''Escadrille Spa.86'' was a

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; ...

fighter squadron active from 6 April 1917 through the end of World War I. They served as a component of ''

Groupe de Combat 14 A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. Air and aviation groups The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches ...

'', and were Cited in orders on 28 October 1918 for having downed 30 German aircraft.

History

''Escadrille Spa.86'' was formed as ''Escadrille N86'' because it was originally outfitted with Nieuport airplanes, although it had a few SPADs. Founded 6 April 1917 at Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base, France, it was immediately incorporated into ''

'' (Combat Group 14, or GC14).''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 99 GC14 began its operations with ''VI Armee''. On 10 May 1917, GC14 was transferred to ''II Armee'' on 29 June 1917. GC14 would be shifted three more times, late that year--to ''VI Armee'' on 11 October, to ''III Armee'' on 20 November, and to ''VI Armee'' eight days later. By early 1918, the squadron had gone all SPAD and was redesignated as ''Escadrille Spa.86''. It remained part of GC14. The ''groupe'' moved to ''III Armee'' on 24 March 1918 for a week, back to ''VI Armee'', then attached to the Royal Air Force Third Brigade on 15 April. It spent May 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, ...

. On 1 June 1918, GC14 was posted to ''X Armee''. On 9 October 1918, GC 14 moved to ''1er Armee''. That was their last posting, as the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

ended hostilities. On 28 October 1918, ''Escadrille Spa.86'' was cited in orders for having destroyed 30 German aircraft.

Commanding officers

* '' Capitaine'' Andre Brault: 6 April 1917 * Lieutenant Etienne Thieriz: 27 April 1917 * Lieutenant Antoine d'Aboville: 24 October 1918

Notable members

Colonel

Henri Hay De Slade Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

Aircraft

* Nieuport fighters: 6 April 1917 until early 1918 * SPAD fighters: From 6 April 1917 on

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 1917 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