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''Escadrille 26'' is a squadron 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 ...
founded in 1914 and still active today.


History

Escadrille 26 was founded on 26 August 1914, at
Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...
. It was originally equipped with ''
Morane-Saulnier Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier and the Morane brothers, Léon and Robert. The company was taken over and diversified in the 1960s. History Model development ...
'' aircraft, leading to its designation as ''Escadrille MS26''. It went into action attached to VI Armée of the French ground forces until 24 September 1914; it then switched bases to the
Kingdom of Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southe ...
.Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 91. During 1915, it re-armed with ''
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 became ''Escadrille N26''. In June 1916, it moved to Cachy to join an improvised formation, ''Groupe de Combat de la Somme''. This ''groupe'' initially consisted of three other units in addition to ''Escadrille N26''—'' Escadrille N3'', '' Escadrille N103'', and '' Escadrille N73'' and became the famous '' Fighter Squadron Storks (Escadrille des Cigognes)'' . Command of the ''groupe'' was granted to Capitaine Antonin Brocard. On 1 November 1916, the ''groupe'' was formalized as '' Groupe de Combat 12'', Brocard commanding. On 16 April 1917, ''GC 12'' switched from ''VIII Armées theater of operations to that of X Armée and VII Armée; they were then involved in the
Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne ( or , 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a French Third Republic, Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the German Empire, German armies in France. The Entente ...
. During July 1917, the ''escadrille'' moved to
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 ...
to aid ''1er Armée''. On 11 December 1917, it would return to ''VII Armée''. As the year ended, the ''escadrille'' restocked with '' SPADs'', becoming ''Escadrille SPA 26''. In January 1918, ''SPA 26'' was posted to ''IV Armée''. It moved to ''VI Armée'' in March, and ''X Armée'' in June. It began July 1918 with ''V Armée'', and moved to ''1er Armée'' on the 29th. On 18 September 1918, the ''escadrille'' was posted back to IV Armée, and remained there until war's end. On 12 January 1919, ''Escadrille SPA 26'' was cited by IV Armée for the destruction of 51 enemy aircraft and the disability of 70 more. ''Escadrille SPA 26'' is still current in today's French Air Force.


Commanding officers

* Capitaine Robert Jannerod: 26 August 1914 - January 1915 * Capitaine Pierre de Malherbe: January 1915 - November 1915 * Capitaine Thobie: mid-November 1915 * Capitaine Jacques de Sieyes de Veynes: 17 May 1916 -
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 ...
3 July 1916 * Capitaine Victor Menard: July 1916 - April 1917 * Capitaine Mathieu Tenant de la Tour: April 1917 - Killed in flying accident 17 December 1917 * Capitaine Joseph M. X. de Sévin: 25 December 1917 - end of war


Notable personnel

*
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
Roland Garros *
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
Marcel Bernard Marcel Bernard (; 18 May 1914 – 29 April 1994) was a French tennis player. He is best remembered for having won the French Championships in 1946 (reaching the semifinals a further three times). Bernard initially intended to play only in the dou ...
* Major generalFranks, Bailey 1992, p. 148. Joseph M. X. de Sévin * Sous lieutenant
Noël de Rochefort ''Sous Lieutenant'' Noël Hugues Anne Louis de Rochefort was a French World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He was one of the original French aces.The Aerodrome websitRetrieved on 27 March 2010.Science & vie – 1916 Page 296 ...
*
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 ...
Gustave Naudin * Maréchal-des-logis Constant Soulier


Aircraft

* ''
Morane-Saulnier Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier and the Morane brothers, Léon and Robert. The company was taken over and diversified in the 1960s. History Model development ...
'': 26 August 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 ...
'': 1915 * ''
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 ...
'' * '' SPAD''


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. , .


Further reading

* Bailey, Frank W., and Christophe Cony. ''French Air Service War Chronology, 1914-1918: Day-to-Day Claims and Losses by French Fighter, Bomber and Two-Seat Pilots on the Western Front''. London: Grub Street, 2001. * Davilla, James J., and Arthur M. Soltan. ''French Aircraft of the First World War''. Stratford, CT: Flying Machines Press, 1997. * ''Les escadrilles de l'aéronautique militaire française: symbolique et histoire, 1912-1920''. Vincennes: Service historique de l'armée de l'air, 2004.


External links


Escadrille MS26 - N 26 - SPA 26
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 French Air and Space Force squadrons