Flottille 17F is a squadron of French Naval Aviation which currently flies the

Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...

M from Landivisiau Naval Air Base. It was formed during April 1958 at Hyeres Naval Air Base and flew the Vought F4U7 Corsair for training purposes. Flottille 17F is nicknamed "La glorieuse". The symbol of the 17F flotilla is the

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

History

It quickly proved itself in the Algerian theater of operations and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. The squadron was dissolved in 1962, but later reformed on 10 January 1964 using the Dassault Etendard IV M with the

Super Etendard Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter/player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard button ...

entering service on 5 September 1980, 17F was the first flotilla to use the Super Étendard Modernisé. The Super Etendard aircraft composing the Flottille 17F regularly embarked aboard the French nuclear aircraft-carrier ''Charles de Gaulle''. Flottille 17F was involved in many conflicts such as: * Mission Olifant in 1983 in Lebanon; * Mission Prometheus for 14 months in the Gulf of Oman; * Mission Capselle off the coast of Lebanon in August 1989; * Opération Daguet during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. *

Former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

aboard Clemenceau and Foch between 1993 and 1996 *

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

( Mission Héraclès, Operation Agapanthe,

Operation Anaconda Operation Anaconda or the Battle of Shah-i-Kot was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban force ...

) aboard Charles de Gaulle from 2001 from the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

(

Opération Harmattan Opération Harmattan was the French participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. It was named for the Harmattan, which are hot dry winds that blow over the Sahara, mostly between November and March. The United States' counterpart t ...

) aboard Charles de Gaulle during 2011. Flotilla 17F was the last French unit to use the Super Etendard Modernisé aircraft which was retired on 12 July 2016.

Present day

The unit currently flies the

M F3-R.

Aircraft operated

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Vought, Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production con ...

– April 1958 to April 1962 * Dassault Étendard IVM – June 1964 to June 1980 *

Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (''Étendard'' is French for "War flag, battle flag", cognate to English "standard") is a French carrier-based aircraft, carrier-borne attack aircraft, strike fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation, ...

– September 1980 to July 2016 *

– September 2016 to date

References

External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 French Naval Aviation squadrons 1958 establishments in France Military units and formations established in 1958