The No. 341 Squadron also known in French as ''Groupe de Chasse n° 3/2 "Alsace"'', was a

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during

World War II 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 ...

History

No. 341 Squadron was formed on 15 January 1943 at

RAF Turnhouse Royal Air Force Turnhouse or more simply RAF Turnhouse is a former Royal Air Force Sector Station located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is now Edinburgh Airport. History The following units were here at some point: ;First World War * No. 26 Reserve ...

, with personnel from the Free French Air Forces ('' Forces aériennes françaises libres''), in particular the personnel of the Free French Flight (also known as Groupe de Chasse n°1 « Alsace » and before as Première Escadrille de Chasse (E.F.C. 1)), which had been operating in the Western Desert alongside various RAF fighter squadrons such as No. 33 and No. 73 squadron from 1940, and had earned an

Ordre de la Libération The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour ...

on 21 June 1941. The unit was equipped with Spitfire VBs, its first commander being

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

René Mouchotte Commandant René Mouchotte DFC (21 August 1914 – 27 August 1943) was a World War II pilot of the French Air Force, who escaped from Vichy French–controlled Oran to join the Free French forces. Serving with RAF Fighter Command, he rose to c ...

. The squadron moved to

RAF Biggin Hill London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. The airport was formerly a Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a smal ...

on 21 March 1943 and, re-equipped with Supermarine Spitfire L.F Mk.IXs, began to take part in sweeps over France. The squadron moved to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

on 11 October 1943 for similar operations over

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, returning to

RAF Merston Royal Air Force Merston or more simply RAF Merston is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located in West Sussex, England. History RAF Merston was built In May 1941, as a grass airfield satellite to the neighbouring RAF Tangmere. The si ...

on 14 April 1944 to join No. 145 Wing.

Pierre Clostermann Pierre Henri Clostermann (28 February 1921 – 22 March 2006) was a World War II French people, French fighter pilot. During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General ...

experienced his first aerial combat as a wingman of Sqn Ldr Mouchotte. After covering the Allied landings in France in June 1944, No. 341 Squadron moved from Tangmere to Sommervieu (B8 airfield) in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

on 19 August and arrived in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in September. Armed

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

sweeps over Germany were directed mainly at enemy communications for the rest of the war, apart from a month at

Turnhouse Turnhouse is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, near Maybury, Gogar, Cammo and West Craigs. The area is south east of Edinburgh International Airport, and Turnhouse is also the name for the former Royal Air Force ...

during February 1945 to equip with the Spitfire Mark XVI. On 27 November 1945,Rawlings 1978, p. 414. the squadron gave up its aircraft on transfer to

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...

and on the following day passed to the control of the

Armée de l'Air 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 Arm ...

. On 28 May 1945 the squadron was presented with the

(Cross of Liberation). During the war the Squadron flew 5,469 operations, claiming some 30 aircraft shot down, and losing 21 pilots killed and 6 taken prisoner.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (2nd edition 1976). .

External links

Squadron histories for nos. 310–347 sqn on RAFweb

Squadron histories for nos. 341 sqn at Royal Air Force website
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 341 Squadron Raf 341 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Companions of the Liberation

History

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links