The 1st Pursuit Group claimed more enemy kills than any other Group in the United States Air Service in World War I, partly thanks to 'ace of aces', Eddie Rickenbacker, and balloon-busting ace, Frank Luke, both of whom also earned the Medal of Honor. Starting operations in March 1918, the Group initially flew Nieuport 28s, now rejected by the French, and quickly showed its quality. Douglas Campbell was the first American-trained pilot in the USAS to make a kill and soon afterwards became the Service's first ace. Expanded by the arrival of additional squadrons, the Group went to war in earnest over Ch¿teau Thierry in July, suffering heavy losses against experienced German pilots and better airplanes. Re-equipped with the superior Spad XIII, the now battle-seasoned Group achieved its full potential over St. Mihiel and the Argonne.

This is the story of the Group that produced some of America's first fighter aces and its rapid evolution over a few months as a deadly rival to opposing German units with years of combat experience behind them. Its publication marks the 90th anniversary of 1st Pursuit Group's distinguished contribution to Allied victory....

The Emergence of Air-to-Air Combat in World War I
When World War I began in August 1914, the airplane had already proven its worth as an intelligence gathering "eye-in-the-sky." Aircraft soon became indispensable to armies on both sides, and the attempt to drive enemy planes away began in earnest. Local air superiority was incorporated into battlefield strategy, and the use of aircraft to conduct offensive operations would change warfare as dramatically as the first firearms 300 years before. In The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft, historian Jon Guttman tells the engrossing story of how one of the most amazing inventions became an integral component of warfare. The first true fighter plane whose primary function was to destroy enemy aircraft--whether scouts, balloons, bombers, or other fighters--emerged at the end of 1915, and with it a new glamorized "knight of the air" was born: the ace, a pilot who brought down five or more opponents. From 1916 on, as the combatants relied on airplanes more, flying tactics and strategy, including mass formations, were developed for what would become a deadly struggle for complete air superiority. By 1918, the final year of the war, air battles could be as sprawling as those on the ground.

Balancing technical description, personalities, and battle accounts, and heavily illustrated, The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft reveals that by the end of World War I, most of the fundamentals for modern aerial combat had been established....