WW1 French Observer Wing Aero Armee de l'Air Lafayette Escadrille Plane SEE STOR For Sale

WW1 French Observer Wing Aero Armee de l'Air Lafayette Escadrille Plane SEE STOR
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WW1 French Observer Wing Aero Armee de l'Air Lafayette Escadrille Plane SEE STOR:
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PLEASE SEE STORELOT MORE --COMBINE SHIPPINGSAVE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$History of theArmée de l'Air(1909–1942)
The French roundel gave rise to similar roundels for other air forces.

TheArmée de l'Air(literally, 'army of the air') is the name used for theFrench Air Forcein its native language since it was made independent of the Army in 1933. This article deals exclusively with the history of the French air force from its earliest beginnings until its destruction after the occupation of France. French naval aviation, theAéronautique Navaleis covered elsewhere.[1]

Military aviation to 1914[edit]RestoredBlériot XIin Aéronautique Militaire markings.

During the first decade of the 20th century France was at the forefront of aviation progress, with pioneers such asLouis Blériot,Henri Farman,Gabriel Voisin,Édouard Nieuport,Gustave DelageandLouis Béchereauand this led to early interest in aircraft by the military. The French defeat during theFranco-Prussian Warof 1870–1871 was still very fresh, and France expected to face Germany again. From December 1909, the French Department of War began to send individuals from all branches of the army, especially engineering and artillery, to undergo flying training at civilian schools as "pupil-pilots" (élèves-pilotes) such as atReimsand Bron. In March 1910, theÉtablissement Militaire d'Aviation(EMA) was created to conduct experiments with aircraft and on 22 October 1910 theAéronautique Militairewas formed as a branch of the Army[2]under the command ofGeneralPierre Roques, although they would have to wait until mid-1911 the first military aviation brevets to be awarded to army pilots and 29 March 1912 for the law officially establishing theAéronautique Militaireto be passed.

Training of military pilots was the same as civilian pilots until 1910 when the General Staff introduced the military pilot license. Military pilot badge N°1 was issued toLieutenantCharles de Tricornot de Rosefollowing training at theBlériot Flying SchoolinPau, in southwest ofFrance, where the Wright Brothers had established the first aviation school the year before.

Shortly after theAéronautique Militairebecame be the world's first "air force" using aircraft, theGerman armybegan training airmen on 4 July 1910[citation needed]but didn't create an official formation until 1 April 1911 when it formed theköniglich-preußische Fliegertruppe.[citation needed]The BritishAir Battalion Royal Engineers(a precursor to theRoyal Flying Corps), was formed on 1 April 1911.[citation needed]TheArmée de l'Airwas renamed in August 1933 when it gained operational independence from the Army, much later than for the United Kingdom, but some 14 years earlier than that of the United States.

First World War[edit]1914 Morane-Saulnier L reconnaissance monoplane1915Voisin Vbomber1916Nieuport 23SPAD S.XIII, the most numerically important French fighter1918Breguet 14reconnaissance bomber

At the start of the First World War ("La Première Guerre mondiale"), France led the world in an aircraft design and by mid-1912 theAéronautique Militairehad five squadrons ("escadrilles"). This had grown to 132 machines and 21escadrillesby 1914, the same year when, on 21 February, it formally received a budget under the Ministry of War ("Ministère de la Guerre"). On 3 August, Germany declared war against France.

At the beginning of what eventually became known asFirst World War, theAéronautique Militaireconcentrated on reconnaissance with aircraft like theBlériot XI. On 8 October, though, the commander-in-chief,General Barès, proposed a massive expansion to 65 escadrilles. Furthermore, he proposed that four types of aircraft could be used for four different tasks:Morane-Saulnier Lswould be used as scouts,Voisin IIIsas bombers,Farman MF.11sas reconnaissance aircraft, andCaudron G.IIIsas artillery spotters.[3][4]

On October 5, 1914,SergentJoseph Franz and his mechanicCaporalLouis Quénault became the first to shoot down another aircraft when they downed a GermanAviatik. However, air fighting was revolutionized when a reconnaissance pilot,Roland Garros, mounted aHotchkiss machine gunon the cowling of hisMorane-Saulnier Lwith a mechanical interrupter mechanism. The inconsistent firing rate of the Hotchkiss prevented the mechanism from working properly and he added deflector wedges to the rear of the propeller blades, so that the wooden propeller would not be shot to pieces whenever he opened fire on German aircraft. With this setup, Garros became the world's first fighter pilot, but he was captured shortly afterwards when his engine failed.

Independently,Anthony Fokkersucceeded when he fitted aFokker M.5KEindecker(monoplane) with aParabellum MG14machine gunequipped with agun synchronizerbythe start of July 1915, thus changing the way in which the air war was fought, as German and Alliedfighter aircraftfought each other in the air, producing "ace" pilots. Some prominent French aces wereRené Fonck, who became the top-scoring Allied pilot of World War I with 75 enemy aircraft shot down,Georges Guynemer, who was killed after 54 victories,Charles Nungesser, who achieved 43 victories and survived the war, andGeorges Madonwho had 41 victories.

Prior to 1916, escadrilles operated a variety of different types of aircraft together to accomplish specific assigned tasks with the first fighters being distributed piecemeal to each escadrille. This type of organization was common at the time. In 1916, as a result of their failure to achieveaerial supremacyover theBattle of Verdunand the inability of the reconnaissance aircraft to track German movements, Charles de Tricornot de Rose grouped the newNieuport 11fighters into dedicated fighter units, so they could operate together more effectively. This so revolutionized air combat that the Germans were forced to follow suit shortly thereafter.

During this period the Lafayette Escadrille (designated N.124) was formed around a group of mainly American volunteers while their parent country remained neutral. Initially operating a mixture ofNieuport 11s,16sand17s, when theSPAD S.XIIIentered service, they would be redesignated S.124. The entry of the United States into the war resulted in most of their surviving personnel would be transferred to theU.S. Army Air Service (USAAS)in February 1918. The unit's leading ace was French-born AmericanRaoul Lufbery, who shot down 16 enemy aircraft (all but one with the Escadrille) prior to his death in action on 19 May 1918. Other American volunteer pilots, including the first black fighter pilot,Eugene Bullard, flew with regular FrenchAéronautique Militaire escadrilles.

By April 1917, theAéronautique Militairehad 2,870 aircraft with 60 fighter and 20 bomber squadrons and 400 observation aircraft, yet, by October, an even more radical expansion to over 300 squadrons was proposed. By May 1918, over 600 fighters and bombers came under the command of theDivision Aérienne. Two months later, long-range reconnaissance squadrons had been formed. At the armistice, theAéronautique Militairehad some 3,222 front-line combat aircraft on theWestern Front, making it the world's largest air force. During the war theAéronautique Militaireclaimed 2,049 enemy aircraft and 357 balloons destroyed, for some 3,500 killed in action, 3,000 wounded/missing and 2,000 killed in accidents.[5]Some 182 pilots of theAéronautique Militairewere deemedflying acesfor having scored five or more air-to-air victories.[citation NiD.29 C.1 fighter used in the early post-WW1 period.Nieuport-Delage NiD.62 C.1 fighter, mainstay of the Armée de l'Air in the late 20s and early 30s.

The end of war may have brought peace to France, yet the country itself and its infrastructure had been ravaged by four years of warfare, and the scars left behind were not just physical. As a result, it took some time for industry to recover. Not unexpectedly, orders for military aeroplanes dropped after the Armistice, resulting in reductions being made to squadron strengths.

France had aColonial empireextending around the globe, and it needed to be defended. Anti-Government elements inFrench Moroccowere clamouring to expel the French. On 27 April 1925, therefore, alongside tactical and logistical support, air operations in Morocco were begun owing to theRif Warand they were to continue until December 1934.[6]

In the 1930s, the French aeronautical industry was primarily composed of small companies such each only producing small numbers of aircraft. As a result, the French aeronautical industry proved itself incapable of delivering the aircraft that the annual fiscal budgets had called for which had been greatly increased as a result of Hitler coming to power in January 1933 and his remilitarization of Germany in defiance of the Allies and theTreaty of Versailles.[7]

Pierre Cot, the secretary of the French Air Force, decreed that national security was too important for the production of warplanes to be left in the hands of the private enterprises that were thus far failing to meet production goals. In July 1936 the French government began nationalizing many of the larger aircraft companies, creating six state-owned companies, which encompassed the majority of aeronautical production, and regrouping those companies to their geographical regions.Blochwas nationalized in January 1937. However, the aircraft engine industry, even as it proved incapable of providing the badly needed powerful engines, escaped nationalization.

Dewoitine D.510 monoplane fighters from the mid-1930s

By 1937, it was clear that more modern aircraft were needed, since the air force was still flying relatively antiquated aircraft like theDewoitine D.500and orders to construct more than 2,500 modern machines, among them theBloch MB.170bomber and theDewoitine D.520fighter resulted. The inadequacy of the French aeronautical programs, as well as indecision in high command resulted in the French Air Force being in a position of weakness, confronting a modern and well organizedLuftwaffe, which had just gained combat experience in theSpanish Civil War.

France attempted to respond to the likelihood of another European war via an intensive re-equipment and modernization program in 1938–39, as did other countries desperately in need of new aircraft includingPolandwhose 1939 orders of 160 MS-406 fighters from France still hadn't been delivered by the Germaninvasion of Poland. Germany production outstripped that of its neighbours, so it was a question of "too little, too late" as far as the French – as well as the whole continent of Europe – were concerned.[8]

An attempt was made to purchase the latest American bombers and fighters – or at least fighter planes. American planes were 50% more expensive than French models, and no superior models were for sale. U.S. law required cash purchases, and the French finance ministry opposed using its gold reserves for this purpose. French labor unions refused to lengthen its 40-hour week, and were strongly opposed to imports that would reverse the growth of jobs in the French defense industry. In any case, the American aviation industry was too small and too committed to orders from American forces to be of any help. Inevitably, the French industrial response fell far behind the German threat.[9]The British aircraft industry was working all out to rearm British forces.[10]

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