<p>The squadron's mission was reconnaissance. Villa's cavalry moved quickly over country that they knew well. The American force, new to the region and operating in a wilderness state that had only recently joined the United States, was in strange territory indeed.
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<p>The JN-3s had been flying for more than a year as trainers, receiving harsh treatment. Their 90-hp (67.5-kW) engines were operating in the heat and sand of the southwest. There were high mountains in the area with attendant turbulence and altitude problems, and it was a long distance from one point to another.
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<p>Captains Townsend F. Dodd and Foulois made one reconnaissance flight from Columbus, and then the 1st moved with Pershing to Casas Grandes, Mexico, about 100 miles (161 km) south of Columbus. All eight aircraft headed south to Casas Grandes. None made it the first try, and all landed somewhere else. Six did get to the base area the next day, but one was abandoned after a crash and the second missing plane had yet to be recovered after being downed by a leak in its fuel tank.
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<p>Flying conditions were abysmal. Planes of the 1st encountered hail, extreme turbulence that forced the planes down to treetop height in the rugged mountains, severe rain, and snowstorms. Propellers delaminated in the hot, dry climate and squadron mechanics removed the prop as soon as an airplane returned from its mission, placing it in a humidor to keep the glue holding. When an airplane was scheduled for flight, a different propeller was taken out of storage and mounted. But all this effort was almost wasted, as the basic performance of the JN-3 was simply insufficient to have any real value in the campaign.
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<p>Relegated to carrying dispatches between elements of Pershing's forces, the planes performed better. They still ran into rain, hail and snow, but they didn't have to operate in the Sierra Madre mountains, and that made the difference.
