The 3^e Escadre de Chasse 3^e EC or 3rd Fighter Wing is a fighter formation of the Fighter Brigade (french: Brigade Aérienne de l'Aviation de Chasse) 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 Ar ...

History

Second World War

The 3rd Fighter Wing was formed on January 1, 1944 as part of the

Free French Air Forces The Free French Air Forces (french: Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL) were the air arm of the Free French Forces in the Second World War, created by Charles de Gaulle in 1940. The designation ceased to exist in 1943 when the Free Frenc ...

under Commandant Monraisse. The unit was constituted of Fighter Groups (GC) I/4 Navarre, GC I/5 Champagne, and GC III/6 Rousillon and flew the

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

. GC I/5 Champagne received a visit from Genéral Charles de Gaulle at Oran-La Senia on April 13, 1944. In May 1944, the wing reequipped with the P-39Q. MecanosP47

The I/4 Navarre was temporary attached to the EC 4 on June 1, 1944. Between July 17, 1944 and the end of October 1944, the Wing was reinforced with the GC III/3 Ardennes fighter squadron, flying the P-47, as well. GC I/4 Navarre joined the 3rd Fighter Wing on December 7, 1944. In the meantime, the latter reequipped with the

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bom ...

. Following disembarkation in Provence, the wing landed on Salon-de-Provence on September 30, 1944. Soon the wing moved to Vallon, situated at a dozen of kilometers. The 1st French Aerial Corps, made up of the 1st, 3rd, and

4th Fighter Wing The 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit. The wing is one of two Air Force uni ...

s was formed on December 1, 1944. The Navarre and Champagne squadrons were based at Aerial Base 278

Ambérieu-en-Bugey Ambérieu-en-Bugey (; frp, Ambèriô) is a commune in the department of Ain, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. It is the largest town in the arrondissement of Belley and the capital of the Canton of Ambérieu-en-Bugey which consists ...

. The Wing arrived at

Dole Dole may refer to: Places * Dole, Ceredigion, Wales * Dole, Idrija, Slovenia * Dole, Jura, France ** Arrondissement of Dole * Dole (Kladanj), a village at the entity line of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska * Dole, Ljubušk ...

towards the end of December 1944. The "Champagne" squadron lost its commander, Marin la Meslée, on February 4, 1945. The wing arrived in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

as of April 12, 1945, to participate to the clearing of Royan Pocket and Pointe de Grave (french: poche de Royan). The latter went back east on April 23, 1945 to garrison at Strasbourg-Entzheim Airport near Strasbourg. The Wing conducted its last war missions on May 1, 1945, the bad climatic conditions then preventing the P-47 to take off until the signature of the cease-fire, on May 8, 1945. The Wing flew over the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...

on May 9, 1945.

Germany

After a couple of months in Alsace, the Wing garrisoned at the field of

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The latter garrisoned there for twenty one months before rejoining Aerial Base 136 Friedrichshafen end of May 1947. The squadrons changed the designation on July 1, 1947 while becoming GC.1/3 Navarre and GC.2/3 Champagne. In June 1948, the pilots underwent training Spitfire Mk.IX on the Aerial Base 141 Oran la Sénia, based on the 1^er Escadre de Chasse. On August 1, 1948, an arms ceremony (french: prise d'armes) was held to celebrate the departure of the Wing to

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

Indochina

Navarre embarked on September 3, 1948 on the ''Pasteur'' and arrived at the end of month to Indochina at

Haiphong Haiphong ( vi, Hải Phòng, ), or Hải Phòng, is a major industrial city and the third-largest in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta. Haiphong wa ...

. The latter recuperated the Spitfire barely rested from pilots of the

. The 1st Escadrille (french: 1^re Escadrille) (SPA95) garrisoned at the field of Hano Gia Lam. The 2nd Escadrille (french: 2^e Escadrille) garrisoned accordingly on the field of Saigon Aerial Base 191 Tan-Son-Nhut. The "Champagne" squadron disembarked to the turn in Indochina on December 28, 1948. The command post of the latter was installed at Nha Trang, the 1st Escadrille was based at

Tourane Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is o ...

and the 2nd Escadrille at Tan Son Nhut. The 5th Fighter Wing arrived in Indochina as of end of July 1949 to relieve the 3rd Wing. The 1/3 Squadron embarked on the Champollion end of November 1949 to return to France, followed by the 2/3 in April 1950.

The first jets

Upon return from Indochina, the Escadre was reformed at Aerial Base 11 Reims-Champagne. Pilots went to Aerial Base 118 Mont-de-Marsan to conduct their transition on the

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

. On September 1, 1950, the hunter groups (french: groupes de chasse) adopted their designation referral as actual hunter squadron (french: escadron de chasse). In February 1951, the « la 3 » passed on the

Republic F-84E Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thun ...

, with the last Vampire flat taking lieu on March 29, 1951. The Escadre flew equally on the F-84G version. On January 1, 1953, the Escadre gained an additional squadron with the activation of the Escadron the Chasse 3/3 Ardennes. The first

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version. ...

flew with the "3" on May 4, 1955, the three squadrons being equipped end of May 1956. F-84G Navarre.jpg, F-84G du 1/3 Navarre F-84E Champagne.jpg, F-84E du 2/3 Champagne F-84G Ardennes.jpg, F-84G du 3/3 Ardennes

Suez

The 3^e Escadre played an important role during the Suez Crisis. Towards the end of the month of September 1956, some F-84F of the "3" were deployed on the British Air Base

RAF Akrotiri RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. The hunters (french: chasseurs) of the 3^e Escadre participated, along with the F-84F of the 1^re Escadre and the Allies of the

Royal Air Force 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) an ...

to operations on top of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, while targeting Aerial Bases. The 2/3 Champagne rejoined the base of Nancy in November 1956, followed by the 1/3 in December 1956 and the 3/3 Ardennes in March 1957.

Algerian War

During the Algerian War, the « 3 » patronized two escadrilles. In March 1956 until June 1957, pilots flew on SIPA S.111 and EALA 1/71. Passing on the T-6, the Escadrille became the EALA 19/72, sponsored by the « 3 » until the relieve of the 13^e Escadre in June 1958. The EALA 4/72 was sponsored and partnered with the 9^e Escadre from July 1956 until September 1958. The two escadrilles conducted their ground support missions from the bases

Tébessa Tébessa or Tebessa ( ar, تبسة ''Tibissa'', ''Tbessa'' or ''Tibesti''), the classical Theveste, is the capital city of Tébessa Province region of northeastern Algeria. It hosts several historical landmarks, the most important one being the w ...

and Aerial Base 211 Telergma, with detachments from Steif, Tiaret, Aflou and Bir El Alter notably.

NATO/OTAN

Mirage IIIE 529 3-JS BA117 2006 02 16 009

Following the dissolution of the EC 3/3 Ardennes on November 15, 1957, the Escadre of these two squadrons commenced their transition on the F-100 Super Sabre. The first Super Saber landed on a base at Reims beginning of 1959. The Escadre was attached to 4th Allied Tactical Air Force of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The 3^e EC left Reims in June 1961 and replaced the 13^e Escadre which just left Aerial Base 139

Lahr Lahr (officially Lahr/Schwarzwald since 30 September 1978) (); gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Lohr) is a town in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Freiburg im Breisgau, 40 km southeast of Strasbourg, and 95&nb ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. The latter filled the role of nuclear attack tactical missions. As of October 1965, Champagne started the transition on Dassault Mirage IIIE followed by Navarre end of November 1965. While passing on Mirage IIIE, the squadron changed missions and dedicated itself to aerial defense and tactical assaults. Pilots ensured an alert of five minutes.

Nancy

The Escadre left Germany in August 1967 to garrison at the actual base of Nancy-Ochey. Simultaneously, the latter abandoned the mission of tactical support to assume that of low altitude cover of bases of the Strategic Air Forces. In 1969, the Mirage IIIE of the « 3 » specialized in assaults with the

AS-30 The AS-30 was an air-to-ground missile built by Nord Aviation. It was a precision attack weapon designed to be used against high-value targets such as bridges and bunkers. The AS-30 was essentially a larger version of the earlier AS-20 design, an ...

having the aerial defense as a secondary mission. In 1970, the Escadre was equipped with the AS-37 Martel anti-radar missile. On July 1, 1974, the

Escadron de Chasse 3/3 Ardennes Escadron de Chasse 3/3 Ardennes (Fighter Squadron 3/3 Ardennes) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 133 Nancy – Ochey Air Base which flies the Dassault Mirage 2000D. See ...

was activated on Mirage 5F. The latter abandoned the hunter (french: chasseurs) delta of Dassault in April 1977, and flew accordingly on the Jaguar. The latter changed aircraft again to pass on the Mirage IIIE on June 1, 1987. The 3^e Escadre changed époque on July 31, 1991 when the 2/3 Champagne started to transition of the

Mirage 2000N The Dassault Mirage 2000N is a variant of the Dassault Mirage 2000, Mirage 2000 designed for nuclear strike. It formed the core of the French air-based Strategic nuclear weapon, strategic nuclear Deterrence theory, deterrent. The Mirage 2000D ...

. The 3/3 conducted the last flight on Mirage IIIE of the French Air Force on March 12, 1993. The three squadrons of the « 3 » evolved towards their actual aircraft, the

Mirage 2000D The Dassault Mirage 2000N is a variant of the Mirage 2000 designed for nuclear strike. It formed the core of the French air-based strategic nuclear deterrent. The Mirage 2000D is its conventional attack counterpart. Development The Mirage ...

. Towards the end (provisionary) of the new Escadre of the French Air Force, the 3^e Escadre was dissolved on June 23, 1995. The new Escadre returned in the organization of the French Air Force in 2014. The 3^e Escadre de Chasse was one of the first units recreated, on September 5, 2014.

Exterior Operations

In 2015, three Mirage 2000D of the Escadre participated to

Opération Chammal Opération Chammal is a French military operation in Iraq and Syria launched to help curtail the expansion of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to support the Iraqi Army. Its name comes from the Shamal (''Chammal'' in French), a ...

Escadrons/Squadrons in 2015

Since formation on September 5, 2014, the 3^e Escadre de Chasse is formed of four squadrons: *

Escadron de Chasse 1/3 Navarre Escadron de Chasse 1/3 Navarre (Fighter Squadron 1/3 Navarre) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 133 Nancy – Ochey Air Base which flies the Dassault Mirage 2000D. See a ...

(EC 1/3 Navarre) *

Escadron de Chasse 2/3 Champagne Escadron de Chasse 2/3 Champagne (Fighter Squadron 2/3 Champagne) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 133 Nancy – Ochey Air Base which flies the Dassault Mirage 2000D. S ...

(EC 2/3 Champagne) *

(EC 3/3 Ardennes) * Escadron de transformation Mirage 2000D 4/3 ArgonneLes premières escadres de l’Armée de l'air
sur le site du ministère de la Défense.

Escadrons/Squadrons history

Navarre

* GC I/4 Navarre (01/01/1944 to 01/05/1944 and 07/12/1944 to 01/07/1947) * GC I/3 Navarre (01/07/1947 to 01/11/1950) * EC 1/3 Navarre (01/11/1950 to 23/06/1995 and since 05/09/2014)

Champagne

* GC I/5 Champagne (01/01/1944 to 01/07/1947) * GC II/3 Champagne (01/07/1947 to 01/11/1950) * EC 2/3 Champagne (01/11/1950 to 23/06/1995 and since 05/09/2014)

Ardennes

* GC III/3 Ardennes (17/07/1944 to 31/10/1944) * EC 3/3 Ardennes (01/01/1953 to 15/11/1957 and 01/07/1974 to 23/06/1995 and since 05/09/2014)

Roussillon

* GC III/6 Roussillon (01/01/1944 to 01/03/1945)

EALA

During the Algerian War, the 3^e Escadre de Chasse sponsored two escadrilles of support light aviation (EALA): * EALA 1/71 (01/04/1956 to 30/06/1957) renamed EALA 19/72 (01/07/1957 to 06/1958, date to which the patronization was retook by the 13^e Escadres * EALA 4/72 (01/07/1956 to 01/08/1961)

Bases

* Trêves on Septembre 1945 * Aerial Base 136 Friedrichshafen in May 1947 * Aerial Base 112 Reims-Champagne (1950-1959) * Aerial Base 139 Lahr (1959-1967) * Aerial Base 133 Nancy-Ochey (since 1967)

Equipment

* Bell P-39N/Q Airacobra (01/01/1944 to Octobre 1944) * Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (12/10/1944 to July 1948) * Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX (June 1948 to April 1950) *

De Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

(October 1950 to March 29, 1951) * Republic F-84E/G Thunderjet (May 17, 1951 to 1956) *

(04/11/1955 to 1959) * SIPA S.111 (01/04/1956 to 30/06/1957) * T-6G (01/07/1956 to 01/08/1961) * F-100D (January 1959 to January 1966) * Dassault Mirage IIIE (29/07/1965 to 11/05/1994) * Dassault Mirage 5F (01/01/1974 to May 1977) * SEPECAT Jaguar (April 1977 to June 1, 1987) * Dassault Mirage 2000N (30/08/1994 to August 1998) * Dassault Mirage 2000D (since 29/03/1994)

References

Notes

* {{DEFAULTSORT:3e Escadre de Chasse Military units and formations of the French Air and Space Force Fighter aircraft units and formations Military units and formations established in 2014