Paul Frank Baer

Name:

Paul Frank Baer

Country:

United States

Rank:

1st Lieutenant

Services:

French Air Service
United States Air Service

Units:

N124, Spa80 (FAS)
103^rd Aero (USAS)

Victories:

Born:

29 January 1894

Place of Birth:

Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

Died:

09 December 1930

Place of Death:

Shanghai, China

Cemetery:

Lindenwood Cemetery, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

The son of Mrs. Emma Baer Dyer of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Paul Frank Baer was a mechanic with the Cadillac Automobile Company in Detroit, Michigan from 1912 to 1916. He volunteered for service on the Mexican border in July 1916 and, in February 1917, he joined the Lafayette Flying Corps. In August of that year, he was assigned to Spa80 where he remained until January 1918 when he was reassigned to Escadrille N124. In February the American pilots of N124 transferred to the United States Air Service to form the 103^rd Aero Squadron. Baer scored his first victory during March and on 23 April 1918 he scored his fifth victory to become the first American ace of the United States Air Service. On the morning of 22 May 1918 Baer scored his ninth victory but was then shot down by a member of Jasta 18, possibly Hans Müller. Badly injured when his SPAD XIII crashed near Armentières, he was captured by the Germans.

Toward the end of 1919 Baer spent much of his time in New York where he was a prominent member of the American Flying Club and recruited fliers for an air squadron to help Poland fight the Bolsheviks. Baer Field, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was named in honor of Paul Frank Baer.

Local Aviator Dies In China
San Antonio Express - Wednesday, December 10, 1930
Lieutenant Paul Baer . . . Will Help Poland Win Liberty
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette - Sunday, November 23, 1919

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Paul Frank Baer, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism on March 11, 1918. First Lieutenant Baer attacked, alone, a group of seven enemy pursuit machines, destroying one, which fell near the French lines northeast of Reims, France. On March 16, 1918, he attacked two enemy two-seaters, one of which fell in flames in approximately the same region.

General Orders No. 128, W.D., 1919

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Oak Leaf Cluster

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Paul Frank Baer, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action. First Lieutenant Baer brought down enemy planes on April 5, 12, and 23, 1918, and on May 8, 1918. First Lieutenant Baer destroyed two German machines, and on May 21, 1918, he destroyed his eighth enemy plane.

General Orders No. 128, W.D., 1919

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	11 Mar 1918		103^rd		Albatros D	Cerney-les-Reims
2	16 Mar 1918		103^rd		Albatros C	Nogent l'Abbesse
3	06 Apr 1918	1855	103^rd		Scout	Somme-Py
4	12 Apr 1918	1217	103^rd		Albatros D	Proyart
5	23 Apr 1918	0955	103^rd		Albatros C ¹	St. Gobain
6	08 May 1918	1028	103^rd		Two-seater	Mont Kemmel
7	08 May 1918	1738	103^rd		Scout	Mont Kemmel
8	21 May 1918	1850	103^rd		Albatros ²	W of Ypres
9	22 May 1918	0945	103^rd		Albatros	Laventie

1	Shared with Lt C H Wilcox
2	Shared with Lt H A H Baker, Lt C H Wilcox, Lt C W Ford

Books

Franks, Norman. American Aces of World War 1. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2001

Franks, Norman and Frank Bailey. Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918. London: Grub Street, 1992

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