Friedrich Wilhelm "Fred" Zinn was a volunteer American aviator of German descent who flew with French Armée de l'Air forces in World War I and an early pioneer of aerial photography for wartime reconnaissance and Military intelligence.
While visiting France in August 1914, he joined the French Foreign Legion shortly after the outbreak of World War I.
He served as gunner and bombardier with Escadrille F-14 from December 12, 1916, until October 21, 1917, often augmenting his bombing duties by taking reconnaissance photographs of enemy lines before returning to base.
By flying directly over enemy positions and taking photographs, Zinn provided French commanders with a far better view of the battlefield, and the techniques he and others developed soon became standard practice for both sides in the trench warfare style conflict.
At the close of war, Zinn remained in Europe leading a team of what could only be called investigators, with the mission to research, locate, recover and identify American Airmen who were listed as Missing in Action.