The path
towards
aerial dominance
begins with a
straight-faced
look upon the
battles of the
past — the
victories as well
as the losses
Capt ‘Astro’as he was known to his men — led the as
yet unnamed ‘Fiends’ overseas on August
23, 1917, sailing under a full moon on
the RMS Baltic. Destined for Liverpool,
they dodged a U-boat attack, ultimately
ending up in France within three weeks
of their departure from the US. The 36th
was spread among various units for both
combat and additional duties, but never
engaged in open warfare as a singular
ghting unit. That said, anywhere they
were assigned, squadron pilots were
e ective, regardless of their tasking.
The squadron tackled its initial trials in a
foreign land, ying the Nieuport 28, with
classic ghter pilot ingenuity: they ate
fruit appropriated from nearby orchards,
used old wine barrels to carry water,
and developed tactics for acquiring free
drinks from the local populace. It was
during this time that Roosevelt would
famously write in a letter home, ‘Father, I
command a wilder bunch of roughnecks
than your roughriders ever dared to be...’
On July 14, 1918, four days after his rst
con rmed kill, Lt Roosevelt embarked on
a mission with the 95th Reconnaissance
Squadron, high over the Second Battle
of the Marne. He became involved in
a dog ght with up to three German
pilots. At some point during the intense
engagement, Roosevelt was killed
instantly when two enemy bullets found
their mark, and his aircraft went down.
Though he was lost in a ght against
overwhelming odds, Roosevelt dished
out as well as he took: one of the German
pilots reported to his superiors that he’dcounted 20 holes in his own aircraft when
he landed.
Roosevelt was buried in France by
German soldiers with full honors.
Though his grave re ected the haste
of men at war, it also illustrated the
tremendous respect pilots on the
other side felt for a brave warrior,
fellow aviator, and truly great man.
Eddie Rickenbacker, a fellow squadron
commander at the time who achieved
26 aerial victories during the war, was
quoted as saying of Roosevelt, ‘We loved
him purely for his natural self.’Fabulous ‘Flying Fiends’
Following the ‘Great War’, what was
now the 36th Pursuit Squadron lay
dormant until October 2, 1930, when it
was reconstituted at Selfridge Field in
Michigan. In the decade that followed,
the unit took on many responsibilities
in a rapidly changing America, where
innovation was the fuel for a response to
stark economic necessity. The squadronBelow: F-86F
Sabres of the
36th Fighter-
Bomber Squadron
at Suwon. USAF
via author
Right: The 36th
FS’s fl agship
centenary jet and
wingman break
sharply for the
camera.FEATURE ARTICLE // 36TH FIGHTER SQUADRON
54 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net