First US Plane fired on?

[TooPlaneCrazy7]

Hi all,
I live near a fort called "Fort Brown" in Brownsville, Texas and there is an
historical marker that reads, "'First Army US Warplane', on this spot was made
the first flight of US Army plane to be fired on in armed hostilities on April
20, 1915." Then it goes on about how the planes were a group of signal corps
officers who were out scouting the area near the fort due to heightened Mexican
hostilities in the vicinity. The planes were hit by machine gun fire, etc. I
also read elsewhere that (not on the marker, but from an autobiography of a
pilot) that the first aviation dogfight also ocurred nearby when two pilots
with pistols duked it out in the skies with their Curtiss Pusher aircraft.

Does anyone have anymore info?

[Mark]

Here's a start for you....

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/mexican_expedition.htm

http://www.earlyaviators.com/emattery.htm
"TooPlaneCrazy7" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
> I live near a fort called "Fort Brown" in Brownsville, Texas and there is
an
> historical marker that reads, "'First Army US Warplane', on this spot was
made
> the first flight of US Army plane to be fired on in armed hostilities on
April
> 20, 1915." Then it goes on about how the planes were a group of signal
corps
> officers who were out scouting the area near the fort due to heightened
Mexican
> hostilities in the vicinity. The planes were hit by machine gun fire, etc.
I
> also read elsewhere that (not on the marker, but from an autobiography of
a
> pilot) that the first aviation dogfight also ocurred nearby when two
pilots
> with pistols duked it out in the skies with their Curtiss Pusher aircraft.
>
> Does anyone have anymore info?

[Mark]

Here's a start for you......

http://www.earlyaviators.com/emattery.htm

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/mexican_expedition.htm

This one is in Spanish, but looks interesting...

http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/apjinternational/apj-s/4trimes97/taylor.h
tm

Finally... I thought this site was pretty good reading....

http://cnparm.home.texas.net/Subj/Flight/Flight02.htm

Mark

"TooPlaneCrazy7" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
> I live near a fort called "Fort Brown" in Brownsville, Texas and there is
an
> historical marker that reads, "'First Army US Warplane', on this spot was
made
> the first flight of US Army plane to be fired on in armed hostilities on
April
> 20, 1915." Then it goes on about how the planes were a group of signal
corps
> officers who were out scouting the area near the fort due to heightened
Mexican
> hostilities in the vicinity. The planes were hit by machine gun fire, etc.
I
> also read elsewhere that (not on the marker, but from an autobiography of
a
> pilot) that the first aviation dogfight also ocurred nearby when two
pilots
> with pistols duked it out in the skies with their Curtiss Pusher aircraft.
>
> Does anyone have anymore info?

[Marc Reeve]

TooPlaneCrazy7 > wrote:

> Hi all,
> I live near a fort called "Fort Brown" in Brownsville, Texas and there is
> an historical marker that reads, "'First Army US Warplane', on this spot
> was made the first flight of US Army plane to be fired on in armed
> hostilities on April 20, 1915." Then it goes on about how the planes were
> a group of signal corps officers who were out scouting the area near the
> fort due to heightened Mexican hostilities in the vicinity. The planes
> were hit by machine gun fire, etc. I also read elsewhere that (not on the
> marker, but from an autobiography of a pilot) that the first aviation
> dogfight also ocurred nearby when two pilots with pistols duked it out in
> the skies with their Curtiss Pusher aircraft.
>
> Does anyone have anymore info?

Said "first dogfight" happened in 1913, between two American pilots
working as mercenaries for opposite sides of the Mexican civil war.
Their names were Dean Lamb and Phil Rader. Lamb was flying a Curtiss
product, while Rader piloted a "Christofferson". Neither was reported to
have scored any hits on his opponent.

-Marc
--
Marc Reeve
actual email address after removal of 4s & spaces is
c4m4r4a4m4a4n a4t c4r4u4z4i4o d4o4t c4o4m

[TooPlaneCrazy7]

Great, all interesting info. Wouldn't this make for a great movie? I know that
one was tried in the 60s called "Villa Rides" and starred Robert Mitchum, but
it sucked!

[Cub Driver]

I believe that Sterling Seagrave uses this incident to open his
Time-Life book, Soldiers of Fortune, about mercenary pilots.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put CUB in subject line)

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
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