Hardly six weeks after the entrance of the United States into the war cadets began sailing for France for training at the French flying fields, in order to get our flying men upon the front at the earliest possible date. Within a year 2,500 young American cadets had gone across the ocean or to Canada to seek instruction at French, English, Italian and Canadian flying schools. But the Allied nations found it impossible, under the staggering blows they were suffering, to furnish as many training planes as they had planned and many of these young men were not able to become effective at the front for a long time. But by the spring of 1918 some five hundred trained American aviators, organized in thirteen American squadrons, were working with the British and French airmen at the front. It was early in May, 1918, that the first German airplane fell a victim to an American airman in the American service. In that month also the first planes from home were received by the American Expeditionary Forces and early in August the first complete American squadron with American built and equipped airplanes and working with the American Army crossed the German lines. From various sources, including over 2,600 pursuit, observation and bombing planes furnished by the French Government to aid in the speedy equipment of our fighting forces, the American Army in France at the end of the war had a total of over 10,000 planes for pursuit, bombing, reconnoissance, experiment and training purposes. The United States had shipped overseas nearly 2,000 service planes and over 1,300 of these were at or supporting the front. In the battle zone at the signing of the armistice the American Air Service had 2,160 officers and 22,350 men, in the service of supply were 4,640 officers and 28,350 soldiers, while detailed with the French and British forces were 57 officers and 520 soldiers, making a total air strength of over 6,800 officers and 51,200 men. With the French army there were regiments of air service mechanics including 100 officers and 4,700 enlisted men. Under instruction at the fields and within two or three weeks of readiness for service at the front were pilots for pursuit, observation, and day and night bombing and observers, including artillery and day and night bombing, numbering all told a little over 2,000.