Page:Air Service Boys Flying for France.djvu/155



passed, and each brought new inspiration to the two chums, as they saw how those valiant members of the American squadron carried out their part in whatever was going on.

Through his excellent glasses Tom watched many fights aloft. It was a good education for the boys, since by this means they learned just how the proficient pilots manoeuvred under attack and in defence. They also had abundant opportunities of seeing this or that aviator excecute the "grille" when threatened by a number of enemy planes that had fallen on him from the clouds overhead.

Each plane belonging to the Lafayette formation had an Indian head painted on the side. There was also the name of the pilot, or something to designate his identity, so that others in swift passing might know who handled the machine, for once in their "fighting togs" the men looked very much alike.

The French fighting planes on the other hand had red, white, and blue circles under the wings, and a distinctive insignia of the pilot on the sides.