Stephen W. Thompson (March 20, 1894 – October 9, 1977) was an American aviator of World War I. Flying as a gunner on a French aircraft in February 1918, he became the first member of the United States military to shoot down an enemy aircraft. Kiffin Rockwell achieved an earlier aerial victory as an American volunteer member of the French Lafayette Escadrille in 1916.
Stephen W. Thompson
Stephen Thompson in the uniform he was wearing on February 5, 1918. Note the French Croix de guerre with Palm.
Thompson was born in West Plains, Missouri. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, he was a senior in electrical engineering at the University of Missouri. The school announced that seniors who joined the military before graduation would receive their diplomas in June. So he enlisted in the Army and, after basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, in June he was sent to Fort Monroe, Virginia for training in the Coast Artillery Corps. On the train coming into Norfolk he saw an airplane in the sky — the first he had ever seen.
When he got the opportunity, he went to the flying field, the Curtis School at Newport News, and asked if he could take a ride. Thomas Scott Baldwin, who had been a famous performer in his own balloons and dirigibles, was in charge and said yes. The plane was a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny and the pilot was Edward Stinson, a prominent flyer at the time who later founded the Stinson Aircraft Company. Stinson did a number of aerobatic maneuvers, including looping the loop five times in a row. Thompson said that the only thing that kept him from falling out of the plane at the top of the last loop was the lap belt. By the time he landed, he had decided to apply for duty in the Air Service.
World War I
He arrived in France in September and was assigned to the United States 1st Aero Squadron for training as an observer. The commander was Major Ralph Royce, who became a general in the Army Air Forces during World War II. The training took place from a field in Amanty. The French day bombardment squadron Br.123, which flew the Breguet 14 B2, was nearby at Neufchâteau aerodrome, and Royce was occasionally able to send one of his men along with the French on a raid.
Croix de guerre 1914–1918 ribbon with palm
First aerial victory
On February 5, 1918, the 1st Aero Squadron had not yet begun combat operations, and Thompson visited a French unit with a fellow member of the 1st Aero Squadron. Both were invited to fly as gunner-bombardiers with the French on a bombing raid over Saarbrücken, Germany. After they had dropped their bombs, the squadron was attacked by Albatros D.III fighters. Thompson shot down one of them. This was the first aerial victory by any member of the U.S. military.[1][2][3][4][5] He was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm for the action.
In May, he was assigned to the new 12th Aero Squadron at Ourches-sur-Meuse airdrome, commanded by Capt. Lewis H. Brereton. On July 28, now flying from a farm field near La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, he was in another memorable battle. While doing artillery spotting during a battle near Château-Thierry, his Salmson 2 A2 was attacked by four Fokker D.VIIs from what had been Richthofen's Flying Circus but was by then under the command of Hermann Göring. Thompson shot down the first two planes that attacked him, but a bullet from the third hit his machine gun and disabled it. He was then hit in the leg, and his pilot was hit in the stomach by an exploding bullet. The pilot J. C. Miller managed to crash land the plane before he died of his wounds. Thompson dug the bullet out of his leg with a pocket knife. The pilot who shot them down near Villers Sur Fere was Sergy Frommerherz of Jagdstaffel 2 for his tenth victory; it was not famous German aceErich Löwenhardt, who at the time was second only to Richthofen in victories. {Lowenhart had downed Esc. Spa.15, S/Lt. A. Cordonnier, MIA'.)[6]
After the war Thompson worked for several years as an engineer at McCook Field, the predecessor of today's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He then became a high school mathematics teacher. During World War II he taught preflight and meteorology. He maintained an interest in aviation and in 1940 he received U.S. Patent No. 2,210,642 for a tailless flying wing. He died in Dayton, Ohio at age 83.
^Frey, Royal D. (1968). "Air Service Relived". Air University Review. 22 (Nov–Dec). Retrieved 23 March 2012.
^ Thayer, Lucien H. (1983). America's First Eagles: The Official History of the U.S. Air Service, A.E.F. (1917–1918). R. James Bender Publishing. pp. 114–115. ISBN0-912138-24-6.
^. Archived from the original on 2007-12-22. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
January 13, 2023
stephen, thompson, march, 1894, october, 1977, american, aviator, world, flying, gunner, french, aircraft, february, 1918, became, first, member, united, states, military, shoot, down, enemy, aircraft, kiffin, rockwell, achieved, earlier, aerial, victory, amer. Stephen W Thompson March 20 1894 October 9 1977 was an American aviator of World War I Flying as a gunner on a French aircraft in February 1918 he became the first member of the United States military to shoot down an enemy aircraft Kiffin Rockwell achieved an earlier aerial victory as an American volunteer member of the French Lafayette Escadrille in 1916 Stephen W ThompsonStephen Thompson in the uniform he was wearing on February 5 1918 Note the French Croix de guerre with Palm Born 1894 03 20 March 20 1894West Plains Missouri United StatesDiedOctober 9 1977 1977 10 09 aged 83 Dayton Ohio United StatesAllegianceUnited States Army Air ServiceService wbr branchUnited States 1st Aero SquadronYears of service1917 1918AwardsCroix de Guerre with PalmPurple HeartRelationsWife Dorothy Mary Wright Thompson Born August 25 1896 Died October 1971 Children Dr Stephen Wright Thompson Born September 24 1926 died June 17 2018 Dr Robert James Thompson Born September 21 1930 Mary Catherine Thompson Muller Born August 17 1931 Contents 1 Early life 2 World War I 3 First aerial victory 4 Post war life 5 See also 6 ReferencesEarly life EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Thompson was born in West Plains Missouri When the United States entered World War I in April 1917 he was a senior in electrical engineering at the University of Missouri The school announced that seniors who joined the military before graduation would receive their diplomas in June So he enlisted in the Army and after basic training at Fort Riley Kansas in June he was sent to Fort Monroe Virginia for training in the Coast Artillery Corps On the train coming into Norfolk he saw an airplane in the sky the first he had ever seen When he got the opportunity he went to the flying field the Curtis School at Newport News and asked if he could take a ride Thomas Scott Baldwin who had been a famous performer in his own balloons and dirigibles was in charge and said yes The plane was a Curtiss JN 4 Jenny and the pilot was Edward Stinson a prominent flyer at the time who later founded the Stinson Aircraft Company Stinson did a number of aerobatic maneuvers including looping the loop five times in a row Thompson said that the only thing that kept him from falling out of the plane at the top of the last loop was the lap belt By the time he landed he had decided to apply for duty in the Air Service World War I EditHe arrived in France in September and was assigned to the United States 1st Aero Squadron for training as an observer The commander was Major Ralph Royce who became a general in the Army Air Forces during World War II The training took place from a field in Amanty The French day bombardment squadron Br 123 which flew the Breguet 14 B2 was nearby at Neufchateau aerodrome and Royce was occasionally able to send one of his men along with the French on a raid Croix de guerre 1914 1918 ribbon with palmFirst aerial victory EditOn February 5 1918 the 1st Aero Squadron had not yet begun combat operations and Thompson visited a French unit with a fellow member of the 1st Aero Squadron Both were invited to fly as gunner bombardiers with the French on a bombing raid over Saarbrucken Germany After they had dropped their bombs the squadron was attacked by Albatros D III fighters Thompson shot down one of them This was the first aerial victory by any member of the U S military 1 2 3 4 5 He was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm for the action In May he was assigned to the new 12th Aero Squadron at Ourches sur Meuse airdrome commanded by Capt Lewis H Brereton On July 28 now flying from a farm field near La Ferte sous Jouarre he was in another memorable battle While doing artillery spotting during a battle near Chateau Thierry his Salmson 2 A2 was attacked by four Fokker D VIIs from what had been Richthofen s Flying Circus but was by then under the command of Hermann Goring Thompson shot down the first two planes that attacked him but a bullet from the third hit his machine gun and disabled it He was then hit in the leg and his pilot was hit in the stomach by an exploding bullet The pilot J C Miller managed to crash land the plane before he died of his wounds Thompson dug the bullet out of his leg with a pocket knife The pilot who shot them down near Villers Sur Fere was Sergy Frommerherz of Jagdstaffel 2 for his tenth victory it was not famous German ace Erich Lowenhardt who at the time was second only to Richthofen in victories Lowenhart had downed Esc Spa 15 S Lt A Cordonnier MIA 6 The uniform that Thompson was wearing when he shot down the Albatros D III and the bullet he dug from his leg are on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force 7 Post war life EditAfter the war Thompson worked for several years as an engineer at McCook Field the predecessor of today s Wright Patterson Air Force Base He then became a high school mathematics teacher During World War II he taught preflight and meteorology He maintained an interest in aviation and in 1940 he received U S Patent No 2 210 642 for a tailless flying wing He died in Dayton Ohio at age 83 See also EditKiffin Rockwell American who shot down the first plane as a member of the Lafayette Escadrille Frederick Libby the first American flying aceReferences Edit Frey Royal D 1968 Air Service Relived Air University Review 22 Nov Dec Retrieved 23 March 2012 Thayer Lucien H 1983 America s First Eagles The Official History of the U S Air Service A E F 1917 1918 R James Bender Publishing pp 114 115 ISBN 0 912138 24 6 Boyne Walter J 1993 Silver Wings A History of the United States Air Force Simon amp Schuster p 57 ISBN 0 671 78537 0 Sloan James J 1994 Wings of Honor American Airmen in World War I Schiffer Publishing Ltd pp 136 140 ISBN 0 88740 577 0 Daso Dirk A 2006 U S AIR FORCE A Complete History The Air Force Historical Foundation pp 67 69 ISBN 978 0 88363 453 0 Great War Stephen Wilkins Thompson Archived from the original on 2007 12 22 Retrieved 2007 08 05 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stephen W Thompson amp oldid 1076569730, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
