The Lafayette Escadrille (from the French Escadrille de Lafayette), was an escadrille

Escadrille

Escadrille is a type of military unit in numerous armed forces, notably in air forces of continental Europe. While the term is sometimes translated to English as Squadron , escadrilles of nations other than the United Kingdom and United States were usually half the size.During World War II a...

 of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

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Dr. Edmund L. Gros, director of the American Ambulance Service, and Norman Prince

Norman Prince

Norman Prince was a leading founder of France's Lafayette Escadrille with Bill Thaw, Elliott C. Cowdin, Frazier Curtis, and Greeley S. Curtis, Jr....

, an American expatriate already flying for France, led the efforts to persuade the French government of the value of a volunteer American air unit fighting for France.