''Escadrille 65'' of the

French Air 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; ...

was established during World War I. It was founded at Lyon-Bron Airport on 2 August 1915.

History

Though it was equipped with a mixed bag of aircraft, it was designated as ''Escadrille C 65'' for its Caudron G.IVs. It was assigned to ''VII Armee'' of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

on 24 October 1915. It was re-equipped in its entirety with Nieuports, and was redesignated ''Escadrille N 65'' on 21 February 1916. In June 1916, it was consolidated into an

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

''Groupe de Combat'' that was based at

Cachy Cachy () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Cachy is situated on the D168 road, some southeast of Amiens and near to Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme de ...

. Other ''escadrilles'' within the ''Groupe'' were '' N3'', '' N37'', '' N62'', '' N73'', and '' N103''. In early November 1916, ''Escadrille N65'' was reassigned into '' Groupe de Combat 13''. ''GC 13'' also contained ''

Escadrille N67 ''Escadrille 67'' of the French Air Force was founded at Lyon-Bron Airport during the First World War, on 17 September 1915. On 24 September, they were assigned to the ''IV Armee'' of the French Army. By late October, the ''escadrille'' was assig ...

'', '' Escadrille N112'', and ''

Escadrille N.124 The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the History of the Armée de l'Air (1909–1942)#World War I ( ...

''.Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 94-95. On 5 December 1916, ''Escadrille N 65'' received its first citation. As 1917 began, the ''escadrille'' was operating a mixture of ''

Spad VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and r ...

s'' and ''

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier N ...

s''. On 17 March 1917, the unit was detached from ''GC 13'' to support ''VI Armee'' in the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne (french: Bataille du Chemin des Dames or french: Seconde bataille de l'Aisne, 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the Germa ...

. The ''escadrille'' rejoined ''GC 13'' on 3 June 1917. In July, it moved to support the ''1er Armee'' in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. It was reassigned to ''II Armee'' on 11 August 1917. The following month, the ''escadrille'' moved once again, to support ''VI Armee''. The flying unit's second citation came through on 16 November 1917, lauding them for downing 68 enemy aircraft and five

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...

s. This second citation entitled the unit's members to the fourragere of the ''

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

''. The Summer of 1918 saw ''Escadrille 65'' subsumed into ever larger units. ''GC 13'' was consolidated into ''Escadre de Combat No. 2''; it in turn was assigned to ''1er Division Aerienne''. The ''escadrille'' continued its valorous service. It was cited twice in September 1918, on the 10th and 19th. The unit's personnel won the right to wear the fourragere of the '' Medaille Militare''. ''Escadrille 65'' ended the war credited with 108 enemy aircraft destroyed. ''Escadrille 65'' continues its service in the current French Air Force.

Commanding officers

* Lieutenant Louis Gonnet-Thomas: 2 August 1915 - 1 May 1916 * Lieutenant Georges Boillot: 2 May 1916 - killed in an accident 17 May 1916 * Capitaine Philippe Fequant: 18 May 1916 - early November 1916 * Capitaine Emile Billon du Plan: early November 1916 - killed in an accident 29 April 1917 * Capitaine Lamy: 30 April 1917 - ca 23 January 1918 * Capitaine Louis Sejourne: 24 January 1918 - end of war

Notable personnel

* Lieutenant

Charles Nungesser Charles Eugène Jules Marie Nungesser (15 March 1892 – presumably on or after 8 May 1927) was a French ace pilot and adventurer. Nungesser was a renowned ace in France, ranking third highest in the country with 43 air combat victories during Wo ...

* ''

Sergente Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

'' Jacques Gerard * ''Sergente'' Paul Sauvage * ''

Sous lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 19 ...

Eugene Camplan Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

* ''

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

'' Marcel Henriot * Lieutenant Joseph De Bonnefoy * Lieutenant Lucien Cayol * ''Sous lieutenant'' Constant Plessis * ''Capitaine'' Óscar Monteiro Torres (first Portuguese aviator to be killed in an air combat)

Aircraft

* Established with two

Nieuport 11 The Nieuport 11 (or Nieuport XI C.1 in contemporary sources), nicknamed the ''Bébé'', was a French World War I single seat sesquiplane fighter aircraft, designed by Gustave Delage. It was the primary aircraft that ended the Fokker Scourge in ...

s, three

Nieuport 12 The Nieuport 12 (or Nieuport XII in contemporary sources) was a French Biplane#Sesquiplane, sesquiplane reconnaissance, fighter aircraft and trainer used by France, Russia, United Kingdom, Great Britain and the United States during World War I. ...

s, three Caudron G.IVs *

s: January 1917 *

s: January 1917

Duty stations

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, an ...

Behonne Behonne () is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in northeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The com ...

, France: 24 February 1916 *

Endnotes

References

* Franks, Norman; Frank W. Bailey. ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918'' Grub Street, 1992. , .

External links

Escadrille N 65 - SPA 65
Fighter squadrons of the French Air and Space Force Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Military units and formations of France in World War I Military aviation units and formations in World War I {{France-mil-unit-stub