A notable first for Army Aviation happened on 14 April 1918.  On that day, 2LT Douglas Campbell of the U.S. Air Service’s 94th Aero Squadron became the first U.S. trained fighter pilot to score an aerial victory while assigned to an American squadron.

Assigned to fly a patrol with 2LT Alan Winslow, the two aviators met with a flight of German Albatros D.V fighters of Jasta 64.  During the ensuing battle LT Campbell shot down one of the enemy fighters, with LT Winslow notching a victory soon afterwards.

LT Campbell achieved another notable first just 47 days later, scoring his fifth aerial victory.  That made LT Campbell the first U.S-trained U.S. Air Service pilot to achieve ‘Ace’ status.

The aircraft he flew during these exploits was the Nieuport 28c.1  This French-built fighter equipped the first USAS

squadrons fighting in France.  The Nieuport 28 was equipped with one .303 caliber machine gun mounted over the engine cowling and synchronized to fire through the propeller arc.  The Nieuport had a top speed of 125 mph and an operational ceiling of 17.500 feet.  The aircraft had an endurance of about two hours.

The Army Aviation Museum’s Nieuport 28C.1 served in France and was one of the survivors which were sent to the U.S. after the war.  She subsequently passed through several hands, and even had a part in the 1938 movie “Dawn Patrol” starring Errol Flynn and David Niven. During the early 1990’s she was restored to flying condition in the U.K.  Eventually she came home to the Army Aviation Museum, where she remains to this day.

Resplendent in the markings of the 95th Aero Squadron, Nieuport 28c-1 no. 6531 is a fitting memorial to the courage and accomplishments of the very first combat aviators of the U.S. Army.  This beautiful airplane, a creation of wood and fabric, also carries us back to the birth of aviation itself. 

Story by Robert Barlow