''Escadrille Spa.76'' was a French fighter and reconnaissance squadron active during the First World War years of 1916 to 1918.

Cited A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...

for taking more than 3,000 aerial photographs for military intelligence purposes, the unit was also credited with destroying 26 German aircraft.

History

''Escadrille Spa.76'' was founded in August 1916 at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. Its original equipment of Caudron R.IV bombers was quickly replaced by

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

fighters, and the new unit designated ''Escadrille N.76'' before its 8 September transfer to the ''V Armee'' at

Muizon Muizon () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Muizon station has rail connections to Reims and Fismes. Population See also *Communes of the Marne department The following is a list of the 613 communes in the Fren ...

It was refitted with

SPAD S.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 ...

The Aerodrome website page on the S.

Retrieved 31 August 2020 and

SPAD S.XIII The SPAD S.XIII is a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by '' Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII. During early 1917, the French designer Louis Bé ...

The Aerodrome website page on the S.1

Retrieved 31 August 2020 fighters in late 1917, causing it to be renamed ''Escadrille Spa.76''.''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 97 After the war's end, on 2 February 1919, ''Escadille Spa.76'' would be

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for having fought in 440

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

s and destroying 26 German aircraft, as well as flying 70 reconnaissance missions resulting in more than 3,000 photographs.

Commanding officers

* ''Capitaine'' Rene Doumer: August 1916 - missing in action 26 April 1917 * ''Capitaine'' Jean-Jacques Perrin: 26 April 1917 - ? * ''Capitaine'' Eugene Verdon: ? * Lieutenant Pierre Vitoux: 6 May 1917

Aircraft

* Caudron R.IVs *

fighters: c. 8 September 1916 - late 1917 *

and

fighters: Late 1917 - war's end

End notes

Reference

* Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank (1993). ''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'' London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. . Fighter squadrons of the French Air and Space Force Military units and formations established in 1916 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