First Aero Squadron artifact

Can you help identify this artifact of the First Aero Squadron?

Alert reader Mark Davis sent me photos of this piece after reading my article on the First Aero Squadron in Mexico and wanted to know if I had any idea what this artifact is. It’s cast iron, about 6 inches tall, 5 inches wide, weighs about 3 pounds, and is hollow in back.

Firstaero artifact front view

Here is what I do know.

– This particular prop and wing emblem was used by Army aviation from 1920 to 1947, so it was probably made after the Mexican Punitive Expedition and World War I.
– AMC most likely stands for Aviation Maintenance Company, although it could stand for Air Materials Command (which only existed in 1946-47).

First aero artifact side view

Was this used to support something heavy, or was it purely decorative.

If you have any ideas what this might be, please leave a comment and I will pass your thoughts  on to the owner of the piece.

First aero artifact back view

The First Aero Squadron was the US Army’s first aviation unit. It was initially composed of eight Curtiss JN-4 Jennies, and first saw action during the Mexican Punitive Expedition when 10,000 troops under Gen. Pershing  hunted for Pancho Villa’s bandits after the Raid on Columbus in March 1916.

Learn more about the First Aero Squadron and the Mexican Revolution here.
Read The First Aero Squadron Chases a Bandit
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January 1945 in Montana

January 1 – Two new state supreme court justices were sworn into office.

January 3 – U.S. Navy carrier aircraft bombed Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands.

January 4 – Congress authorized $42 million for the construction of Hungry Horse dam.

January 5 – Two Nisei working at Essex for the Great Northern Railroad were arrested in Kalispell for impersonating FBI agents.

January 6 – A prisoner escaped from the Fort Missoula Detention camp.

January 8 – Margaret Park in Great Falls was renamed Charles M. Russell Park.

January 9 – The U.S. Army began landing at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. A Gore Field pilot died in a crash in the Yukon.

January 10 – Another Fort Missoula prisoner escaped.

January 12 – A major Soviet offensive began on the Eastern front. Civilian ammunition sales halted once again.

January 14 – Rep. James O’Connor died in Washington D.C. of a sudden heart attack at age 66.

January 16 – Vandals broke 100 windows at Lowell School in Great Falls.

January 18 – The Meatless Tuesday program was reinstated, as was butter rationing.

January 20 – Rep. James O’Connor was buried in Livingston.

January 21 – Hungary declared war on Germany.

January 22 – Chinese forces cleared the Ledo road, opening a land route to China.

January 25 – U.S. troops retook Clark Field in the Philippines. FBI agents arrested three Butte men suspected of operating a major auto-theft ring, and seized contraband tires, tubes and tools.

January 30 – Fire destroyed the Eager Company store in Winnett, the largest business in Petroleum County.

Read more about January 1945 in Montana

December 1944 in Montana

February 1945 in Montana

Montana History Calendar 1942

Montana History Calendar 1941

Montana History Calendar 1930s

Montana's Home Front During World War II
Montana’s Home Front During World War II
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