The AEF aircraft after the Armistice were either burned in the million dollar bonfire or sold to small European countries to flesh out their fledgling air forces. Only minor examples were sent home. Mostly captured aircraft. Several types that were just coming off the factory floor were shipped directly from there for testing By NACA or at McCook field. Typically the USA wanted new SE 5a types Post war for fighter units.

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The AEF aircraft after the Armistice were either burned in the million dollar bonfire or sold to small European countries to flesh out their fledgling air forces. Only minor examples were sent home. Mostly captured aircraft. Several types that were just coming off the factory floor were shipped directly from there for testing By NACA or at McCook field. Typically the USA wanted new SE 5a types Post war for fighter units.

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Thanks Stephen. Forgive my newbie questions, but, million dollar bonfire? You mean they actually burnt some aircraft?
What has added fuel to this fire is this.
A chap on another forum is building a post WWI diorama and in a Maine backyard is a covered over Nieuport 17. Another member suggested it would be exceptional to find such a situation in 1920. I foolishly said I know the escdrille was transferred to the AEF and has a distinguished lineage, but thats a piece of paper and some good people. What about the actual aircraft? An "authority" promptly reamed me a new one for even thinking the actual aircraft did not come back to the U.S. Now my curiosity is aroused and I would like to know what actually happened with the real aircraft involved. Is there a reference for the aircrafts subsequent fate (other than googling LaFayette)?

Cheers from the Heart of North America
Will

The aircraft used by the American Volunteers stayed where they were, in French hands, the unit was a French Esc and under French control. It was just the men went over to US Aero Squadrons.Since it was war time it would have been stupid to trash these aircraft because the pilots left. The ex-Volunteer Esc was restocked with French pilots and continued to fly till the end of the war. Flypaper

Thanks Robby. I knew the American Escadrille became the LaFayete Escadrille and I believe that begat the 103 Aero Squadron . . . Then someone asked me what about the aircraft and I realized I didn't know. Hence the query. Cheers Will

". . . The SE5A in service with US squadrons in France plus an additional order of 100 and 50 more to be used as spares saw service in the US as front line pursuit aircraft, and later as pursuit trainers. . .The SE5A soldiered on along with the Spad XIII until 1924 with the delivery of the Thomas Morse MB-3A. Flypaper

I understand where it comes from. A great book by the way. But the plural is probably a reference to the inclusion of AIC training aircraft. One other recorded SE 5a in AEF hands post war was an instructor's aircraft. It had white sun rays painted over the PC12. it wound up in the rolls of the 138th Aero. "The last Aero sqd on the Rhine".

See: Cross & Cockade Intl. 25 #4 1994 “Charge of the Yellow Ram -138 th Aero Sqdn”

Now, I have the Issoudon 3rd AIC lists at home so tonight I'll do a search on Se 5a aircraft there. I know they had a training unit of Monosuopape, LeRhône and Clerget Sopwith Camels. But all of the aircraft at the 3rd AIC went back to the French or British. The exception was the Monosuopape Camels, several of these went to the USA "during the last days of the war".

Cross & Cockade Intl. 37 #2 2006 “Billy Bones - an accounting of the 31st Aero Sqdn at Issoudon”.
Cross & Cockade Intl. 37 #2 2006 “Issoudon and the 3rd AIC AEF”.
Over the Front Vol.21 #3 2006 “185th Aero - A shadow in the moonlight.”

By the way it was the Spad XIII aircraft from the 185th Aero that were among those sent to Poland in Jan 1919.

History points to 200+/- SE5As plus 400 +/- Spad VIIs and XIIs (mostly XIIIs) made it back to the US. From what I have read and having seen the AS serial list . . . A much more helpful list would be the Air Service A.S. serial list which would list all known SE5As used by the US AS post war.

". . .I feel there must have been a number of . . .Using the lists from the training fields you listed I feel is really not useful since the SE5As[sic] were a front line pursuit aircraft as far as the AEF was concerned and to [sic] important to be used as a training aircraft. Also since the 3 schools you mentioned were more or less under French influence its not surprising only one SE5 shows up among the Nieuports. . ."

". . .Also the McCook 'P' numbers list is not that much help in this case either since the McCook aircraft were a special collection of aircraft that were used for various experimental applications and/or research. . ."