A flight is a small
military unit
Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hiera ...
within the larger structure of an
air force
An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
,
naval air service, or
army air corps; and is usually subordinate to a larger
squadron. A
military aircraft flight is typically composed of four aircraft, though two to six aircraft may also form an aircraft flight; along with their aircrews and ground staff. In some very specific examples, typically involving historic aircraft, a flight may contain as many as twelve aircraft, as is the case with the
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) of the British
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF). In most usages, two or more flights make up a
squadron. Foreign languages equivalents include (
French), (
Spanish), (
Portuguese), ''lanka'' (
Ukrainian), (
Romanian), (
Russian), and (
German).
In the case of a non-flying, or "ground flight", such as Mechanical Transport Flight (MTF), Supply Flight, Accounts Flight, etc; no aircraft, and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel may be utilised.
The term "flight" is also a basic unit for
intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
s (ICBMs).
Origins
The use of the term "flight" originated in the
United Kingdom to describe a collection of aircraft (typically four in the early days of aviation), and dates back to around 1912. It has been suggested that the term was coined by technical sub-committee of the
Committee of Imperial Defence, which was examining the British air arrangements around the same time.
Commonwealth flights
Aircraft flight
In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF), and the other air forces of the
British Commonwealth, from where much air force terminology emanated, an aircraft flight, in the first decades of air forces, was commanded by a
flight lieutenant (FltLt), a rank equivalent to
captain in armies and other air forces, or a naval
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 ...
. More recently, however, it has become common for a flight to be led by a
squadron leader (SqnLdr); a formal rank distinct from a squadron commander; equivalent to an army
major or naval
lieutenant commander.
On rare occasions, a flight may further be sub-divided into two sections, each containing two to three aircraft, which share ground staff with the other section, and are usually commanded by a flight lieutenant.
The Royal Navy's (RN)
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
(FAA), the
Army Air Corps (AAC), and other Commonwealth naval and army aviation arms also have flights. In the Fleet Air Arm, a flight could be as few as a single helicopter operating from a smaller ship.
Ground flight
A ground flight within an air force is roughly equivalent to a
platoon
A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...
in an army, and may be commanded by a flight lieutenant,
flying officer,
pilot officer, or
warrant officer
Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...
. These ground flights may carry out operational roles (such as
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
,
airfield defence, or
firefighting
Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...
), engineering roles (such as
aircraft maintenance, ground-based
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
, or other ground systems maintenance), support roles (including
medical
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
, dental,
physical training,
supply and logistics, training and education, and
legal
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...
units), or purely administrative roles (such as
finance
Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
, infrastructure, or
human resource management).
A flight is also a basic unit of guided missiles, such as
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...
s (SAMs).
American flights
The
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
(USAF) has three types of flights: numbered, alphabetic, and aircraft (which may be designated by alpha-numerics or name).
A numbered flight is a unit with a unique base,
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
,
group, or
Numbered Air Force
A Numbered Air Force (NAF) is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, major command (MAJCOM) and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squ ...
mission; such as training or finance, though not large enough to warrant designation as a
squadron. Numbered flights are uncommon, and are usually only found in
basic training facilities.
An alphabetic flight is an operational component of a flying or ground squadron, not an independent unit; alphabetic flights within a squadron normally have identical or similar functions, and are normally designated A, B, C, and so, on within the squadron. Flights in the USAF are generally authorised to have between 20 and 100 personnel, and are normally commanded by a company-grade officer (
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 ...
or
captain), and/or a flight chief, usually a senior
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
with the rank of
master sergeant or
senior master sergeant.
In USAF flying squadrons, the term flight also designates a tactical sub-unit of a squadron consisting of two or three elements (designated "sections" in
U.S. Army and
U.S. Naval Aviation), with each element consisting of two or three aircraft. The flight operates under the command of a designated flight leader. In
U.S. Army Aviation, the equivalent organisational level of a flight is called a "platoon", while in U.S. Naval Aviation the flight is known as a "division".
In
Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile units of the U.S. Air Force, a flight is composed of ten unstaffed launch facilities, remotely controlled by a staffed
launch control center, containing two personnel. Five of these flights make up one missile squadron. The Air Force has a total of 45
ICBM
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
missile flights.
Under U.S. military and
FAA common usage, for
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
and separation purposes, a "flight" of aircraft is simply two or more aircraft intentionally operating in close proximity to each other (typically in formation) under a designated "flight leader", without regard to military organisational hierarchy.
French flights
An (literal translations: "squad" or "small squadron") is the label given to flights in the air forces and navies of some French-speaking countries. While the term is frequently translated into English as "squadron", an was originally a smaller unit (whereas the French , also translated as "squadron", in the context of aviation is a much larger unit, comparable in status to a naval squadron).
The first air were formed in France before
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 ...
, in 1912.
They were initially a loosely defined group of aircraft capable of similar tasks, in most cases not more than six aeroplanes in each.
[ ] During the war, the became the basic independent unit of aviation within the French armed forces. An was a homogeneous unit, armed with a single type of aeroplane, with permanent flying and ground personnel attached, motorised transport and tent
hangars.
[ ] By mid-1915, the had grown to 119 of 10 aircraft each: 14 of fighters, 50 of bombers and the rest reconnaissance, spotter and communications units.
While initially operated independently, during the
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
(1916), (fighter) were formed into larger formations, for easier coordination.
[ ]
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, French usually fielded between 10 and 12 aircraft. Hence they were roughly equivalent to a German , Italian or Polish (10 aircraft in 1939). This was in contrast to air squadrons of the
British Commonwealth or
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, which usually had 12–18 aircraft, divided into two to four flights.
Until 1949, between one and four French formed a . Since then, however, have been subordinate to . As such, and are the equivalent of the German language terms and ; and the English language terms "
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
" and "
group" (the definitions of which also vary from one nation to another).
German flights
A (meaning swarm) as part of a (squadron) comprises four aircraft and can be further subdivided into twoships called (meaning rout, two aircraft). The tactical formation, however, is the ''twoship with hot spare'' (the English term is used), the third aircraft being released before reaching the target if none of the others had to be sent back earlier. The (meaning chain) of three aircraft is a historic term. These terms refer to groups of aircraft only and are not used for ground units.
See also
*
Finger-four
*
Naval air squadron
References
External links
RAAF: Structure— at the
Australian War Memorial website
{{Portal bar, Aviation
Air force units and formations