This book tells the story of one of World War I’s most famous squadrons, Spa. 124 - the only French squadron made up entirely of American volunteers (save for the commander and executive officer.) Organised in April 1916, the group was successively dubbed the Escadrille Americaine, Escadrille des Volontaires and finally the Escadrille Lafayette. Its achievements were modest, but it included several colourful characters who captured the public imagination and played a major role in gaining American sympathy for the Allied cause. When the United States finally entered the war, many Lafayette veterans helped prepare US Army Air Service and Navy pilots for combat, although a few chose to stay on with the French.

A resident of Leesburg, Virginia, Jon Guttman is currently research editor for Weider History Publications. Specialising in World War I aviation, he has written eleven titles for Osprey including the popular Balloon-Busting Aces of World War I in the Aircraft of the Aces series.