''Escadrille 103'' of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

was an elite aviation unit on the Western Front during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. One of its many aces,

René Fonck Colonel René Paul Fonck (27 March 1894 – 18 June 1953) was a French aviator who ended the First World War as the top Triple Entente, Entente fighter Flying ace, ace and, when all succeeding aerial conflicts of the 20th and 21st centurie ...

was the highest scoring Allied fighter-pilot.

History

Escadrille 103 was formed from '' Breguet Escadrille 17'', which was founded on 2 August 1914 at

Longvic Longvic () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It is the twin city of New Holland, Pennsylvania, due to a Case New Holland plant being located in Longvic. Population Personalities Rangers F.C. and Algeria defender ...

. On 16 November 1914, it re-equipped with

Voisin Voisin (French for "neighbour") may refer to: Companies *Avions Voisin, the French automobile company :* Voisin Laboratoire, a car manufactured by Avions Voisin * Voisin (aircraft), the French aircraft manufacturer * Voisin, a Lyon-based chocol ...

s, becoming ''Escadrille VB.3''. On 23 November 1914, it was posted to ''Groupe de Bombardment No. 1'', commanded by

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

Louis de Goys de Mezeyrac. On 4 March 1915, it was redesignated ''Escadrille VB.103''. As part of GB.1, the escadrille was cited for its valor on 27 May 1915. General

Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general, Marshal of France and a member of the Académie Française and French Academy of Sciences, Académie des Sciences. He distinguished himself as Supreme Allied Commander ...

issued the citation on 1 June. Foch would issue a second citation on 19 September 1915, based on the bombing raids of the 13th on

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

.Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 103. On 19 February 1916, the escadrille was converted to an ''escadrille de chasse'' (fighter squadron). It was issued

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

s and renumbered as ''Escadrille N.103''. On 16 April 1916, the unit was amalgamated into ''Groupement de Combat de la Somme'', along with Escadrilles N.26, N.73, and N.3. Escadrilles N.37, N.62, and N.65 were also temporarily assigned to the groupement. All seven units were placed under command of Brocard. On 1 November 1916, the original four squadrons, including ''Escadrille N.103'', were consolidated as ''Groupe de Combat 12'' (GC 12), under the continuing command of Brocard. The SPADs in GC 12 bore insignia of storks in different phases of flight and were known as "Les Cignones." On 28 January 1917, the unit was posted to the Xe Armée. It transferred to the VIIe Armée in March. On 12 July, it moved to support Ier Armée in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. GC 12, including ''Escadrille 103'', was transferred to VIe Armée again on 11 December 1917.Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 89. ''Escadrille 103'' continued its service within GC 12, as the group made transitions to support Xe Armée on 5 June 1918; Ve Armée on 17 July; to Ier Armée on 29 July; and to IIe Armée on 9 September 1918. It received its third citation on the 9th, though the first as fighter unit ''Escadrille Spa.103''. It was credited with destroying 85 enemy aircraft and disabling 69 others. Its final tally for the entire war was 108 enemy aircraft and three

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World ...

s destroyed. The heritage of the escadrille continues in the present day French air force; it is represented by the top bird on the Escadrille de Chasse 1/2 squadron emblem.

Commanding officers

* ''Escadrille VB.3'' ** Capitaine Georges Benoist: 2 August 1914 * ''Groupe de Bombardemente No. 1'' ** Chef de Bataillon Louis de Gous de Mezeyrac: 23 November 1914 -

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

27 May 1915 ** Capitaine Willermoz: 28 May 1915 - 15 June 1915 ** Lieutenant de Vaisseau Cayla: 15 June 1915 - 30 June 1915 ** Capitaine Max Boucher: 1 July 1915 - 22 October 1915 ** Lieutenant de Monju: 23 October 1915 - early February 1916 * ''Escadrille N103'' ** Capitaine Gallet: early February 1916 - 12 July 1916 ** Lieutenant Barbey: mid July 1916 ** Capitaine Jean d'Harcourt: late July 1916 - 27 March 1918 ** Lieutenant Joseph Batlle: 27 March 1918 - end of war

Notable personnel

Auguste Baux Adjutant Auguste Baux (9 July 1892 – 17 July 1918) was a French World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. Biography Baux first served in the infantry, and on 3 October 1914 during the fighting on the Western Front was taken p ...

Aircraft

Breguet Type IV The Breguet Type IV was an aircraft built by Breguet Aviation. It was first flown in 1911, and was the first Breguet aircraft to be produced in quantity. It was used by the French Army and the British Royal Flying Corps. It is notable for the ex ...

U1 & U2: August 1914 *

Voisin III The Voisin III was a French World War I two-seat pusher biplane multi-purpose aircraft developed by Voisin in 1914 as a more powerful version of the 1912 Voisin L. It is notable for being the aircraft used for the first successful shooting down ...

and

Voisin V The Voisin V was a French pusher-type bomber aircraft of World War I. Development history The Voisin III had proved a successful bomber, but its payload was limited by the Salmson M9 engine, which produced only 120-hp. With an already identi ...

: November 1914 *

Nieuport 11 The Nieuport 11 (or Nieuport XI C.1 in contemporary sources), nicknamed the ''Bébé'', is a French World War I single seat sesquiplane fighter aircraft, designed by Gustave Delage. It was the primary aircraft that ended the Fokker Scourge in 1 ...

and

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) is a French sesquiplane fighter aircraft, fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little large ...

: 1916 *

SPAD VII The SPAD S.VII C.1 was the first in a series of single-seat biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugge ...

and

SPAD XIII The SPAD S.XIII is a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII. During early 1917, the French designer Louis Bé ...

: 1917

Endnotes

References

* Franks, Norman, and Frank W. Bailey. ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918''. London: Grub Street, 1992. , .

External links

Escadrille BR 17 - VB 3 – VB – 103 – N 103 – SPA - 103

VB 103, N 103, SPA 103 Historique, Missions, Combats

Les Cigognes
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 French Air and Space Force squadrons