Escadrille 37

''Escadrille 37'' of the French Air Force was established at Chateauford, France in January 1915. Its original equipment of Morane-Saulniers led to its original designation of ''Escadrille MS 37''.

History

Initially, Escadrille MS 37 was posted to support ''II Armee'' of the French Army. During July, it began the transition to Nieuport two-seaters which would lead to its being redubbed ''Escadrille N 37'' on 20 September 1915.Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 92. In Spring 1916, the ''escadrille'' converted to Nieuport 11s. On 2 July 1916, the unit was forwarded to support ''VI Armee''. The ad hoc ''Groupement de Chasse de Cachy'' was there with its four assigned ''Escadrilles''; ''N 37'' and two other ''escadrilles'' were temporarily attached to the ''groupement''.

In January 1917, ''Escadrille N.37'' transferred to ''III Armee''. In early March, it moved to ''IV Armee''. At the same time, it began to rearm with SPADs; this would lead to its later redesignation as ''Escadrille SPA 37''. In March, it was incorporated into alarger unit, ''Groupe de Combat 15''. In July, ''Escadrille 37'' was again posted to ''II Armee''. In September, it returned briefly to ''IV Armee'' before once again being assigned to ''II Armee'' later in 1917.

As part of ''GC 15'', ''Escadrille 37'' joined in the ''groupe'' missions as it returned to support of ''IV Armee'' in mid-January 1918. The ''escadrille'' remained with ''GC 15'' as the latter was incorporated into the larger ''Escadre de Combat No. 1'' on 4 February 1918; subsequently that formation joined an even larger one, ''1er Division Aerienne'', on 14 May 1918.

On 4 October 1918, the ''Escadre'' and its constituent ''escadrilles'' were cited in orders. ''Escadrille SPA 37'' was credited with 50 confirmed victories and 35 probables to date. Subsequent victories before war's end are unknown.

''Escadrille 37'' served in the French Air Force until disbandment on 29 June 2010.

Commanding officers

* Capitaine Louis Quillien: January 1915 - KIA 3 April 1916
* Lieutenant Marcel Feierstein: 4 April 1916 - 19 December 1917
* Capitaine Marcel Bonnevay: 20 December 1917 - 4 February 1918
* Lieutenant Paumier: 5 February 1918 - KIA 4 June 1918
* Lieutenant Roger Poupon: 5 June 1918 - ?

Notable personnel

* Adolphe Pegoud
* Bernard Barny de Romanet
* Fernand Guyou
* Roger Poupon
* Georges Lienhart
* Etienne Tsu

Aircraft inventory

* Morane-Saulnier two-seaters: January 1915
* Nieuport two-seaters: From July 1915
* Nieuport 11: Spring 1916
* SPAD: From March 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. , .

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 MS 37 - N 37 - SPA 37

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French Air and Space Force squadrons