''Escadrille 15'' is one of the oldest units 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 ...

, which was founded on 22 August 1912 at

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, France, and is still active.

History

Escadrille 15 was originally equipped with Robert-Esnault-Pelleterie K 80 machines. When World War I erupted, the ''escadrille'' went into action. It moved bases 16 times during August and September 1914. On 7 October 1914, it was posted to ''X Armee'' of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

.Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 90. On 30 March 1915, it re-equipped with

Morane-Saulnier L The Morane-Saulnier L, or Morane-Saulnier Type L, or officially MoS-3, was a French parasol wing one or two-seat scout aeroplane of the First World War. The Type L became one of the first successful fighter aircraft when it was fitted with a sin ...

aircraft, becoming ''Escadrille MS 15''. In September 1915, it traded machines again, gaining

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 ...

s and being renamed ''Escadrille N 15''. The ''escadrille'' was then consolidated into an

ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...

Groupe de Chasse ''Groupe de Chasse'' or ''groupe de chasse'' (usually abbreviated as GC) is the French language term for " fighter group" or "fighter wing". More literal translations include "pursuit group" (the US term for fighter groups prior to 1942) and "hun ...

'' along with ''Escadrille F 16'' and ''Escadrille N 57''. Under the command of Capitaine Paul de Peuty, this ''groupe'' was committed to the Third Battle of Artois. On 24 October 1915, the ''groupe'' was cited for its performance. In early March 1916, ''Escadrille N 15'' moved to the vicinity of

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

. On 8 May 1916, it was reassigned to ''X Armee''. On 13 December 1916, it moved again, to ''VI Armee''. It was gathered into the new ''

Groupe de Combat 13 A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. Air and aviation groups The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches o ...

'' on 12 March 1917. The ''escadrille'' was detached again from 17 March to 6 June 1917, to support ''VI Armee''. It then rejoined ''GC 13'' for the remainder of the war. On 17 October 1917, the ''escadrille'' was supplied with SPAD fighters, and became ''Escadrille SPA 15''. Under its new designation, the unit would twice be cited for its deeds. On 10 September 1918, it again shared in a ''groupe'' citation. Out of the 166 aerial victories scored by ''GC 13'', ''Escadrille SPA.15'' was credited with 73 victories over aircraft and seven over

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. ''Escadrille 15'' continues its service in the present French Air Force.

Commanding officers

* Capitaine De Chaunac Lanzac * Capitaine Rene Geible * Capitaine Max Boucher: 30 March 1915 - 30 April 1915 * Capitaine Rene Turin: 1 May 1915 - KIA 6 September 1916 * Lieutenant Georges Louis: 7 September 1916 - 15 September 1916 * Capitaine Yves de Chambaudoin d'Erceville: 16 September 1916 - early September 1917 * Lieutenant Paul Gastin: early September 1917 - 8 October 1917 * Lieutenant Ferdinand Chevillion: 9 October 1917 - war's end

Notable personnel

* '' Sous lieutenant'' Gabriel Guérin * ''Sous lieutenant'' Bernard Artigau * ''Sous lieutenant'' Lucien J. Jailler *

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

Armond J. Berthelot

Aircraft

* Robert Esnault-Pelterie K-80 *

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 ...

: September 1915 * SPAD fighters: 17 October 1917

Endnotes

References

* * Franks, Norman; 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'' Grub Street, 1992. , .

External links

Escadrille REP 15 - MS - 15 - N 15 - SPA - 15
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 French Air and Space Force squadrons