The two-seater D.H.4 slipped down out of the low clouds and braved a sudden burst of enemy gunfire. Glancing back at his observer, Flight Commander Lt. Harold Goettler nodded towards the ground. Lt. Erwin Bleckley began dropping packages over the side. Somewhere below, hidden amidst the Argonne Forest and surrounded on all sides by Germans, lay the injured and dying men of America’s “Lost Battalion.” It was October 6, 1918, the date of the first aerial re-supply drop in combat history. Goettler and Bleckley, the heroes of the drop, were killed later that day during a second mission.

The story of the “Lost Battalion” is today more legend than fact. Actually, the men were never lost. They were cut off after a rapid advance beyond the front lines during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. By October 3, the battalion was encircled by the Germans. For the next four days, the Americans were subjected to continuous enemy attack, as well as a barrage from their own artillery. The 50th Aero Squadron completed the re-supply on October 7th.

The D.H.4s of history’s first recorded airdrop were designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. In the final year of the war, 4,700 of the big British biplanes were built under license in the U.S. Rugged, fast, and reliable, the D.H.4 was outfitted for every conceivable type of duty. Because its main fuel tank was located between the pilot and the engine—directly in the line of fire—the D.H.4 was labeled the “Flaming Coffin.” The D.H.4 was still in service in 1922 when Harold Goettler and Erwin Bleckley were posthumously awarded Medals of Honor. In fact, D.H.4s continued in U.S. military and government service for almost another decade.