The Groupe de ravitaillement en vol 2/91 ''Bretagne'' (french: Groupe de ravitaillement en vol 2/91 Bretagne) or Air Supply Group 2/91 ''Bretagne'' is a unit 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; ...

specialized in missions of air supply. Implanted on an Aerial Base, the unit is equipped with Boeing KC-135FR Stratotanker and Boeing C-135FR Stratolifter tanker/transports. Titled with 6 citations at the orders of the armed forces during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Bombardment Group Bretagne (french: groupe de bombardement « Bretagne »), which the group associates traditions which has been awarded the Fourragere of the war 1939-1945 at colors of the Order of the

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

History

The Bombardment Group Bretagne (french: groupe de bombardement « Bretagne ») was created on January 1, 1942 at

Fort-Lamy N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are th ...

, in

Tchad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic t ...

, from the permanent detachment of Aerial Forces of Tchad (french: Détachement Permanent des Forces Aériennes au Tchad, (DPFAT)). Becoming the bombardment group - Groupe de Bombardement Moyen II/20 Bretagne, the latter took part to various World War II campaigns including the Fezzan campaign,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the Liberation of Alsace and bombardments of Germany. In 1946, the unit became a Transport Group (french: Groupe de Transport), the group was numbered I/63 ''Bretagne'' in July 1947. The unit operated in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, until dissolution in 1963. The bombardment squadron - Escadron de 2/91, created previously on December 1, 1964 at the corps of the 91^e Escadre de Bombardement (french: 91^e Escadre de Bombardement), retook the traditions of ''Bretagne''. On April 1, 1965, the first

Mirage IV The Dassault Mirage IV was a French supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft. Developed by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft entered service with the French Air Force in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the ...

A arrived to the squadron. After a drop on the firing field of Colomb-Béchar, the squadron was operational in July and integrated the ensemble plan of the nuclear

force de dissuasion The ''Force de frappe'' ( French: "strike force"), or ''Force de dissuasion'' ("deterrent force") after 1961,Gunston, Bill. Bombers of the West. New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons; 1973. p104 is the designation of what used to be a triad of ...

until dissolution, on July 31, 1996. KC-135F refueling Mirage 2000 and F-18C 1994

The first unit of the French Air Force to be equipped with means of air supply was the 90^e Escadre on August 1963. Initially equipped with 12 C-135FR, the 90^e Escadre de Ravitaillement en Vol (ERV) and the other air supply units were spread at the corps of 3 Mixed Escadres Bombardment Mirage IV/C-135FR in 1965. In 1976, the Air Supply Escadrons/Squadrons (french: Escadrons de Ravitaillement en Vol) were united at the corps of the 93e Escadre de Ravitaillement en Vol (french: 93e escadre de ravitaillement en vol, 93^e Escadre de Ravitaillement en Vol) until 1993. On August 1, 1996, the Escadrons de Ravitaillement en Vol (ERV) 1/93 ''Aunis'' and 3/93 ''Landes'' were dissolved. The air supply means (french: moyens de ravitaillement en vol) of these two squadrons were regrouped at the corps of a new ERV 93 Bretagne created the day. The unit became the only composition of the French Air Force to put into effect air supply means with C-135FR. The 2 Escadrilles of ''Landes'' (SPA Bi 54 and SAL 22) were preserved at the corps of ERV 93, as well as the traditional escadrille ''Rennes'' and ''Nantes''. On September 1, 2004, the ERV lost the designation of Escadron/Squadron to become a Group and was designated Groupe de Ravitaillement en Vol 00.093 « Bretagne ». Since August 2009, the «Bretagne» has retaken the designation of Groupe de Ravitaillement en Vol 2/91 In 2012, the escadrilles ''Rennes', ''Nantes'' and SPA Bi were dissolved and replaced with three other units. On August 27, 2014, the 31^e Escadre Aérienne de Ravitaillement et de Transport Stratégiques was created on an Aerial Base. The latter regrouped GRV 2/91 ''Bretagne'' and the Specialized Technical Support Squadron (french: Escadron des Soutiens Techniques Spécialisés) (ESTS) 15/93.

Missions

The principal mission of this aerial unit is inscribed by the air support supply and transmissions of the

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 ...

N and

Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide ran ...

(F3) of the Strategic Air Forces. Since 1980, the C-135 have participated to the following operations: *

: Operation Manta (french:

Manta Manta or mantas may refer to: * Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Manta'' Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * Manta (comics), a character in American Marvel Comics publications * Manta (''Uridium''), a spaceship in the Bri ...

) (1983), Operation Épervier (french: Épervier), *

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

: Murène (1981/1982), *

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

: Chevesne (1984), *

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

: Daguet (1990/1991), Alysse (1991), *

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

: ACONIT (1992/96), * Bosnia and Herzegovina : Crécerelle, Salamandre (1993), *

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

: Operation Trident (french:

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

) (1999), *

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

: Enduring Freedom - Héraclès (2001/2002), *

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Opération Licorne Opération Licorne was a French Armed Forces peacekeeping operation in support of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire. The French forces had been stationed in the country since shortly after the outbreak of the Ivorian Civil War. Th ...

(french:

Licorne Licorne (russian: Единорог, ''Yedinorog'', 'unicorn') is the French name of an 18th- and 19th-century Russian cannon, a type of muzzle-loading howitzer, devised in 1757 by M.W. Danilov and S.A. Martynov and accepted by artillery commander, ...

) (2002), *

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

: summer 2003. *

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

Harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the ...

(2011) *

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Operation Serval Operation Serval (french: Opération Serval) was a French military operation in Mali. The aim of the operation was to oust Islamic militants from the north of Mali, who had begun a push into the center of Mali. Operation Serval followed the ...

(2013)

French KC-135 at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan

Equipment

* 11 C-135FRs, 12 purchased new from Boeing, first delivered in 1964. 1 was lost in 1972. * 3 KC-135RGs purchased used from US Air Force stocks in 1997. In 2014, it was announced that a demand for 12

Airbus A330 MRTT The Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is a European aerial refuelling and military transport aircraft based on the civilian Airbus A330. A total of 16 countries have placed firm orders for approximately 68 aircraft, of which 51 ha ...

''Phénix'', one to two exemplary to be delivered by 2018 to replace 14 C-135 as well as other aircraft in the French Air Force.titre=12 MRTT "Phénix" en commande pour l'armée de l'air

Successive denominations

* Groupe de Bombardement ''Bretagne'' : (1942 to 1943) * Groupe de Bombardement Moyen II/20 ''Bretagne'' : (1943 to 1944) * Groupe de Bombardement II/20 ''Bretagne'' : (1944 to 1946) * Groupe de Transport II/20 ''Bretagne'' : (1946 until July 1, 1947) * Groupe de Transport I/63 ''Bretagne'' : (July 1, 1947 until 1963) * Escadron de Bombardement 2/91 ''Bretagne'' : (December 1, 1964 until July 31, 1996) * Escadron de Ravitaillement en Vol 94 ''Bretagne'' : (August 1, 1996 until September 1, 2004) * Groupe de Ravitaillement en Vol 94 ''Bretagne'' : (September 1, 2004 until August 1, 2009) * Groupe de Ravitaillement en Vol 2/91 ''Bretagne'' : ( since August 1, 2009)

References

Bibliography