 Hostile Sky by Russell Smith The final flight of Victor Chapman, the first US airman to
lose his life in combat. Chapman, a member of the famed Lafayette
Escadrille was flying his Nieuport 16 on June 23, 1916, on a personal
errand to deliver a crate of oranges to a hospitalized friend. While
in the air he noticed a dogfight in which he recognized three of his
squadron mates. Chapman joined the fight only to find that his squadron
mates had vanished and he was now alone against five German Fokker
monoplanes. The fight ended quickly with Chapman plummeting to his
death. |