Reed McKinley Chambers

Name:

Country:

United States

Rank:

Major

Services:

United States Air Service

Units:

94^th Aero

Victories:

Born:

18 August 1894

Place of Birth:

Onaga, Kansas, USA

Died:

16 January 1972

Place of Death:

St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

The son of Mr. J. S. Chambers of Fort Huachuca, Arizona, Reed McKinley Chambers joined the National Guard in 1914 and served on the Mexican border in 1916. He transferred to the United States Signal Corps, Aviation Section, and was assigned to 94th Aero Squadron. With this unit he scored 7 victories flying the SPAD XIII. After the war, he and Eddie Rickenbacker formed Florida Airways. When the business failed in 1927, he formed an insurance company. In 1968, he broke the sound barrier when he was invited to copilot an F106.

He Helped Air Age Get Off the Ground
Oakland Tribune - Sunday, August 11, 1968

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Reed McKinley Chambers, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Montfaucon and Vilosnes sur Meuse, France, October 2, 1918. At 7. 40 o'clock Lieutenant Chambers saw four enemy machines (Fokker type) attacking another American machine (Spad type). He immediately went to its rescue, and after a few minutes of fierce combat he succeeded in shooting down one.

General Orders No. 14, W.D., 1920

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Oak Leaf Cluster

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Reed McKinley Chambers, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action over the region of Epinonville, France, September 29, 1918. While on a mission Lieutenant Chambers, accompanied by another machine piloted by First Lieutenant Samuel Kaye, Jr. , encountered a formation of six enemy machines (Fokker type) at an altitude of 3, 000 feet. Despite numerical superiority of the enemy, Lieutenant Chambers and Lieutenant Kaye immediately attacked and succeeded in destroying one and forced the remaining five to retreat into their own lines.

General Orders No. 14, W.D., 1920

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Oak Leaf Cluster

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Reed McKinley Chambers, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Montfaucon and Vilosnes sur Meuse, France, October 2, 1918. Lieutenant Chambers, while on a mission, at an altitude of 2, 000 feet, encountered an enemy two-seater (Halberstadt type). He immediately attacked, and after a brief combat succeeded in shooting it down.

General Orders No. 14, W.D., 1920

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Oak Leaf Cluster

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Reed McKinley Chambers, Captain (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near the Bois-de-la Cote-Lemonte, France, October 21, 1918. While on a voluntary patrol, Captain Chambers encountered five enemy planes (Fokker type), harassing our Infantry at an altitude of 300 meters. Attacking them without hesitation, he shot down two of them and drove off the others.

General Orders No. 14, W.D., 1920

Légion d'Honneur

A very brave pilot, who, by dint of his sterling qualities was a fine example for the whole squadron. When he was on patrol with eight of his comrades, he attacked 24 enemies who were scattered and he came back in our lines with his plane severely damaged.

Légion d'Honneur citation

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	26 Sep 1918	0552	94^th	SPAD XIII	Balloon	Nantillois
2	26 Sep 1918	1720	94^th	SPAD XIII	Fokker D.VII ¹	Cunel
3	02 Oct 1918	1730	94^th	SPAD XIII	Hannover CL ²	Montfaucon
4	02 Oct 1918	1740	94^th	SPAD XIII	Fokker D.VII	Vilosnes
5	10 Oct 1918	1548	94^th	SPAD XIII	Fokker D.VII	Doulcon
6	22 Oct 1918	1630	94^th	SPAD XIII	Fokker D.VII	Vilosnes
7	22 Oct 1918	1632	94^th	SPAD XIII	Fokker D.VII	Vilosnes

1	Shared with Lt Samuel Kaye Jr
2	Shared with Lt Edward Rickenbacker

Books

American Aces of World War 1: by Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey (Illustrator) / Paperback / Osprey Publishing (September 25, 2001)
Over the Front: by Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey / Hardcover / Grub Street the Basement (May 1992)

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