The 2^e Escadre de Chasse (2nd Fighter Wing) is a fighter formation of the Fighter Brigade of the

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

. After the dissolution of the ' (2è RAC) in September 1933, SPA 3 and SPA 103 became the first and third squadrons of the 1er group of the s2nd Fighter Wing in the course of creation at

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

. EC 2 was set up at Chartres at the end of 1936. Outfitted in early 1937 with a

Dewoitine D.500 The Dewoitine D.500 was an all-metal, open- cockpit, fixed- undercarriage monoplane fighter aircraft designed and produced by French aircraft manufacturer Dewoitine. Developed from a specification issued by the French Air Ministry during 1930 ...

, the wing was reequipped with a Morane Saulnier M.S.406 (MS 406) in April 1939. Created in November 1945 at Friedrichshafen, it was dissolved on September 9, 1994, at

Dijon Air Base Dijon-Longvic Air Base (french: Base aérienne 102 Dijon, ) was a French Air Force (french: Armée de l'Air) air base. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Longvic; about southeast of Paris. Operating as a joint civilian base ...

, then reformed on September 3, 2015, at

Luxeuil Air Base Luxeuil - Saint-Sauveur (french: Base aérienne 116 Luxeuil Saint-Sauveur or BA 116) is a medium size French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) base located near Luxeuil-les-Bains in the Franche-Comté region of France. It has t ...

. It now comprises the Air Force's most elite fighter squadron,

Escadron de Chasse 1/2 Cigognes Escadron de Chasse 1/2 Cigognes (Fighter Squadron 1/2 Cigognes) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 116 Luxeuil - Saint-Sauveur Air Base, Haute-Saône, France . It inherit ...

, Escadron de Soutien Technique Aéronautique 2E.004.

History

Storks

* Groupe de chasse 1/2 Cigognes (1 au 1) * Escadron de chasse 1/2 Cigognes (01/10/1949 au 09/09/1994)

Côte d'Or

* Escadron de Chasse 2/2 Côte d'Or (01/05/1951 until 01/10/1957) (01/04/1965 until 01/04/1966) * CMIR 2/102 Côte d'or (01/04/1966 until 01/11/1968) * Escadron de Chasse et Transformation 2/2 Côte d'or (french: Escadron de chasse et de transformation 2/2 Côte d'or) (01/11/1968 until 01/08/1993)

Alsace

* Groupe de chasse 2/2 Alsace (08/11/1945 until 01/10/1949) * Escadron de chasse 2/2 Alsace (01/10/1949 until 01/05/1951) * Escadron de chasse 3/2 Alsace (french: Escadron de chasse 3/2 Alsace) (01/05/1951 until 09/09/1994)

Others

* Groupe de Chasse 3/2 Berry (01/11/1945 until 01/04/1946) * Groupe de Chasse 4/2 Ile-de-France (01/11/1945 until 01/03/1946) * Groupe de Chasse 2/18 Saintonge (01/11/1945 until 01/03/1946) * Escadron de Chasse 3/2 Côte d'Or (01/10/1949 until 01/05/1951) * Escadron de Chasse 4/2 Coq gaulois (01/10/1949 until 01/04/1950)

Bases

* Friedrichshafen (1945-1947 until 1949) * Hanoi (1946-1947) * Nha Trang (1946-1947) * Coblence (1947 until 1949) * Aerial Base 102 Dijon-Longvic (french: Base aérienne 102 Dijon-Longvic) (1949 until 1994) * Aerial Base 116 Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur (french: BA116 Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur) since September 3, 2015

Equipment

* Spitfire Mk.IX ( 1945 until 1947) * P-47 D Thunderbolt (1948) * Vampire FB.5 (1948 until 1954) * Dassault MD-450 Ouragan (1953 until 1955) * North American T-6G (1956 until 1962) *

Dassault Mystère IV The Dassault MD.454 Mystère IV is a 1950s French fighter-bomber aircraft, the first transonic aircraft to enter service with the French Air Force. It was used in large-scale combat in the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six Day War. Design ...

A (1956 until 1961) *

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

C (1961 until 1975) *

B (1962 until 1986) *

E (1968 until 1985) *

BE (1971 until 1986) *

R (1983 until 1986) *

Dassault Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...

C (1984 until 1994) *

B (1984 until 1994) * Dassault Mirage 2000-5F (as of 2015)

References

* {{cite magazine , last=Gérard , first=Michel , title=Du Spitfire au Mirage 2000: Le 3/2 Alsace , magazine=Le Fana de l'Aviation , date=January 1986 , issue=194 , pages=4–11 , language=fr

External links

Traditions of the 2^e Escadre de Chasse
Military units and formations of the French Air and Space Force Fighter aircraft units and formations Military units and formations established in 1936 Military units and formations established in 2015