For France and Civilization

The romance of the French Foreign Legion was taken aloft by pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille.

Paul Mirat’s gouache painting of World War I aviators includes several members of the Lafayette Escadrille. ( Dan Patterson (Paul Mirat Collection))

By Paul Glenshaw

airspacemag.com
November 20, 2014

Courtney Campbell

Just before a parade honoring the Escadrille by their French comrades, Courtney Campbell put on an impromptu aerobatic display as he returned from a mission. At the top of a loop, his Nieuport's lower left wing tore away at the root and fluttered away. Campbell was somehow able to keep flying and brought his plane in for a safe landing in a beet field.

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