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79-635: Fighter Squadron 2/30 Normandie-Niemen ( Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen ) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron which flies the Dassault Rafale C from BA 118 Mont-de-Marsan Air Base . During a dormant period in 2009, the squadron was equipped with Dassault Mirage F1 CT fighters and stationed at the BA 132 Colmar-Meyenheim Air Base . The Normandie-Niemen Fighter Regiment (French: Régiment de Chasse Normandie-Niémen – (Russian: Нормандия-Неман ) has adopted

158-489: A Dassault Rafale unit, with its formal reactivation on 25 June 2012 as Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen at the BA 118 Mont-de-Marsan Air Base . The squadron was reattached to the 30e Escadre de Chasse on 3 September 2015, and reformed at the BA 118 Mont-de-Marsan Air Base. When General Charles de Gaulle called on Frenchmen to join him in London in his appeal of 18 June 1940, some went to Great Britain to fight with

237-665: A Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber. Eight days later, three pilots were shot down; three Fw 190s were also shot down. The squadron fought in the July Battle of Kursk , in which group commander Jean Tulasne and deputy commander Albert Littolff were killed. Pierre Pouyade , who joined the squadron after deserting from Vichy in Indochina, became commander. It became the focus of Soviet propaganda, and Wilhelm Keitel decreed that any French pilots were to be shot on sight. In August, French mechanics commanded by Alex Michel and Louis Duprat were sent to

316-768: A World War II Yak-1 belonging to the squadron in August 2018. In February 1945, Delfino reduced the squadron to two units: the 2nd and 3rd, commanded respectively by Captain de Saint-Marceaux and Captain Charles de La Salle. Other notable personnel included: Monuments and tombs of squadron pilots and unknown French soldiers are in the French Square (French: Carré français ) of Moscow's Vvedenskoye Cemetery . The remains of six other squadron members were repatriated to France in 1953. The 1960 Franco-Russian film Normandie-Niémen, directed by Jean Dréville and Damir Viatich-Berejnykh, explores

395-710: A division. Soviet diplomats liaising with the French National Committee , primarily Ambassador Alexander Bogomolov , announced that the Soviet government welcomed French aviators on the Eastern Front. On 19 February 1942, de Gaulle designated Luguet and Captain Albert Mirlesse (under the authority of General Valin) to negotiate with the Soviet Union. Negotiations were lengthy, and Colonel Pougachev (military chief of

474-565: A loss of 25 Yak fighters. The squadron became a regiment in 1944, with a fourth escadrille reinforced by North African pilots. After training on the Yakovlev Yak-9 D fighter in Tula, the regiment rejoined the front for its second campaign. The campaign was fought near Dubrovka and Gross-Kalweitchen (in East Prussia ) until 27 November 1944. The following day, Joseph Stalin gave the regiment

553-461: A monument by Russian sculptor Andrey Kovalchuk commemorating the squadron in Moscow's Lefortovo Park on 10 October 2007. The squadron was decommissioned on 3 July 2009, with the last takeoffs for Reims and Châteaudun in mid-July; after 17 July 2009, no aircraft flew out of Colmar–Meyenheim Air Base . Its regimental colors and some of its aircraft and pilots went to Mont-de-Marsan Air Base . Veterans of

632-449: A new unit tasked with keeping German observation craft from over the French lines. The ad hoc unit commandeered all available Morane-Saulniers and Nieuport 11s , as well as the 15 best pilots regardless of posting. This ad hoc unit patrolling the skies over Verdun was the first French Groupement de Chasse . The Groupement was successful despite Tricornet's death in a mishap. Under

711-536: A number of formations and designations since 1942. Originally formed as Groupe de Chasse Normandie 3 in 1942, it was re-designated as a regiment (with and without the "Niemen" designation) in 1944 and received four different squadron numbers (in 1953, 1962, 1993, and 1995) and two later regimental designations (in 2008 and 2011). The squadron, which served on the Eastern Front of the European theatre of World War II with

790-481: A total of 19 squadrons of Mirage III, Jaguars, two squadrons flying the Mirage 5 F (EC 2/13 and EC 3/13, both at Colmar ), and a squadron flying the Mirage F.1 CR. CoTAM counted 28 squadrons, of which ten were fixed-wing transport squadrons, and the remainder helicopter and liaison squadrons, at least five of which were overseas. CAFDA numbered 14 squadrons mostly flying the Mirage F.1 C. Two other commands had flying units,

869-725: Is organized in accordance with Chapter 4, Title II, Book II of the Third Part of the French Defense Code ( French : code de la Défense ), which replaced decree n° 91-672 dated 14 July 1991. Under the authority of the Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force (CEMAAE) in Paris , the Air and Space Force includes: The Air and Space Force headquarters, employing 150 personnel, are located alongside

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948-454: Is ready to be sent to the front"; it became operational on 22 March 1943. GC 3, equipped with the Yak-1 fighter, saw combat between Polotnyany Zavod and Monastyrshchina . It became the fourth squadron of the 18th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment . The squadron was part of the 1st Air Army . Pilots Albert Preziosi and Albert Durand shot down two Fw 190s on 5 April near Roslavl while escorting

1027-651: Is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces . Formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique , a service arm of the French Army , it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the French Air Force. On 10 September 2020, it assumed its current name, the French Air and Space Force, to reflect an "evolution of its mission" into the area of outer space . The number of aircraft in service with

1106-811: The Division Aerienne fought until war's end. By the time of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel , the French could commit 27 fighter squadrons to the effort, along with reconnaissance and bombing squadrons. The 1,137 airplanes dedicated to the battle were the most numerous used in a World War I battle. When the 11 November 1918 armistice came, French air power had expanded to 336 squadrons, 74 of which were SPAD fighter squadrons. France had 3,608 planes in service. Confirmed claims of 2,049 destroyed enemy airplanes included 307 that had been brought down within French lines. French airmen had also destroyed 357 observation balloons . However, 5,500 pilots and observers were killed out of

1185-629: The Groupement d'Unités Aériennes Spécialisées . Also created in 1964 was the Escadron des Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air (EFCA), seemingly grouping all FCA units. The Dassault Mirage IV , the principal French strategic bomber, was designed to strike Soviet positions as part of the French nuclear triad . In 1985, the Air Force had four major flying commands, the Strategic Air Forces Command ,

1264-517: The Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air command was reestablished under a different form. The French Air Force entered a phase of inventory replacement and expansion. The Air Force ordered the Airbus A400M military transport aircraft, then in development. By November 2016, 11 had already been delivered to ET00.061 at Orleans-Bricy, and integration of the new Dassault Rafale multi-role jet fighter

1343-515: The 1st Air Army , is notable as one of only three units from Western Allied countries to see combat on the Eastern Front during the war and was the only Western Allied unit which fought with Soviet forces until the end of the war in Europe. The 3rd Fighter Group (Groupe de Chasse 3, or GC 3) in the Free French Air Forces was initially a group of French fighter pilots sent to aid Soviet forces on

1422-723: The Air Force Training Command , and the Air Force Transmissions Command, with four squadrons and three trials units. Dassault Aviation led the way mainly with delta-wing designs, which formed the basis for the Dassault Mirage III series of fighter jets . The Mirage demonstrated its abilities in the Six-Day War , Yom Kippur War , Falklands War , and Gulf War , becoming one of the most popular jet fighters of its day and being widely sold. In 1994,

1501-673: The Battle of France in 1940. The Vichy French Air Force had later a significant presence in the French Levant . The engagement of the Free French Air Forces from 1940 to 1943, and then the engagement of the aviators of the French Liberation Army , were also important episodes in the history of the French Air Force. The sacrifices of Commandant René Mouchotte and Lieutenant Marcel Beau illustrated their devotion. After 1945, France rebuilt its aircraft industry. The French Air Force participated in several colonial wars during

1580-529: The Champs-Élysées . The squadron claimed 273 enemy aircraft shot down (37 probable), with a loss of 87 aircraft and 52 pilots. About 5,240 sorties were flown, and the unit took part in 869 dogfights . It destroyed 27 trains, 22 locomotives, two E-boats , 132 trucks, and 24 staff cars. Forty-two of the squadron's pilots were killed, and 30 were flying aces . Four pilots ( Marcel Albert , Marcel Lefèvre, Jacques André and Roland de la Poype ) became Heroes of

1659-686: The Chief of the Defence Staff (CEMA) on the deployment, manner, and use of the Air and Space Force. They are responsible for the preparation and logistic support of the French Air and Space Force. The CEMAA is assisted by a Deputy Chief, the Major Général de l'Armée de l'Air . Finally, the CEMAA is assisted by the Inspectorate of the French Air and Space Force (IAA) and by the French Air and Space Force Health Service Inspection (ISSAA). The Air and Space Force

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1738-576: The Chief of the Defence Staff 's offices (EMA) and the Army and Navy headquarters at the Balard armed forces complex in Paris. The new site replaced the former Paris Air Base (BA 117) which served as air staff headquarters until 25 June 2015. The French Air and Space Force has had three commands: two grand operational commands (CDAOA and CFAS) and one organic command (CFA). These last two brigades belonged until 2013 to

1817-647: The Escadron de Chasse 1/91 Gascogne were deployed at Corsica's Solenzara Air Base . From 13 to 25 April 2016, two Rafales from the squadron and two from the Escadron de Chasse 1/7 Provence were deployed to an RAF station as part of the Griffin Strike 2016 exercise. On 9 June 2017, the squadron celebrated its 75th anniversary. With help from the Russian Ministry of Defense , French historian Pierre Malinowski discovered

1896-510: The Rif War in 1925. His last cavalry regiment was the 4th Hussars in France. In 1926 Martial Valin volunteered as an aviator, serving as an observer in 1927 and then a pilot from 1928, specialised in night flying and bombing. In 1929 he became a captain, first as an escadrille commander, then as a staff officer. In the mid-1930s he became a staff officer with the air force general staff. In 1938 he

1975-766: The Royal Air Force or from the Île-de-France fighter group in England and from the Alsace Fighter Group North Africa. The eight British pilots were Aspirants Joseph Risso  [ fr ] , Yves Mahé, Marcel Albert , Marcel Lefèvre, Albert Durand , Yves Bizien , Roland de la Poype , and Lieutenant Didier Béguin. The six "Libyans" were Aspirant Noël Castelain , Lieutenants Raymond Derville , André Poznanski and Albert Preziosi, Captain Albert Littolff , and commander Jean Tulasne . De Gaulle ordered

2054-689: The Strategic Air Forces Command , COTAM, the Air Command of Aerial Defense Forces ( Commandement Air des Forces de Défense Aérienne , CAFDA), and the Force aérienne tactique (FATac). In 1964, the Second Tactical Air Command was created in Nancy to take command of air units stationed in France but not assigned to NATO . The Military Air Transport Command had previously been formed in February 1962 from

2133-615: The Yakovlev Yak-1 . The squadron's training on the Yakovlev Yak-7 and Yak-1 lasted from 2 December 1942 to 14 March 1943. On 20 March, French mission military chief in Moscow Ernest Petit, Ivanovo base commander Shumov, commander of the aerial base of Ivanovo, and Colonel Levandovich of the Soviet air force high command reviewed the group for two days. According to the reviewers, "By its military qualities and morals, this unit

2212-421: The 17,300 engaged in the conflict, amounting to 31%. A 1919 newspaper article reported that the French Air Force had suffered losses of 61%. Military aeronautics was established as a "special arm" by the law of 8 December 1922. It remained under the auspices of the French Army . It was not until 2 July 1934, that the "special arm" became an independent service and was totally independent. The initial air arm

2291-493: The 1960s, there were five air regions (RA). The number was then reduced to four by a decree of 30 June 1962 with the disestablishment of the 5th Aerial Region ( French North Africa ). The decree of 14 July 1991 reduced the air regions to three: « RA Atlantic », « RA Mediterranean » and «  RA North-East ». On 1 July 2000 was placed into effect an organization consisting of « RA North » (RAN) and « RA South » (RAS). The territorial division

2370-518: The 30e Escadre de Chasse. On 18 September 1992, the squadron celebrated its 50th anniversary. The celebration included a visit by Sukhoi Su-27s from the Russian Knights aerobatics team and a delegation of military veterans from the former Soviet Union , organized by French Defense Minister Pierre Joxe and the commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force . On 13 October 1993, the squadron

2449-518: The Air Force Support Command (CSFA), which maintained the arms systems, equipment, information and communication systems (SIC) as well as infrastructure. The CSFA supported the human element, the military logistics (supply and transport), wherever, previously, forces of the French Air and Space Force operated or trained. These two brigades are now subordinate to the CFA. The official designation of

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2528-486: The Air and Space Force (DRH-AAE) recruits, trains, manages, administers, and converts personnel of the Air and Space Force. Since January 2008, the DRH-AAE groups the former Air Force directorate of military personnel (DPMMA) and some tasks of the former Air Force Training Command . The directorate is responsible for Air and Space Force recruitment via the recruiting bureau. French joint defence service organisations, supporting

2607-598: The Allies. Britain became an important Free French military base and rallying point. When Operation Barbarossa broke the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on 22 June 1941, Soviet authorities declared their representatives of Vichy France persona non grata and asked them to return to France. Colonel Charles Luguet , the air attaché of the Vichy government in Moscow, changed his allegiance to Free French . De Gaulle, believing in

2686-546: The Eastern Front at the suggestion of Charles de Gaulle , leader of the Free French Forces , who felt it important that French servicemen serve on all fronts of the war. The group, first commanded by Jean Tulasne  [ fr ] , fought in three campaigns on behalf of the Soviet Union between 22 March 1943 and 9 May 1945. It destroyed 273 enemy aircraft and received a number of orders, citations and decorations from

2765-720: The Empire such as French Indochina after the Second World War. Since 1945, the French Air Force was notably engaged in Indochina (1945–1954). The French Air Force was active in Algeria from 1952 until 1962 and Suez (1956), later Mauritania and Chad , the Persian Gulf (1990–1991), ex- Yugoslavia and more recently in Afghanistan , Mali and Iraq . From 1964 until 1971

2844-729: The Free French and Soviet governments, including the French Légion d'Honneur and the Soviet Order of the Red Banner . Joseph Stalin named the squadron Niemen for its participation in the Battle of the Niemen River . In 2005, the squadron (now known as Escadron de chasse 1/30 Normandie-Niemen) flew Dassault Mirage F1 CT aircraft. It was disbanded in June 2010 and re-activated the following year as

2923-549: The French Air Force had the unique responsibility for the French nuclear arm via Dassault Mirage IV or ballistic missiles of Air Base 200 Apt-Saint-Christol on the Plateau d'Albion. Accordingly, from 1962, the French political leadership shifted its military emphasis to nuclear deterrence , implementing a complete reorganisation of the Air Force, with the creation of four air regions and seven major specialised commands, among which were

3002-552: The French Air and Space Force (CEMAAE) is a direct subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CEMA), a high-ranking military officer who in turn answers to the civilian Minister of the Armed Forces . The founding of the Service Aéronautique began in 1909, when the French War Minister approved the purchase of a Wright Biplane . The following year, another Wright biplane, a Bleriot , and two Farmans were added to

3081-413: The French Air and Space Force varies depending on the source; the Ministry of Armed Forces gives a figure of 658 aircraft in 2014. According to 2018 data, this figure includes 210 combat aircraft: 115 Dassault Mirage 2000 and 95 Dassault Rafale . As of 2021, the French Air and Space Force employs a total of 40,500 regular personnel, with a reserve element of 5,187 in 2014. The Chief of Staff of

3160-480: The French and Soviet people ... In giving the pilots of Normandie-Nièmen the honour of keeping their arms and allowing them to return to their homeland on their combat aircraft, the Soviet Union offered them the highest compensation. After postings at Bourget and Toussus-le-Noble , the regiment was assigned to Rabat-Salé Airport in Morocco in 1947. It was stationed in Saigon during the First Indochina War (1949–1951) before returning to Algeria . The regiment

3239-414: The Middle East and replaced by Soviet mechanics at the order of Captain Sergueï Agavelian. On 11 October, de Gaulle awarded the squadron the Order of Liberation . Only six pilots remained from the original group, which had 72 air victories, by the time GC 3 moved to Tula on 6 November. In their first year at the front, they claimed 86 kills (77 confirmed, 9 "probables") and 16 enemy aircraft damaged against

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3318-409: The Soviet Union . Forty-seven Axis planes were damaged, and eight train stations, five airfields, four garrisons and three factories were attacked. Its battle honours included Bryansk , Orel , Yelnya and Smolensk (1943); Orsha , Berezina and Niemen (1944), and Insterburg (later renamed Chernyakhovsk ), Königsberg (later renamed Kaliningrad ) and Pillau (now Baltiysk ) in 1945. Members of

3397-502: The Tactical Air Forces Command, the Military Air Transport Command , and CAFDA (air defence). CFAS had two squadrons of S2 and S-3 IRBMs at the Plateau d'Albion, six squadrons of Mirage IV As (at Mont de Marsan , Cazaux, Orange, Istres, St Dizier, and EB 3/94 at Luxeuil - Saint-Sauveur Air Base ), and three squadrons of C-135F , as well as a training/reconnaissance unit, CIFAS 328, at Bordeaux . The tactical air command included wings EC 3, EC 4, EC 7, EC 11, EC 13, and ER 33, with

3476-468: The air and space force, include: Commanded by a Lieutenant-colonel or Colonel, the Escadre is a formation that assembles various units and personnel dedicated to the same mission. In 1932, the "regiment" designation was replaced with "Escadre", which until 1994 was a unit consisting of the following: Escadres ( wings ) were dissolved from 1993 as part of the Armées 2000 reorganisation, were reestablished in 2014. The problems caused by having

3555-432: The aircraft maintenance units not responsible to the flying squadrons they supported eventually forced the change. Martial Henri Valin Martial Valin was born in Limoges . During the First World War he served as a soldier in the 4th Dragoons in 1917. He was soon selected for officer training and returned to active service in 1918 as an aspirant in the 3rd Chasseurs d'Afrique . With this regiment he took part in

3634-634: The arrival in Russia of the first twenty pilots for training and the formation of the squadron. The squadron appears in the Yuri Bondarev 1970–1971 Liberation film series about the Russian war from the Battle of Kursk to the Battle of Berlin , with Italian actor Erno Bertoli playing Pierre Pouyade. The character Lieutenant Duroc ( Patrick Chauvel ) describes his time with the Free French squadron in Pierre Schoendoerffer 's 1992 film, Dien Bien Phu . French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force ( French : Armée de l'air et de l'espace , lit.   ' Army of Air and Space ' )

3713-413: The battle of l'Aisne, during which he suffered from gas poisoning. In 1919 he received his commission as a sub-lieutenant and served with the 16th Dragoons, but in 1920 was sent on to the Saumur Cavalry School. He was then promoted to Lieutenant, serving with the 21st Moroccan Spahis in the French mandates in the levant and then the 22nd Moroccan Spahis in French Morocco, with whom he took part in

3792-432: The chief of these forces in 1941. In August 1941, Valin was appointed to a political role on the exiled Comité national français as the "air forces commissary". In 1944, Valin participated in the Liberation of Paris . In 1946, the U.S. Air Force awarded Valin the Aviation Badge of Command Pilote. Martial Valin died in 1980 in Neuilly-sur-Seine , and was buried in his town of birth, Limoges. A boulevard in Paris

3871-408: The civilian base had a zone reserved for the air force. As training aircraft, without spare parts, the planes were gradually cannibalized . A restored specimen is at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport's Musée de l'air et de l'espace . Soviet Chief Marshal Alexander Novikov wrote, The gift of the Regiment Normandie-Niémen of all the aircraft on which they flew demonstrated the sincere friendship between

3950-472: The civilian population. The last remaining squadron of Dassault Mirage F1s retired the aircraft in July 2014 and replaced them with Dassault Rafales . On 13 July 2019, President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of a space command, which would come into being within the French Air Force by September 2019, and the transformation of the French Air Force into the French Air and Space Force. According to Defense Minister Florence Parly , France reserves

4029-546: The creation of GC 3 on 1 September 1942, commanded by Pouliquen. Mechanics, pilots and hardware travelled by rail and air via Tehran to Baku . After lengthy negotiations with Colonel Levandovich, the military chargé d'affaires of international relations at the Soviet Air Ministry general staff headquarters, the group left Riyaq airfield on 12 November 1942 and arrived on 28 November at Ivanovo air base (250 km north-east of Moscow), via Iraq and Iran . The group were trained at Ivanovo in handling their first aircraft:

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4108-405: The end of 1944, 201 kills were claimed. The regiment went to Moscow in early winter for de Gaulle's diplomatic visit with Stalin; one-quarter of the pilots were given leave in France, reducing it to three escadrilles . The squadron began its third campaign (from Dopenen to Heiligenbeil ) on 14 January 1945, concentrating on East Prussia . From January to May 1945 ( V-E Day ), it participated in

4187-401: The end of the French accumulation of air power. On 14 May 1918, they were grouped into the Division Aerienne . As bombing aircraft were also being concentrated into larger units, the new division would also contain Escadre de Bombardement No. 12 and Escadre de Bombardement No. 13 . The bombing units were both equipped with 45 Breguet 14 bombers. The last addition to the new division

4266-485: The following day, again with no losses, for a two-day record. The regiment was based in Germany by November, the first French troops in Germany since the September 1939 Saar Offensive . At the end of the month, Colonel Pierre Pouyade ordered the 303rd Aerial Division emblem (to which Normandie-Niemen belonged) painted on the Yaks. Pouyade was released from command at the end of the year; replaced by commander Louis Delfino , he returned to France with other veteran pilots. By

4345-418: The importance of French soldiers serving on all fronts of the war, decided to engage forces on the Eastern Front in 1942. He initially proposed to send a mechanized division (the future 1st Free French Division , under General Edgard de Larminat ) to the Eastern front. British opposition and the advice of Free French Air Forces commander Martial Henri Valin , however, made him opt for an air unit instead of

4424-479: The invasion of East Prussia and the siege of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad ). In June 1945, Joseph Stalin decreed that combatants could return home with their arms. The squadron flew to Posen on 15 June, and to Prague the following day. They were received by General de Lattre de Tassigny in Stuttgart on 17 June. On 20 June, the squadron arrived at Saint-Dizier three days later. They were welcomed at Paris–Le Bourget Airport , and their 38 Yak-3s paraded down

4503-530: The inventories of the French. With the Groupes success, the French were encouraged to amass airpower into still larger tactical units. On 4 February 1918, Escadre de Combat No. 1 was created out of Groupe de Combat 15 , Groupe de Combat 18 , and Groupe de Combat 19 . It was followed by Escadre de Combat No. 2 , formed on the 27th from Groupe de Combat 11 , Groupe de Combat 13 , and Groupe de Combat 17 . Each groupe would be stocked with 72 fighters. The escadres were not

4582-450: The leadership of new commander Captain Auguste de Reverand, such flying aces as Georges Guynemer , Charles Nungesser , and Albert Deullin began their careers. Encouraged by the success of their original Groupement , the French massed several squadrons for the Battle of the Somme . The burgeoning French aircraft inventory afforded the formation of Groupement de Combat de la Somme under Captain Felix Brocard . The Groupement

4661-407: The lone acquisition. On 22 October 1910, General Pierre Roques was appointed Inspector General of what was becoming referred to as the Cinquieme Arme, or Fifth Service. In March 1912, the French parliament enacted legislation to establish the air arm. It was projected to consist of three distinct branches based on aircraft missions—reconnaissance, bombing, or countering other aircraft. France

4740-426: The mission in London) opposed a separate French group near the Red Army. Parallel negotiations in Moscow and Kuybyshev , the alternate Soviet capital, were fruitless. On 25 February 1942, the first list of pilots was given to the Soviets. The first commandant, Joseph Pouliquen, was tasked by De Gaulle with forming and commanding Fighter Group 3 (GC 3) in Lebanon while awaiting Soviet approval. Fighter Group Normandie

4819-434: The name Nieman (making it Normandie-Niemen ) in recognition of its participation in the battles to take over the Neman River region; it was common to give Soviet units the battle honour names of places at which they had fought. On 16 October, the first day of an unsuccessful offensive against East Prussia , the regiment's pilots claimed 29 enemy aircraft destroyed with no losses; twelve more German aircraft were shot down

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4898-476: The right to arm French satellites with lasers for defensive purposes. The official renaming occurred on 24 July 2020, with the new Air and Space Force logo unveiled on 11 September 2020. On 26 July 2023, FASF conducted its first ever joint fighter exercise with Japan , continuing its defense ties between the two countries. The Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force (CEMAAE) determines French Air and Space Force doctrines application and advises

4977-473: The service was changed in July 2019 from Air Army ( Armée de l'Air ) to Air and Space Army ( Armée de l'air et de l'espace ), when the previous joint Inter-Service Space Command ( Commandement interarmées de l'espace ( CIE )) under the French General Staff was transformed into the Space Command ( Commandement de l'espace ( CDE )) and absorbed into the Air and Space Force as its fourth command. All air regions were disestablished on 1 January 2008. In

5056-444: The squadron and a French contingent from the unit participated in the 9 May 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade in Red Square . The first Dassault Rafale with the squadron colors took off from Mont-de-Marsan Air Base on 25 August 2011, reviving the SPA 91 , SPA 93 , Escadrille Spa.97 and Escadrille SPA 97 squadrons. From 31 August 2015 to 18 September 2015, fifteen Rafales from the squadron's Escadron de Chasse 1/7 Provence and

5135-441: The squadron received the Légion d'Honneur , the Croix de la Libération , the Médaille militaire and the Croix de Guerre (the latter with six palmes ) from France, and the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Alexander Nevsky (with eleven citations between the two) from the Soviet Union. The squadron was part of the French Air Force, which ordered the transfer of its aircraft to Toussus-le-Noble in early February 1946;

5214-470: Was abolished by decree n°2007-601 of 26 April 2007. From 2008 to 2010 the French Air Force underwent the "Air 2010" streamlining process. The main targets of this project were to simplify the command structure, to regroup all military and civil air force functions and to rationalise and optimise all air force units. Five major commands, were formed, instead of the former 13, and several commands and units were disbanded. The Directorate of Human Resources of

5293-410: Was assigned four Nieuport fighter squadrons; again, each was sent to support a different French field army . On 10 January 1918, Groupe de Combat 16 was formed from four SPAD squadrons. In February, five more Groupe de Combats were founded from SPAD squadrons: Groupes de Combats number 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21. The various Nieuport models were now being phased out as the new SPADs filled

5372-487: Was being planned. By December, the plans called for 70 new squadrons. Meanwhile, even as procurement efforts scaled up, inventive airmen were trying to use various light weapons against opposing airplanes. Roland Garros invented a crude method of firing a machine gun through the propeller arc by cladding his propeller with metal wedges deflecting any errant bullets. After destroying three German airplanes, Garros came down behind enemy lines on 18 April 1915. His secret weapon

5451-433: Was created in late 1942 (the first date mentioned in the Marching Journal was 15 September) as "Normandie". Joseph Pouliquen suggested the name for GC 3; he had wanted to use the name of his province, Brittany , but it was already in use by a bombardment group. The first volunteer group consisted of 14 French fighter pilots and 58 mechanics, joined by 17 Soviet mechanics. The first 14 fighter pilots of GC 3 came from units of

5530-404: Was five protection squadrons, operating 75 Caudron R.11 gunships to fly escort for the Breguets. On 25 June 1918, Groupe de Combat 22 was founded. Groupe de Combat 23 followed soon thereafter. A couple of night bombardment groupes were also founded. Then, on 15 July 1918, the Division was committed to the Second Battle of the Marne . From then on, whether in whole or in part,

5609-521: Was formed on 1 July 1916 with a posting of four Nieuport squadrons: Squadron N.3 , N.26 , N.73 , and N.103 . Three other squadrons-- Squadron N.37 , N.62 , and N.65 were temporarily attached at various times. On 19 October 1916, three fixed Groupes de Combat were established, each to consist of four squadron. Numbered 11 , 12 , and 13 , they were only the first three Groupements . During March 1917, Groupe de Combat 14 and Groupe de Combat 15 were formed. Again, each new Groupe

5688-434: Was one of the first states to start building aircraft. At the beginning of World War I , France had a total of 148 planes (eight from French Naval Aviation ( Aéronautique Navale )) and 15 airships . In August 1914, as France entered World War I, French airpower consisted of 24 squadrons ( escadrilles ) supporting ground forces, including three squadrons assigned to cavalry units. By 8 October, expansion to 65 squadrons

5767-525: Was promoted to commandant and served with the 33rd Air Squadron (at this time a French "squadron" was equivalent to an RAF "wing") Appointed a military attache in Rio de Janeiro in 1940, he arrived in England in 1941 to assist the Free French. Vice-admiral Muselier had started to form the Free French Air Forces and Valin worked on this task under Muselier from June 1940, later being officially appointed

5846-727: Was renamed Escadron de Chasse 1/13 Normandie-Niémen. It later left Reims for Colmar–Meyenheim Air Base (Air Base 132) in Meyenheim , near Colmar in Alsace . In 1994, the squadron participated in Opération Turquoise in Rwanda and Opération Crécerelle in Bosnia and Herzegovina . On 9 May 1995, the 50th anniversary of Victory Day , the 18th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment of the Russian Air Force

5925-603: Was renamed Normandiya-Neman. Based in Galenki , Primorsky Krai , in the Russian Far East as part of the 11th Air Army , the regiment flies Sukhoi Su-25 ground-attack aircraft. On 1 July 1995, the squadron was renamed Escadron de Chasse 2/30 "Normandie-Niemen". Four years later, it participated in Operation Allied Force ( French : Opération Allied Force ). Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Vladimir Putin unveiled

6004-448: Was split in two in 1953, and one of the two squadrons became the Escadron de Chasse 2/6 Normandie-Niémen. After the dissolution of the 6e Escadre de Chasse , the squadron was attached to the 30e Escadre de Chasse and became the Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niémen. It returned to Orange, Vaucluse on 13 March 1962. The squadron moved to Reims – Champagne Air Base (BA 112) in June 1966, remaining there for almost 30 years as part of

6083-646: Was the cradle of French military parachuting , responsible for the first formation of the Air Infantry Groups ( Groupements de l'Infanterie de l'Air ) in the 1930s, out of which the Air Parachute Commandos ( commandos parachutistes de l'air ) descended. The French Air Force maintained a continuous presence across the French colonial empire , particularly from the 1920s to 1943. The French Air Force played an important role in WWII, most notably during

6162-532: Was thus exposed, and Anthony Fokker came up with the synchronization gear that by July 1, 1915 , turned airplanes into flying gun platforms. On 21 February 1916, the Verdun Offensive began. New weapons demanded new tactics. Commandant Charles de Tricornet de Rose was the original French pilot, having learned to fly in March 1911. This experienced flier was given a free hand to select pilots and airplanes for

6241-671: Was underway; the first 20-aircraft squadron became operational in 2006 at Saint-Dizier . In 2009, France rejoined the NATO Military Command Structure , having been absent since 1966. France was a leading nation, alongside the United States , United Kingdom and Italy in implementing the UN sponsored no-fly zone in Libya (NATO Operation Unified Protector ), deploying 20 fighter aircraft to Benghazi in defense of rebel-held positions and

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