Escadron de Chasse 1/7 Provence (Fighter Squadron) is a

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 ...

(Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter

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, ...

currently stationed at BA 104

Al Dhafra Air Base Al Dhafra Air Base ( ar, قاعدة الظفرة الجوية) is a military installation in the United Arab Emirates. The base is located approximately south of Abu Dhabi and is operated by the United Arab Emirates Air Force. Facilities The a ...

which flies the

Dassault 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 range ...

B & C. In 2006 it was the first unit to fly the

. The Squadron’s aircraft are marked 113-HA to 113-HZ.

History

* Groupe de Chasse I/7 : from 1932 until October 1942 * Groupe de Chasse I/7 Provence : from November 1, 1943 until July 1, 1947 * Groupe de Chasse I/1 Provence : from July 1, 1947 until November 17, 1951 * Escadron de Chasse 1/7 Provence : as of March 1, 1962

Origins until the Second World War

The EC 1/7

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

originated as Groupe de Chasse 1/7 GC 1/7 (Fighter Group)

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

in 1932. In turn, it traces its own origin back to two

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

squadrons: '' Escadrille Spa.15'' and '' Escadrille Spa.77''. In January 1939 the fighter group 1/7 relocated to

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

, and subsequently moved to

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 ...

after the 1940

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

. It was disbanded in October 1942. Successive attachments included: * 1ere Escadre de Chasse (french: 1^ere Escadre de chasse) : du 1 au 17 * 7e Escadre de Chasse (french: 7^e Escadre de chasse) : du 1 au 22 * 4e Escadre de Chasse (french: 4^e Escadre de chasse) : du 26 au 24

Indochina and Algeria

GC 1/7 was recreated in September 1943 as No. 328 Squadron RAF flying Spitfire Mark VB aircraft and participated in the North Africa campaign, the campaign to liberate Corsica and the Operation Dragoon, the landings in Provence, thus prompting the name Provence. At the end of

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 opposing ...

, the unit was awarded the "

Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France) Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

" and from December 1945 to January 1946, it received a consignment of captured Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" fighter planes. Groupe de Chasse 1/7 received its first

Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Microp ...

in April 1953, participated in the Algerian War and was reequipped with

Dassault Mystère IV The Dassault MD.454 Mystère IV is a 1950s French fighter-bomber aircraft, the first transonic aircraft to enter service with the French Air Force. It was used in large-scale combat in the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six Day War. Design a ...

operating out of

military base. It was disbanded in September 1961. Escadron de Chasse 1/7 Provence was recreated in March 1962 at

Nancy – Ochey Air Base Nancy-Ochey Air Base (french: Base aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey) is a front-line French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) base located approximately 11 km west-southwest of Neuves-Maisons in the Département de Meurthe-et- ...

(Air Base 133), using Mystère IV. In 1973, the Squadron became the first Air force unit to be equipped with the SEPECAT Jaguar and relocated to BA 113

Saint-Dizier – Robinson Air Base Saint-Dizier-Robinson Air Base (french: Base aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier) is a front-line French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter aircraft base located approximately west of Saint-Dizier, in the Haute-Marne department ...

. 1/7 Provence Jaguars engaged in combat missions in Mauritania (1978), in Chad (1980’s), in the Gulf War (1990-1991) and in Bosnia. After the Escadron de Chasse 2/11 Vosges was disbanded, 1/7 Provence was expanded to 3 flights: la SPA 91 (Eagle on a skull) in December 1996.

The Jaguar (JAG) era

In July 2001 the squadron received several two-seat Jaguars and the

Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, a ...

s previously used by Escadron de Chasse 2/7 Argonne.

The Rafale era

The Jaguars were retired in July 2005 and replaced by

one year later. In January 2007 1/7 Provence had twenty Rafale B and C. In March 2007 three Rafales were deployed to

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

, and carried out their first patrol over Afghanistan two days later. In September 2007, 1/7 Provence Squadron’s Alpha Jets were transferred to the newly recreated Escadron d'Entraînement 3/8 Côte d'Or (EE 3/8 Côte d'Or).

Constituent Escadrilles

* ''Escadrille 15'' * ''Escadrille Spa.77'' *GC III/7(6) Furie (since August 24, 2016)

Bases

* BA 113

Haguenau Airport Haguenau Airport is an airport in France, located about 2 miles southeast of Haguenau (Département du Bas-Rhin, Alsace); 15 miles north of Strasburg and 250 miles east of Paris. The airport supports general aviation, with no commercial airlin ...

: From December 25, 1944 until January 2, 1945 * Po Chen Tong Air Base : from November 17, 1945 until July 1, 1947 * Aerial Base 141 Oran la Sénia (french: :fr:Base aérienne 141 Oran la Sénia) : from April 1947 until end of 1950 * Aerial Base 156 Bizerte Sidi Ahmed (french: :fr:Base aérienne 156 Bizerte Sidi Ahmed) : end of 1950 until December 1961 de fin 1950 à décembre 1961 * BA 133

: from December 1961 until May 1973 * BA 113

: from May 1973 until June 24, 2016 * BA 104

: since June 24, 2016

Aircraft

Nakajima Ki-43 The Nakajima Ki-43 ''Hayabusa'' (, "Peregrine falcon", "Army Type 1 Fighter" ) is a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was o ...

II Hayabusa (from 1945 to 1946) * Supermarine Spitfire (from 1946 to 1953) * De Havilland Vampire (from 1953 to 1962) *

(from 1962 to 1973) * SEPECAT Jaguar (from 1973 to 2005) *

(2001–2007, aircraft marked 7-PA to 7-PZ) *

(since 2006)

References

Bibliography

* * * 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. . {{DEFAULTSORT:01.007 Fighter Squadron Provence Fighter squadrons of the French Air and Space Force Military units and formations established in 1932