For Veteran’s Day, I wanted to highlight an oft overlooked conflict: World War I. Today also happens to be the 101st anniversary of the end that brutal war. I have a friend named Chuck whom I have known for years. His father commanded a Sherman tank in Italy in World War II and my Great Uncle Weldon Reynolds was an infantryman who landed at Salerno (Operation Avalanche) ending the war near Milan. Our mutual interest in history and the connection to the Italian Campaign has led to many interesting conversations. Earlier this year, Chuck showed me a picture of his maternal grandfather, 1st Lieutenant Byron Goodes Cook, a pilot in the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. Chuck did not know much about Cook other than some family lore. He believed Cook flew in the 94th US Aero Squadron with the famous American ace Eddie Rickenbacker and wanted to prove it. The photo of Cook in a biplane cockpit is cropped revealing only a small part of the plane’s insignia. Chuck wondered if the insignia in the photo might be the “hat in ring” same one made famous by Rickenbacker’s squadron.

I told Chuck I would try to find out more about his grandfather and try to confirm the family stories if I could. Records for World War I veterans are hard to find online and even then not as thorough as desired. Fortunately, I was able to find out quite a bit about Lt. Cook because of his unusual and important role. In the course of research, I realized Cook’s exploits were not as a fighter pilot, but his impact was still historically significant .

Today, the United States possesses the world’s most powerful military. One of the most potent features is an air force deploying a range of the world’s most advanced aircraft: jets, helicopters and drones. These aircraft are often the tip of the spear for the projection of US power today. All of that began developing in World War I. Lt. Cook participated in forming the modern American air forces and evidence of his importance is proven by the fact that he is mentioned not once but several times in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) Final Report.

As was the case with many things in the 20th century, aerial capabilities were virtually non-existent in 1917 when America entered the Great War. The US lagged so far behind it could never catch European combatants in the final year of World War I. However, the Great War became a training ground for American advocates of air power. Lessons learned in World War I produced leaders and theoreticians who developed doctrine and tactics that led to innovations and technical knowhow. By 1945, the US emerged as the world’s leading air power. As it turns out, the stories about Chuck’s grandfather were not entirely accurate, but they lead to an unexpected result, Lieutenant Byron G. Cook was a founding member of the American air forces.

Formation of the US Air Service

Sadly, World War I history is badly neglected in the US. The war was short and overshadowed by World War II. However, just as the outcome of World War I laid seeds for the next major conflict, the experiences from 1917-1918 influenced American air doctrine and aircraft development that emerged in World War II.

Americans invented powered flight in 1903 when the Wright Brothers first took wing in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It was not exactly an auspicious beginning. The Wright Flyer remained aloft for just 120 feet travelling 10-20 feet off the ground at about 7 mph. In 1909, the US Army invested in two Wright built airplanes establishing the US Air Service (later re-named the US Army Air Force) but only had one trained pilot by 1911. Efforts to build an air corps began in 1915, but by 1917, the Air Service consisted of only 131 officers, 1,087 enlisted men in seven squadrons with only 55 aircraft. US manufacturer Curtiss Aeroplane Co. developed the JN-1 through JN-4 “Jenny” bi-planes in 1915. Capable of an air speed of only 75 mph with a ceiling of 6,500 feet the Jenny was could not compete with more modern European designs by 1917.

Events in Europe led to greater and faster innovation. Britain, France and Germany began rapidly improving the capabilities of airplanes with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. With the immediate needs created by war, European aviation manufacturers built airplanes that rendered the Jenny obsolete. European manufacturers tinkered with designs constantly receiving practical feedback from combat pilots throughout the war. By 1917, only 14 years after the Wright Brothers’ historic flight, fighter planes on both sides could fly at speeds of 100-140 mph, with a ceiling of 20,000+ feet and ranges of over 200 miles.

While still neutral in World War I, the US found an opportunity to deploy planes to the Mexican border after Pancho Villa raided and burned a border town in New Mexico killing 17 American civilians. Eight Jennys joined a small expeditionary force led by General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing with orders to capture Villa. The wide, arid southwestern spaces should have provided excellent opportunities for airplanes to track Villa’s raiders. However, the technology was not mature. In less than a month, mechanical problems eliminated six of the eight biplanes from service. Inadequate to the US Army’s needs, Pershing relegated the remaining Jennys to flying messages between command posts in the unsuccessful pursuit of Villa.

The United States Enters World War I

The US entry into World War I on April 6, 1917 generated a frenzy of activity. President Woodrow Wilson’s Administration had a momentous task in building up an army of over 1.2 million men with all the necessary supplies and equipment in less than a year. To complicate matters, this new force had to be re-located to Europe.

Transporting over a million soldiers across an ocean had never been attempted before. The effort required a huge transport fleet the US did not have. World War I has been called the first Industrial Revolution conflict. That can be seen in the previously unheard-of mass production of arms, ammunition, equipment, uniforms, boots and other necessities. The impact goes far beyond production of war materials. Training, supplying and moving such a large force required implementation of schedules and timetables, both products of factory management. French and British officials met with their American counterparts and came up with timetables and projections for producing trained soldiers and equipment coupled with a tight schedule of quotas to ship men across the Atlantic all constrained by a limited number of vessels.

It was an ambitious and diverse plan that proved unrealistic from the beginning. The US created a large army fairly quickly with a draft but that was only part of the equation. In World War II, the US earned the nickname “Arsenal of Freedom” for its ability to build and supply a 10 million man military complete with air forces; a powerful carrier based navy (and transport fleets); while also equipping and supplying other Allied nations. The American industrial sector was growing exponentially in the early 20th century, but was still insufficient for the huge demands of a major war. The US could not able to produce the broad array of equipment necessary for fighting in Europe. American doughboys would not have many basics including machine guns, artillery, aircraft and other necessities. About the only thing the US produced for the First World War was manpower. French and British industry supplied the rest.

Cutting edge, fully matured technological industries of 1941 were still in their infancy in 1917. For example, in World War II, the US produced a broad array of fighters and bombers, specialized for different uses such as carrier-based Hellcat and Corsair fighters specifically designed to defeat Japanese Zeroes. The P-51 Mustang had the long range, firepower and maneuverability characteristics to escort long range bombing missions and neutralize German fighter defenses. American long-range bombers outmatched any Axis bombers and the B-29 was an engineering wonder. In 1917, only a few small aircraft companies existed with limited capacity, lacking experienced engineering departments and workforces capable of designing advanced and lethal aircraft.

The aircraft quotas set by Allied negotiators proved impossible to meet. The Allied plan called for the production of 22,000 aircraft per year with spare parts and two engines per plane. To understand just how unrealistic this goal was, the French had not produced that many aircraft in the three years of war combined. The obsolete Jennys only use came in training pilots in basic flight. With no plans or prototypes able to match European planes, the British and French lent American manufacturers plans for building more powerful aircraft. Even with this aid, American production was exceedingly slow. American made De Haviland fighter planes (DH-4s) equipped with American Liberty engines did not begin appearing on the Western Front until August and September of 1918, only a few months before war’s end.

In spite of these difficulties, producing planes was the easy part. Recruiting and training pilots, ground/repair crews while constructing sufficient facilities required far more. In 1917, had only three or four small military airbases. Few Americans owned automobiles or had any experience with engines. Even fewer had even seen a plane much less had the ability to fly one. Planners cast a wide net accepting pilot candidates on very loose criteria.

As the year progressed and the US fell behind in nearly all quotas, the Allies began improvising. Originally pilots would receive basic and advanced flight training in the US. Very quickly, it became apparent that the US lacked pilots to train new aviators in basic flight instruction. No stateside pilot had any experience in the complicated tactics and maneuvers necessary for combat. The British and French sent pilots to the US to jumpstart the training program. There were myriad other complications such as a critical shortage of airfields and airplanes. The plan had to be altered over and over.

Under a revised plan, pilots would receive very basic training on flying in the States and then complete advanced instruction in France. The Allies agreed to construct a huge aerodrome exclusively for American flyers at Issoudun. This small village in western France offered flat ground, proximity to a rail line and lay safely out of range of German planes. Described by one American as “the worst mud hole in France,” delays prevented construction from beginning until the fall of 1917.

Byron Cook Enters the War

The first set of US pilots recruited in 1917 included Byron G. Cook. The Army organized these new cadets into a squadron, the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center (AIC). Cook worked before the war at the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, New York while serving as a private in the New York National Guard (Curtiss and Wright merged after 1915). Cook had probably never actually flown a plane but his employment with Curtiss-Wright was enough to be selected under the very broad selection criteria.

Due to delays and shortages, when the 3rd AIC came into service, the Army had not yet established basic flight training programs stateside. The first Air Service cadets graduated from Ground School which involved only classroom instruction on the basics of aviation. The 3rd AIC set sail on October 10, 1917 from Quebec to France aboard the SS Megantic with no flight time at all.

By the end of the war, Issoudun would boast fifteen airstrips as the largest pilot training base in the world. However, when Cook arrived in France, Issoudun remained incomplete. The cadets went to work building the base. With only three airstrips, Issoudun had capacity to train only a few cadets so the French disseminated idle cadets to several French bases. Private Cook and 79 other cadets began their training on or about December 1, 1918 at Chateauroux under French instruction.

After two months, Cook took a comprehensive multistage test. To qualify he had to have 25 flight hours and successful completion of 50 solo landings. The French devised a technical written test and several flight tests. In the Spiral Test, a cadet had to cut his engine at 600 feet and land on a spot directly below which required spiraling the aircraft to the ground. Cadets had to complete two straight line voyages of 60 km from Chateauroux to Civray. The Triangle Test required cadet pilots to fly a course with three 200 km legs and land successfully. Finally, the cadets had to fly above 2,000 meters for one hour which could be completed independently or as part of the Triangle Test.

Records indicate that Cook and Kenneth W. Matheson were the first cadets from Chaveroux to pass the tests. They received a brevet promotion to first lieutenant on February 11, 1918 and on February 23rd were among the first five cadets returned to receive advanced instruction at Issoudun. Thus, Byron Cook became one of the first US cadet pilots to receive a flight rank in World War I.

These first sanctioned pilots would never see combat. They remained at Issoudun and on or about March 15, 1918 became “testers” or flight instructors for untrained American cadet pilots arriving from the States. By mid-March Issoudun was functioning with six airfields. The Air Service handpicked the best new American flyers to train future pilots. West Point graduate Colonel Edgar Gorrell, himself one of America’s first pilots dating back to 1912, wrote the following on what was expected of a flight instructor:

“only the best pilots, who possessed the following qualities were at all considered for this duty: a tester must be a cool, finished and accomplished flier. He must possess the flying instinct; in short, he must be able to feel out his plane. . . . He must possess a large amount of practical common sense. He must study the theory of airplanes whenever the opportunity affords itself. He must be a hard worker. He must have absolutely no fear of the air.” [1]

In addition to these rigorous standards, a tester held primary responsibility for ensuring the program and aircraft were safe. The tester: “must learn to determine by visual inspection of the entire plane, whether the plane is properly rigged, properly put together for flight. . . . it was the policy of the test line . . . that no ship should leave the testing line unless it was absolutely safe in every way for the student pilot.” [2]

Cook and the other testers fulfilled their roles magnificently. Their primary role was to train fighter and observation pilots. From March of 1918 until the end of the war on November 11, 1918 1,751 pilots graduated from Issoudun and went on to shoot down 753 German planes and 71 balloons while losing 357 American fighters. Even though novices, American pilots achieved an impressive 2:1 kill ratio against more experienced German pilots. Observation pilots flew 35,000 hours over front lines, taking 18,000 photographs (made into 585,000 prints). The observer planes were actually more important to the war effort as they tracked German troop concentrations which foretold a coming attack and photographed German trenches and defenses helping Allied soldiers better prepare their attacks and artillery bombardmaents.

Additionally, over the nine months of operation, the program suffered only 80 fatalities among cadets and four testers or a mortality rate under 5%. Though new to the battlefield, the US lost a lower percentage of pilots per month than the other combatants. The US lost an average of 34 pilots per month while France suffered 157, Britain 88 and Germany 154 fliers killed per month. These statistics can be explained in part because France, Britain and Germany had more planes in the air, but part of the American success came with good training and effective leadership.

World War I biplanes were inherently dangerous to operate especially because of the heavy rate of usage. Built on a wooden frame with a canvas skin and supported by wires, tears in the fuselage skin, broken wires and cracked frames were just a few of the potential threats. Engines frequently broke down, sometimes in flight. Landing gear might be compromised, and propellers could be broken by dirt and mud kicked up by the tires on landing or take off (Eddie Rickenbacker, while still a mechanic at Issoudun added mud flaps which significantly cut down on broken propellers). Airplanes required constant maintenance of every part of the craft from the skin to the engines. Even with the tireless efforts of the ground crews, the fragile nature of the planes and heavy wear and tear left large numbers of aircraft under constant repair. Testers like Cook undoubtedly saved many lives just by making thorough pre-flight checks that required thorough knowledge of the aircraft and proficiency in recognizing potential problems.

Despite the emphasis on safety, crashes still occurred regularly. Cook himself suffered a severe injury in a flying accident. The injury was serious enough to ground him and he spent the remainder of the war in the Major Repair Shops. Cook’s experience at the Curtiss-Wright factory undoubtedly served him well in keeping aircraft serviceable.

The Photograph

Once I was able to establish Lt. Cook’s assignment, the cropped numbers became clear. Training planes had large numbers emblazoned on the side. Just visible in the lower left corner is the top of a “3” which appeared on training planes to indicate they were part of the 3rd AIC. The Allies utilized more than 30 different types of aircraft at Issoudun. However, analyzing the structure of the cockpit and low-slung upper wing, it is apparent that Cook is sitting in a Neuport 24 or Neuport 27. Testers commonly employed both models at Issoudun. I found the above photo of Cook in an archival source. It identifies the plane as a Neuport 27, but the Neuport 24 and 27 were so similar, the photo may be mislabelled. Nevertheless, the caption matched what I could see in period photographs of both planes.

I was not able to discover exactly what Lt. Cook’s duties were as a tester. The apparatus in front of the cockpit in the photo is telling. To a novice (including me) the apparatus appears to be a machine gun but from speaking with enthusiasts on a World War I blog, I realized that it is a camera gun.* A camera gun would be useful in training to assess a pilot’s accuracy. Observation planes did not have a machine gun in front. For defense, the observer had a rear facing, pivoting machine gun. The presence of the gun camera implies Cook instructed pursuit pilots. Cameras played an important role in training. Ammunition is heavy so a bi-plane’s supply would be limited. Dogfights were frequently a matter of intense maneuvering to line up a few bursts of fire. Every shot counted.

Cook and Rickenbacker

Obviously if Lieutenant Cook never saw combat, he never flew with Eddie Rickenbacker and the 94th Aero Squadron. Rickenbacker was a famous race car driver before the war. In those days, drivers had to be proficient with engines. Rickenbacker’s mechanical expertise shunted him first as an officer’s chauffeur and then into an aircraft mechanics unit at Issoudun. Not content with serving on the ground crew, Rickenbacker began flying and was allowed to become a pursuit pilot when he found another mechanic to replace him. Rickenbacker completed his advanced flight training at Issoudun in January of 1918 and joined the 94th Pursuit Squadron for combat duty in February, 1918. Thus, Rickenbacker and Cook were at the French base at the same time in the Fall of 1917, but the two never flew together in training or combat.

Lt. Cook served until the end of World War I and was mustered out in 1919. As a result of the flying accident, he was discharged with a disability rating. The injury must not have been too serious. Cook served in the US Army Air Force Reserve in World War II retiring as a major. He died in 1971 leaving a wife and three children. His daughter married a World War II Sherman tank sergeant and eventually ended up in Richmond, Virginia with her son, my friend Chuck.

Even if Lieutenant Byron Cook never saw combat and never flew with the glamorous ace Eddie Rickenbacker and the 94th Aero Squadron, he played a more important role. He risked his life every day in a contraption that was still a new and largely untested technology. With the frequent mechanical failures and crashes, one did not need to face German fighters to risk life and limb.

Cook trained many US aviators giving them the tools to take on more experienced German pilots with a good chance of surviving and prevailing. Cook was a pioneer, part of the first wave of brave airmen who made up the founding generation of America’s air forces. He helped build a legacy for one of the most important military services that provides a protective shield for all Americans today. Like many Americans who served, Cook played a small role in a big effort. Though he took to the air hundreds of times while training and as a tester, Cook probably never received the credit or thanks he deserved for risking his life on a daily basis. Today on Veteran’s Day though perhaps we can take a moment to remember Lt. Byron Cook and others.

Obituary (including inaccurate information):

Cleveland Plain Dealer, 27 Dec 1971

Services for Byron G. Cook, an Army pilot in World War I and a member of a distinguished Lakewood family, will be at 3 pm today in Saxton funeral home, 13215 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood.

Mr. Cook, a retired major in the Air Force Reserve, was the son of a Lakewood mayor and the father of the present Lakewood fire chief.

He died at the age of 77 Wednesday. Between active duty in both wars, he had been an inspector in the White Motor Co, Crucible Steel Co and Iron Fireman Co. He also taught auto repair at East Tech and West Tech high schools in the 30s.

He was graduated from Case Institute of Applied Science in 1915 and went to work with Curtis Wright Co, an airplane firm, in Buffalo the following year.

He then joined a New York National Guard unit and when the US entered World War I was sent to Issonden, France as a flying member of the Army Signal Corps, the forerunner of the Air Force.

Other members of his unit were Eddie Rickenbacker and Quentin Roosevelt, the son of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who was later shot down over France.

Mr. Cook retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1964.

He is survived by his wife, Kathryn, sons, Byron C, the chief, and Robert, daughter, Mrs. Richard E. Bagby of Richmond, Va, a brother and sister.

* Author’s Note: I wish to thank members of the aerodomeforum.com for helping me identify Lt. Cook’s plane and for providing usefu background information and sources. Additionally, one of Lt. Cook’s relatives was most helpful in providing fmily background. I have retracted her name in the interests of privacy.

Footnotes:

[1] Gorrell, Colonel Edgar, The US Air Service in World War I. Vols. 9 Maxwell AFB AL: Office of Air Force History, 1978 (re-print from 1920), p. 273.

[2] Ibid., p. 274.

Sources:

I utilized ancestry and geneology pages which I have omitted in the interests of privacy.

Frank, Sam Hager, American Air Service Observation in World War I. Gainesville, FL: Dissertation presented at the University of Florida, University of Florida Press, 1961.

Gorrell, Colonel Edgar, The US Air Service in World War I. Vols. 1-10 Maxwell AFB AL: Office of Air Force History, 1978 (re-print from 1920).

Ross, John, Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2015.

Schrader, Lt. Col. Karl R., A Giant in the Shadows: Major General Benjamin Foulois and the Rise of the Army Air Service in World War I – Beginnings of Military Aviation, War Department Buys Aeroplane, Foulois on Western Front. Maxwell AFB AL: Air University Press, 2016.

Tynan, John E. “U. S. Air Service: Emerging From Its Cradle.” The Air Power Historian 10, no. 3 (1963): 85-89. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44513444.

All images are in the public domain and subject to Fair Use laws.

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