|
 |
|
|
| |
George Augustus Vaughn learned to fly while attending Princeton University in 1917. He left school to join the Aviation Section of the Army Signal Corps and completed his training in England with the Royal Flying Corps. He was posted to 84 Squadron as an S.E.5a pilot in May 1918 and scored 7 victories before he was reassigned to the 17th Aero Squadron on 27 August 1918. Vaughn scored his first two victories with the American squadron on 22 September 1918. Twice that day, he engaged Fokker D.VIIs, downing Friedrich Noltenius of Jasta 27 and Karl Bauerbfeind of Jasta 34, before his own Sopwith Camel was shot down by Wilhelm Neuenhofen of Jasta 27. Vaughn scored 4 more victories by the end of the war. After graduating from Princeton in 1920, he took a job with the Western Electric Company as a research engineer. In 1928 he organized Eastern Aeronautical Corp. and became its president. Vaughn died, aged 92, at the Cornell University Medical Center in Manhatten.
|
The Times, Trenton, New Jersey, Wednesday, 2 August 1989, page A12 |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) |
| For conspicuous bravery in attacking enemy aircraft. On 23 August 1918, while on offensive patrol, he attacked an enemy kite balloon near Ham. Closing to almost point blank range, he fired upon it so that it burst into flames and was destroyed. Shortly afterwards, he observed an enemy two-seater near Maricourt. He attacked it, shooting it down from a height of 500 feet so that it was completely crashed. On 22 August, he drove to its destruction, an enemy two-seater near Villers Carbonnel. In all, he has accounted for six enemy aircraft, five machines destroyed and one driven down dompletely out of control, and on kite balloon.
DFC citation |
|
| |
| Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) |
| The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to George Augustus Vaughn, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Cambrai, France, September 22, 1918. Lieutenant Vaughn while leading an offensive flight patrol sighted 18 enemy Fokkers about to attack a group of five allied planes flying at a low level. Although outnumbered nearly 5 to 1, he attacked the enemy group, personally shot down two enemy planes, the remaining three planes of his group shooting down two more. His courage and daring enabled the group of allied planes to escape. Again on September 28, 1918, he alone attacked an enemy advance plane which was supported by seven Fokkers and shot the advance plane down in flames.
General Orders No. 60, W.D., 1920 |
|
| |
| Victories |
|
Date |
Time |
Unit |
Aircraft |
Opponent |
Location |
| 1 |
16 Jun 1918 |
2000 |
84 |
S.E.5a (D6149) |
Pfalz D.III (DES) |
Beaucourt |
| 2 |
24 Jul 1918 |
2035 |
84 |
S.E.5a (C6457) |
Fokker D.VII (OOC) |
E of Bray |
| 3 |
28 Jul 1918 |
0940 |
84 |
S.E.5a (C6457) |
Rumpler C (DES) 1 |
Harbonnières |
| 4 |
29 Jul 1918 |
0800 |
84 |
S.E.5a (C6457) |
Rumpler C (DES) 1 |
N of Bois de Tailles |
| 5 |
22 Aug 1918 |
1100 |
84 |
S.E.5a (E4012) |
Rumpler C (DES) 2 |
SE of Villers Carbonnel |
| 6 |
23 Aug 1918 |
1015 |
84 |
S.E.5a (E4012) |
Balloon (DES) |
Ham |
| 7 |
23 Aug 1918 |
1120 |
84 |
S.E.5a (E4012) |
Rumpler C (DES) 3 |
Maricourt |
| 8 |
22 Sep 1918 |
0845 |
17th |
Sopwith Camel (F6034) |
Fokker D.VII (DES) |
SE of Fontaine |
| 9 |
22 Sep 1918 |
1205 |
17th |
Sopwith Camel (F6034) |
Fokker D.VII (DES) |
SW of Cambrai |
| 10 |
28 Sep 1918 |
1745 |
17th |
Sopwith Camel (H828) |
LVG C (DES) |
51A M34 |
| 11 |
02 Oct 1918 |
0910 |
17th |
Sopwith Camel (H828) |
DFW C (DES) 4 |
E of Awoignt |
| 12 |
14 Oct 1918 |
0710 |
17th |
Sopwith Camel (H828) |
Halberstadt C (DES) 5 |
E of Bazael |
| 13 |
14 Oct 1918 |
1400 |
17th |
Sopwith Camel (H828) |
Fokker D.VII (DES) 4 |
NE of Hausey |
|
| 1 |
Shared with Lt Roy Manzer |
| 2 |
Shared with Lt Sidney Highwood |
| 3 |
Shared with Lt Carl Falkenberg |
| 4 |
Shared with Lt Howard Burdick |
| 5 |
Shared with Lt Howard Burdick, Lt L Myers |
|
|
| |
| 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)
- War Flying in France
- George A. Vaughn / Unknown Binding / Aerospace Historian Pub (1980)
|
|
| |
Aces · Aircraft · Books · Forum · Help · Medals · Search · Today
|
|
