#OnThisDate February 5, 1918

#OnThisDate February 5, 1918 – Stephen W. Thompson shoots down a German airplane, achieving the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.Since his American squadron had not yet started flying missions, Thompson visited a nearby French bombing squadron , to observe preparations for a combat flight. A French observer became ill and Thompson was invited to replace him. Once inside German territory, Thompson’s bomber was attacked. While defending it, Thompson shot down an Albatros fighter over Saarbrucken. Because of Thompson’s unique status on this mission, he was not granted credit for his victory during the war. However, with the assistance of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, he was finally granted official recognition for the victory in 1967. #AnswerTheCrawl