Today in American History: Birth of U.S. Military Aviation
July 18, 1914
The Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps was formed under President Woodrow Wilson. It is a direct lineage of the United States Air Force.
The Aviation Section conducted the first U.S. aviation mission in a foreign country during the Pancho Villa Expedition, during the Mexican Revolution (1910 - 1920) as a response to Villa’s attacks on Columbus, New Mexico. The planes, Curtiss JN-3s were largely ineffective during the conflict due to their unreliability — planes were not mass produced at the time.
The Aviation Section would be deployed for WWI when the U.S. entered the war on April 6, 1917. U.S. aircrafts engaged in the war along the American Sector of the Western Front.
Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps 1 August 1907 – 18 July 1914
Aviation Section, Signal Corps 18 July 1914 – 20 May 1918
Division of Military Aeronautics 20 May 1918 – 24 May 1918
Air Service, United States Army 24 May 1918 – 2 July 1926
United States Army Air Corps 2 July 1926 – 20 June 1941
United States Army Air Forces 20 June 1941 – 18 September 1947
United States Air Force 18 September 1947 – present
