04/30/2007. Remarks by Jack Mckillop: "The US entered WW I in April 1917 and a month later, the War Department sent the Bolling Commission to Europe to inspect the aircraft industry and determine which aircraft to buy and produce.

One of those chosen was the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a and the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France bought 38 of them from the UK. In the US, the government placed orders for 1,000 S.E.5a's with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motors Corp. The Armistice in November 1918 halted production after Curtiss had completed only one aircraft, but 56 more S.E.5a's were constructed from components shipped from the UK.

In 1922 the Eberhardt Steel Products Co. received a contract to rebuild 50 of the USAAS's S.E.5A aircraft using 180-hp Wright-Hispano 'E' engines and plywood to cover the fuselage. The USAAS used these aircraft, redesignating them S.E.5E, for advanced training until 1927."