Lt. Jacques Michael Swaab by Avi Heiligman

Forgotten Her es Lt. Jacques Michael Swaab

By Avi Heiligman

Frank Luke Jacques Michael Swaab Captain Eddie Rickenbacker

Advances in technology have totally changed the way the battles and wars are fought. Before World War I, battles were either fought on land or on the surface of the ocean or sea. The invention of the airplane and submarine added the sky and below the ocean’s surface as battlefields. The earliest combat pilots were just learning the skills that would help them survive and defeat the enemy in the air. Several American pilots stand out for their bravery while in aerial combat.

Many American airmen chose to fly with other Allied armies before the United States entered the war in 1917. Eddie Rickenbacker was the highest scoring American ace to have flown solely with the American Army’s Air Service. He had put his career as a race car driver on hold while training to become a pursuit (fighter) pilot. Together with other American pilots, he studied under a French fighter ace and entered combat in April 1918; he scored his first kill on April 28. By the end of the war, he had scored 26 aerial victories and had become the commander of the 94th Aerial Squadron.

Frank Luke was the second-highest scoring American ace with 19 aerial victories. He was the first American “ace in a day” and along with Rickenbacker received the Medal of Honor for actions in combat.

The only Jewish American fighter ace from World War I was Jacques Michael Swaab. He was born in Philadelphia in 1894. When Swaab was 18, he tried to fly a homemade plane, but the plane crashed into a wall. With the help of a family employee, Swaab soon had the contraption back up and running and successfully flew the airplane. Two months after the U.S. declared war in 1917, Swaab volunteered to fly as a test pilot. He was accepted right away because there were few volunteers to become a test pilot, but Swaab felt he needed more experience before entering combat. After joining the aviation corps, he was sent to Dayton, Ohio, where he learned under aviation pioneer Orville Wright. From there, Swaab was sent to train with the 22nd Aero Squadron that was training at Kelly Field in Texas and preparing for a deployment to Europe.

The 22nd Aero Squadron was a unit in the Army Air Service that was active for two years and saw action from August 1918 until the end of the war. They transitioned to a fighter squadron and flew the French-built Spad S.XIII biplane. While in action, they were under the command of Capt. Raymond C. Bridgeman. Five pilots in that squadron achieved the status of ace with at least five enemy aircraft shot down. Known as the Shooting Stars, the squadron shot down a total of 44 enemy aircraft along with 10 being attributed to Lieutenant Swaab.

Swaab first saw combat on September 8, 1918, when he shot down three planes near Cirey-Saarburg, France. The first plane he hit was a two-seater observation plane; the next two were Fokker D.VII. He later said that on that day he was petrified, and he was shocked when the when he realized that the wind caused him to fly over a German aerodrome. As he pulled around, he saw a German Fokker and shot him down with a burst of machine gunfire. As one of his guns jammed, Swaab saw that ten German planes were diving on him, and he pulled around to avoid their fire as he tried to head for the clouds. Swaab then shot down the leader of the pack but sustained three bullet wounds in the process. Finally, he made it to the cloud cover and eventually landed at a French aerodrome where he received medical attention for his wounds.

After spending a few days recuperating, Swaab rejoined his unit but was sent back to the rear for more rest. He soon returned to action and on September 28 was credited with his fourth aerial victory. The kill was shared with a squadron mate. His Distinguished Service Cross citation tells more of the story: “Lieutenant Swaab, although himself pursued by two enemy planes, perceiving one of his comrades in distress and in danger of being shot down, dived upon the enemy plane which was directly behind that of his comrade and shot the enemy plane out of control, forcing it to withdraw. His prompt act in going to the assistance of his comrade enabled the latter to escape.”

On October 23, Swaab shot down two more planes. One of the enemy planes had just shot down an American observation balloon. The enemy pilot was a skilled German ace Max Nather who was flying in a Fokker and had 26 kills to his record.

Swaab’s sixth victory was a Rumpler C reconnaissance biplane. Four days later, Swaab got two more planes while pursing two formations of enemy Fokkers along with his wingman. His last two victories were one plane each on October 29 and October 31. He earned his last victory after following the plane for twenty miles while it was trying to observe American lines. Swaab finished the war with ten confirmed and seven unconfirmed victories.

It took a lot of daring and skill to fly a plane in World War I. Swaab became a double ace in less than two months and 65 hours of combat flying. Although he never received the Medal of Honor – his superior officers tried submitting the paperwork, but it was for naught – Swaab’s record and stories in the air make him a forgotten hero.