincent J. Dushek A. S., 2nd. Lt. Charles F. Backus A. S., 1st Lt. Arthur M. Roberts A. S., Pvt. Carl F. Anderson, Capt Edward C. Gwynne A. S.


Text on rear of monument:
En mémoire de ceux qui ont donné leur vie pour la liberté – 1917 -1919 – 3e Ecole d'Aviation – Forces Expeditionnaires Américaines. List of names carried on rear bronze plaque : Sgt. 1st Cl. Ralph L. Cock, 1st Lt. W. C. Woodward A. S., 1st Lt. James F. Greer A.S., 1st Lt. John R. Schley A.S., CPL. Joseph H. Liskie, 1st Lt. A. F. Bell, A.S., 1st Lt. Wm. B. Coleman A.S., 2nd Lt. F.J. McMahon A.S., 2nd Lt. Wm. V. Capen A. S., 2nd Lt. Clinton R. Madison A. S., 2nd Lt. Fred C. Austrom A.S. , 2nd Lt. "Carl A. Grimes A.S., 1st Lt. Cryus E. Graham A. S., 2nd Lt. Clair W. Welty A.S., 2nd Lt Preston E. Tupper A.S., 2nd Lt. Reginald J. Calkens A. S., Pvt. Vincent V Manzo, Sgt. Clyde C. Webb, 2nd Lt Altin H. Kimball A. S., 2nd Lt. William M. Falk A. S., 2nd Lt. Roger C. Coree A. S., 2nd Lt. Thomas L. Spence A. S., Pvt. John W. Hofelt, 2nd Lt. Henry C. Smith A. S., 2nd Lt. Elwood H. Hooper A. S., Pvt. Steven McReely, 1st Lt. Colber C. Clive A. S., Wagoner Charlie Riley, Pvt. Carroll P. Whittington, Pvt Willard Pipe, CPL. Ernest E. Comstock, Sgt Thurman M. Gregory, Cpl. Clarence S. Humphries.


List of names carried on L. M. Bronze plaque:
Pvt. Raymond H Runner, Pvt Erwin H. Shaw, 1st Lt. James D. Paull A. S., Pvt. Ernest E. Marsh, Pvt. Garland E. McCoy, Sgt. 1st Cl. Welby N. Crang, M. S. E. Franklin E. Perry, CPL Frank M. May, Pvt. Walter L. Fitzgerald, Pvt. Elllis E. Hunt, Sgt. Alvin Roberts, Cdt. Ernest H. Leach, 1st Lt. Jack M. Wright A. S., 1st Lt. Frank B. Turner A. S., Cdt. Charles A. Hopkins, Cdt Arthur H. Wilson, Cdt. George Cl. Phillipoteaux, 1st Lt. Arthur J. Perrault A. S., Cdt Edward E. Butler, 2nd Lt. Charles B. Seward A. S., 1st Lt. James C. Marquardy A. S., 1st Lt Clayton C. Ingersoll, A.S. , Cdt. Kenneth M. Copley, 1st Lt. John K. Grisard A. S., Cdt. Steward Freeman, 1st Lt. Harry C. Colborn A. S., Cdt. Joseph Bettenhausen, Sgt. Thurston R. Chamberlain, 1st Lt. Eugene P. Wubben A. S., 1st Lt. William N. Newitt A. S., Cdt. Rexford Shilliday, 1st Lt Richard Anderson A. S., 2nd Lt. Lester L. Meyer A. S., 1st Lt. Earl H. Neville A. S., Sgt. 1st Cl. James F. O'Flaherty, 2nd Lt. William F. Chamberlain A. S., Army Nurse Marion L. Watkins A. S., Pvt. Wilfred J. Breckenridge, 1st Lt Remson Bishop A. S., Cook Merritt Winsell, 1st Lt. Loyd B. Vorhies A. S., 1st Lt. Richard E. Lloyd A. S.



That is a lot of casualties, and attests to the extreme risks involved with flying these early crates even without factoring in the threat of contact with the enemy...

[Steven M]

Here is the Major in his last years of life. I can't help but feeling a great sense of pride and admiration for this man, and his historic contributions during the Great War and the early days of aviation.

God Bless you Sir...soldier, statesman, hero.

I hope you all enjoyed seeing this grouping.

[peribeca]

awesome grouping.........very touching......thank you for preserving and sharing!

Lou

[Steven M]

awesome grouping.........very touching......thank you for preserving and sharing!

Lou

Lou,

Thanks for your very kind words. The WWII aviators get a lot of attention - and rightly so, but the WWI guys are the ones that started it all. Flying and surviving these death traps in the early days was quite a feat in itself....add the danger of an enemy trying to kill you and living to tell about it, and that feat becomes the stuff of legend.