# "CRUSADERS OF THE SKY" U.S. AIR FORCE in WORLD WAR I LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE DOCUMENTARY 22664

Crusaders of the Sky (No. AFMR-661) is a short World War I film produced by Allegro Film Productions that gives viewers a look at the first American pilots to fight in the war as part of the Lafayette Escadrille corps. The primary aircraft flown by members of the Lafayette Escadrille included the Nieuport 11, Nieuport 17, and the SPAD VII. The film opens with footage of WWI: viewers see the firing of artillery guns and soldiers running across No Man’s Land. Photographs show the aircraft used by the French during the war. Two men fly in a plane (01:10), one photographing the ground in an aerial photography mission. There is footage of a dogfight, and one plane fires a machine gun. Soldiers move through the trenches on the front lines (01:50). American soldiers gather around a truck in Europe. Photographs show American pilots with the French air force as part of the Lafayette Escadrille. Photographs show (03:17) Kiffin Rockewell, first American pilot to score a victory (03:17), James McConnell, and Victor Chapman. Footage shows men studying principles of aviation with model planes (03:40). A man examines a machine gun. A biplane takes off. Planes fly in formation. Viewers see a crashed plane of the Lafayette Escadrille (04:12). Pilots get ready to take off in their planes at an airstrip. The film features more photographs of American pilots, including some posing with the group’s lion mascots Whiskey and Soda. The American pilots have a snowball fight (05:00). Men ride horses…

- Kind: Documentary
- By: PeriscopeFilm
- Genres: War, Documentary, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/22664crusadersinthesky)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/22664crusadersinthesky?play=1)