[World War I Photographica]:

$650 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

13th PROVISIONAL COMPANY, [U.S. ARMY AIR SERVICE]. A panoramic photo of the 13th Provisional Company, U.S. Army Air Service, a specialized training unit for aircraft mechanics. The photo features 112 soldiers in three rows (note the propeller insignia visible on several of the soldiers' sleeves, designating them as aviation mechanics). Four officers in campaign hats sit in the middle of the front row. The accompanying typed "Duty Roster" divides soldiers by "Sergeants," "Cooks," and "Privates," with tent and cot numbers added in manuscript. The officers are not included on the roster.The Air Service started as the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force in 1917, and then on May 24, 1918, merged with the Aviation Section, Signal Corps of the U.S. Army to become the U.S. Army Air Service. The Air Service's early organization fluctuated substantially during World War I, with numerous units (like this one) formed temporarily and then disbanded, renamed, or merged with other units. There is no record of this unit in the Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, although extrapolating from personnel records and oral histories, this unit was likely stationed at Hazelhurst Field or Mitchel Field, both located on the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, two of the largest air bases in the country at the time. This unit was likely formed toward the end of the war, and while they could not have known it at the time, most of these soldiers were never deployed

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