Flying for France

James Rogers McConnell flew as an aviator during World War I in the Lafayette Escadrille and wrote ‘Flying for France’. Thirty-eight pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille flew Nieuport biplanes. Operating from Luxeuil Field in eastern France, McConnell's group usually set off everyday at dawn. Only after the battle of Verdun the planes were equipped with machine guns; before this, pilots simply fired machine guns single-handedly while steering. The 47-round Lewis machine guns were replaced with 500