History of the Armée de l'Air (1909–1942)
The Armée de l'Air (literally, 'army of the air') is the name used for the
Military aviation to 1914
During the first decade of the 20th century France was at the forefront of aviation progress, with pioneers such as
Training of military pilots was the same as civilian pilots until 1910 when the General Staff introduced the military pilot license. Military pilot badge N°1 was issued to Lieutenant Charles de Tricornot de Rose following training at the Blériot Flying School in Pau, in southwest of France, where the Wright Brothers had established the first aviation school the year before.
Shortly after the Aéronautique Militaire became be the world's first "air force" using aircraft, the
First World War
At the start of the First World War ("La Première Guerre mondiale"), France led the world in an aircraft design and by mid-1912 the Aéronautique Militaire had five squadrons ("escadrilles"). This had grown to 132 machines and 21 escadrilles by 1914, the same year when, on 21 February, it formally received a budget under the Ministry of War ("Ministère de la Guerre"). On 3 August, Germany declared war against France.
At the beginning of what eventually became known as
On October 5, 1914, Sergent Joseph Franz and his mechanic Caporal Louis Quénault became the first to shoot down another aircraft when they downed a German
Independently,
Prior to 1916, escadrilles operated a variety of different types of aircraft together to accomplish specific assigned tasks with the first fighters being distributed piecemeal to each escadrille. This type of organization was common at the time. In 1916, as a result of their failure to achieve aerial supremacy over the Battle of Verdun and the inability of the reconnaissance aircraft to track German movements, Charles de Tricornot de Rose grouped the new Nieuport 11 fighters into dedicated fighter units, so they could operate together more effectively. This so revolutionized air combat that the Germans were forced to follow suit shortly thereafter.
During this period the Lafayette Escadrille (designated N.124) was formed around a group of mainly American volunteers while their parent country remained neutral. Initially operating a mixture of Nieuport 11s, 16s and 17s, when the SPAD S.XIII entered service, they would be redesignated S.124. The entry of the United States into the war resulted in most of their surviving personnel would be transferred to the U.S. Army Air Service (USAAS) in February 1918. The unit's leading ace was French-born American Raoul Lufbery, who shot down 16 enemy aircraft (all but one with the Escadrille) prior to his death in action on 19 May 1918. Other American volunteer pilots, including the first black fighter pilot, Eugene Bullard, flew with regular French Aéronautique Militaire escadrilles.
By April 1917, the Aéronautique Militaire had 2,870 aircraft with 60 fighter and 20 bomber squadrons and 400 observation aircraft, yet, by October, an even more radical expansion to over 300 squadrons was proposed. By May 1918, over 600 fighters and bombers came under the command of the Division Aérienne. Two months later, long-range reconnaissance squadrons had been formed. At the armistice, the Aéronautique Militaire had some 3,222 front-line combat aircraft on the Western Front, making it the world's largest air force.
During the war the Aéronautique Militaire claimed 2,049 enemy aircraft and 357 balloons destroyed, for some 3,500 killed in action, 3,000 wounded/missing and 2,000 killed in accidents.
1918–1939
The end of war may have brought peace to France, yet the country itself and its infrastructure had been ravaged by four years of warfare, and the scars left behind were not just physical. As a result, it took some time for industry to recover. Not unexpectedly, orders for military aeroplanes dropped after the Armistice, resulting in reductions being made to squadron strengths.
France had a
In the 1930s, the French aeronautical industry was primarily composed of small companies such as
Pierre Cot, the secretary of the French Air Force, decreed that national security was too important for the production of warplanes to be left in the hands of the private enterprises that were thus far failing to meet production goals. In July 1936 the French government began nationalizing many of the larger aircraft companies, creating six state-owned companies, which encompassed the majority of aeronautical production, and regrouping those companies to their geographical regions. Bloch was nationalized in January 1937. However, the aircraft engine industry, even as it proved incapable of providing the badly needed powerful engines, escaped nationalization.
By 1937, it was clear that more modern aircraft were needed, since the air force was still flying relatively antiquated aircraft like the Dewoitine D.500 and orders to construct more than 2,500 modern machines, among them the Bloch MB.170 bomber and the Dewoitine D.520 fighter resulted. The inadequacy of the French aeronautical programs, as well as indecision in high command resulted in the French Air Force being in a position of weakness, confronting a modern and well organized Luftwaffe, which had just gained combat experience in the Spanish Civil War.
France attempted to respond to the likelihood of another European war via an intensive re-equipment and modernization program in 1938–39, as did other countries desperately in need of new aircraft including Poland whose 1939 orders of 160 MS-406 fighters from France still hadn't been delivered by the German invasion of Poland. Germany production outstripped that of its neighbours, so it was a question of "too little, too late" as far as the French – as well as the whole continent of Europe – were concerned.[8]
An attempt was made to purchase the latest American bombers and fighters – or at least fighter planes. American planes were 50% more expensive than French models, and no superior models were for sale. U.S. law required cash purchases, and the French finance ministry opposed using its gold reserves for this purpose. French labor unions refused to lengthen its 40-hour week, and were strongly opposed to imports that would reverse the growth of jobs in the French defense industry. In any case, the American aviation industry was too small and too committed to orders from American forces to be of any help. Inevitably, the French industrial response fell far behind the German threat.[9] The British aircraft industry was working all out to rearm British forces.[10]
September 1939 – June 1940
A re-organisation of the air force took place during September 1939. Prior to the reshuffle, the basic unit structure consisted of two
When the war began the Armée de l'Air suffered from disorganisation in government, armed forces and industry which had led to only 826 fighters and 250 bombers to be anything like combat-ready. Many more aircraft were not ready because of shortages of equipment and components, machine-guns had not been calibrated and some bombers lacked bomb-sights when they were delivered to squadrons. The French had no comparable organisation to the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and front-line pilots in France became responsible for ferrying new aircraft from factories to the squadrons, temporarily depleting front-line strength.
On 10 May 1940, the Germans had more aircraft and many aircrews were veterans of the war in Spain. French inter-service rivalry led a Potez reconnaissance aircraft crew, which had spotted a huge concentration of Panzers and supporting infantry units concealed in the Ardennes forests two days after the start of the invasion, not being believed by the army commanders who refused to act on what they called air force scaremongering.
The Armée de l'Air was beset by obsolete strategy, tactics, aircraft, weapons and even in communications, and the lack of equipment owing to "technical problems." Both became apparent when the Germans advanced swiftly through France and Belgium. On 11 May, nearly 20 French bombers and over 30 British fighter escorts were shot down attacking German crossings over the Meuse river. French fighter and bomber strength was rapidly depleted in May as Luftwaffe fighters and Flak shot down aircraft, which attacked the advancing Germans. Squadrons were often out of contact with any French army units that they were supposedly supporting, partly to the poor coordination of communication between the army and the air force and partly to the outdated, unreliable army communications equipment being used.
As it became clear that the war was lost for France, the high command ordered what remained of the Armée de l’Air to French colonies in North Africa to continue the fight, such that Armée de l’Air units were stationed at places like Alger-Maison-Blanche and Oran in Algeria and Meknes and Rayack in Morocco. The Vichy government ordered the dissolution of many of the air force squadrons, including the fighter unit designated GC II/4, nicknamed Les Petits Poucets. GC II/4 had been formed at Rheims in May 1939, then moved to Xaffévilliers by the start of the war. It flew US-built
At dawn on 10 May 1940, the day of the German invasion, Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the air base at Xaffévilliers, destroying six Hawks. By 15 May, GC II/4 was down to seven operational aircraft, which shot down a Heinkel He 111 bomber, four Bf 109s and possibly a Henschel Hs 126 observation aircraft for no loss. The good luck continued for GC II/4 when four enemy aircraft were destroyed the next day for no loss. Unfortunately, the aforementioned state of chaos with regard to preparing France for war was still evident when some GC II/4 pilots were shocked to discover that new Curtiss H-75A-3s being prepared at Châteaudun had vital equipment missing – including radios.
On 16 June, GC II/4 lost its second commanding officer in nine months when Commandant (Major) Borne took off on a reconnaissance sortie near Châtillon-sur-Seine and was shot down by three Bf 109s. The next day, nine unserviceable Curtisses were set on fire by ground crews at Dun-sur-Auron before 23 remaining were flown to Meknès in Morocco. GC II/4 was disbanded on 25 August 1940, having been credited with 14 aircraft shot down during the Drôle de guerre and another 37 after the invasion, for the loss of eight pilots killed, seven wounded and one taken prisoner.
Figures for aircraft losses during the Battle of France are still debated, although it is reasonable to suggest that the French did inflict considerable losses on the Germans. General Albert Kesselring reflected that Luftwaffe effectiveness had been reduced to almost 30 percent of what it had been before the invasion of France. The armistice of 22 June 1940 did not necessarily mean the end of the war for French pilots, those who escaped from France fought on in the Royal Air Force, ultimately the Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres) and the Armée de l'Air under RAF Bomber Command and those who remained flew for the French Armistice Air Force on behalf of the Vichy government.
Vichy: June 1940 – December 1942
In a parallel of what had happened to Germany after World War I, the French government, now with its seat moved to Vichy, was forced by the Germans to accept its terms for a reduced army and navy, both of which would be only strong enough to maintain order in France and in its colonies. (It is of interest to note that France was allowed to keep her colonies, whereas Germany had been forced to cede all of hers under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919.) Germany ordered that, with regard to the warplanes that had survived the Battle of France, including those now stationed in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, they were to be surrendered, either in whole or else already disassembled, if not destroyed altogether – again a parallel of what had happened to Germany's air force in 1919.
However, Vichy's air force was spared (for the moment) from non-existence owing to the consequences of an event which would damage, if not completely change, the relationship between occupied France and free Britain. Winston Churchill had no intention of allowing the French Navy's capital ships to remain intact so long as there was any chance of them essentially becoming adjuncts of the Kriegsmarine (German navy). The last thing he wanted was for the Kriegsmarine to bolstered enough to attempt an invasion of Britain.
He implemented the plan – codenamed "
Vichy and Berlin agreed, if reluctantly, that the
Nearly three months afterwards, on 23 September 1940, the Vichy air force saw action again when the British tried to take Dakar, the capital of Senegal, after a failed attempt (as at Mers-el-Kébir) to persuade the French to join the Allied cause against the Axis. This time, however, the French managed to repulse the British torpedo-bomber attacks launched from the carrier HMS Ark Royal during several days of fighting with only light casualties on their side.
Syrian-based Vichy air force units saw action against the British from April 1941, when a
ended with Iraqforce defeating the nationalists at the end of May and restoring a pro-Allied government in Iraq.Allied operations during the Anglo-Iraqi War included attacks on Vichy air force bases in
Operation Torch: November 8–10, 1942
The last major battles against the Allied forces, in which the Vichy French air force took part, took place during
Wildcats attacked the airfield at Rabat-Salé around 07.30 on the 8th and destroyed nine LeO 451 bombers of GB I/22, while a transport unit's full complement of various types was almost entirely wiped out. At Casablanca, Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bombers succeeded in damaging the French battleship Jean Bart, and Wildcats strafed the bombers of GB I/32 at Camp Cazes airfield, some of which exploded as they were ready for take-off with bombs already on board, thus ensuring their mission never went ahead. The U.S. Navy did not have it all their own way, though, as several Wildcat pilots were shot down and taken prisoner.
The day's victory tally of enemy aircraft shot down by the French fighter pilots totaled seven confirmed and three probable, yet their losses were considered heavy – five pilots killed, four wounded and 13 aircraft destroyed either in combat or on the ground – when one considers that GC II/5, based in Casablanca, had lost only two pilots killed during the whole of the six-week campaign in France two years before. In the meantime, Wildcats of U.S. Navy Fighter Squadron VF-41 from Ranger strafed and destroyed three U.S.-built Douglas DB-7 bombers of GB I/32, which were being refueled and rearmed at Casablanca, leaving three others undamaged.
Nevertheless, having been reinforced by two other bombers, GB I/32 carried out a bombing mission against the beaches at Safi, where more U.S. soldiers were landing, the next morning. One of the bombers was damaged and attempted to make a forced landing, only it exploded upon contact with the ground, killing the entire crew. Fighter unit GC I/5 lost four pilots in combat that day (9 November) and it was on that same day that Adjudant (Warrant Officer) Bressieux had the distinction of becoming the last pilot in the Vichy French air force to claim a combat victory, in this case a Wildcat of VF-9. Shortly afterwards, 13 Wildcats attacked the airfield at Médiouna and destroyed a total of 11 French aircraft, including six from GC II/5.
On the morning of 10 November 1942, the Vichy French air force units in Morocco had a mere 37 combat-ready fighters and 40 bombers left to face the might of the U.S. Navy Wildcats. Médiouna was attacked once again and several of the fighters were left burning, while two reconnaissance Potez were shot down, one by an F4F Wildcat and the other by an SBD Dauntless over the airfield at Chichaoua, where three Wildcats would later destroy four more Potez in a strafing attack.
Ultimately, the presence of Vichy France in North Africa as an ally of the Germans came to an end on Armistice Day, 11 November 1942, when General Noguès, the commander-in-chief of the Vichy armed forces, requested a ceasefire; that did not stop a unit of U.S. Navy aircraft from attacking the airfield at Marrakech and destroying several French aircraft, apparently on the initiative of the unit's commander. Once the ceasefire request was accepted, the war between the Allies and the Vichy French came to an end, after two and a half years of what was termed "fratricidal" fighting.
Torch had resulted in a victory for the Allies, even though it was fair to say that the French had no choice but to engage the Americans, otherwise the Americans would (and did) engage them since they were technically enemies. As a result, 12 air force and 11 navy pilots lost their lives in the final four days of combat between (Vichy) France and the Allies during World War II. Barely two weeks later, the Germans invaded the then-unoccupied zone of metropolitan France and ordered the complete dissolution of the Vichy French armed forces on 1 December 1942. Those units then not under Vichy control would then be free to join with their Free French colleagues to fight the common enemy: Nazi Germany.
See also
- Lafayette Escadrille
- List of military aircraft of France
- List of aircraft of the French Air Force during World War II
- World War I
- French colonial flags
- French Colonial Empire
- List of French possessions and colonies
References
- ^ Andre. Van Haute, Pictorial History of the French Air Force: 1909–40;and Pictorial History of the French Air Force: 1941–1974 (2 vol. 1975)
- ^ "France: Air Force (Armée de l'Air), in Christopher H. Sterling, Military Communications: From Ancient Times to the 21st century (ABC-CLIO, 2008) p168
- ^ Davilla, James J., and Arthur M. Soltan. French Aircraft of the First World War. Stratford, CT: Flying Machines Press, 1997.
- ^ WWI Aircraft Profile Gallery: France An Illustrated History of World War I Accessed on 27 December 2013.
- ^ Christienne, Charles, and Pierre Lissarrague. A History of French Military Aviation. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1986.
- ^ Martin Thomas, "At the Heart of Things? French imperial defense planning in the late 1930s." French Historical Studies (1998) 21#2: 325-361. online
- ^ Robert J. Young, In Command of France: French Foreign Policy and Military Planning, 1933–1940 (1978).
- ^ Robin Higham, Two Roads to War: The French and British Air Arms from Versailles to Dunkirk (Naval Institute Press, 2012).
- ^ John McVickar Haight, "France's Search for American Military Aircraft: Before the Munich Crisis." Aerospace Historian 25.3 (1978): 141-152. online
- ^ Jean Lecuir, Patrick Fridenson, and Général Vuillemin. "L'organisation de la coopération aérienne Franco-Britannique (1935-Mai 1940)." Revue d'histoire de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale 19#73 (1969): 43-74. online
- ISBN 9781870067652.
- ^ Barry, Major-General R. H. Military Balance: Western Europe May 1940. p. 99.
- ISBN 9781845740566.
Further reading
- Alexander, Martin S. The Republic in danger: General Maurice Gamelin and the politics of French defence, 1933–1940 (Cambridge University Press, 2003)
- Ballarini, Phillippe (2001), “Where is the French Air Force?”, article translated by Mike Leveillard and posted on Aerostories website French Air Force 1940: the collapse and the debacle.
- Cain, Anthony C. Forgotten Air Force: French Air Doctrine in the 1930s (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series, 2002)
- Cain, Anthony C. "Neither Decadent, Nor Traitorous, Nor Stupid: The French Air Force and Air Doctrine in the 1930s" (PhD dissertation, Ohio State University 2000) online; Bibliography pp 231-
- Christienne, Charles. French Military Aviation: A Bibliographical Guide. New York: Garland, 1989.
- Doughty, Robert A. The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine, 1919–39 (Stackpole Books, 2014)
- Doughty, Robert A. The Breaking Point: Sedan and the Fall of France, 1940 ( Stackpole Books, 2014)
- Duroselle, Jean-Baptiste. France and the Nazi Threat: The Collapse of French Diplomacy 1932–1939 (2013); translation of his La Décadence, 1932–1939 (1979) 508pp
- Gunsburg, Jeffery A. Divided and conquered: the French high command and the defeat of the West, 1940 (Greenwood, 1979)
- Haight, John McVickar. American aid to France, 1938–1940 (1970)
- Higham, Robin. Two Roads to War: The French and British Air Arms from Versailles to Dunkirk (Naval Institute Press, 2012)
- Jackson, Julian. The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940 (2003)
- Kiesling, Eugenia C. Arming against Hitler: France and the limits of military planning (University Press of Kansas, 1996)
- Kirkland, Faris R. "The French Air Force in 1940: Was it defeated by the Luftwaffe or by Politics?." Air University Review 36 (1985): 101–17
- Kirkland, Faris R. "French Air Strength in May 1940," Air Power History (1993) 40#1 pp 22–34.
- Porch, Douglas. "Military “culture” and the fall of France in 1940: A review essay." International Security 24#4 (2000): 157–180.
- Van Haute, Andre. Pictorial History of the French Air Force: 1909–40; Pictorial History of the French Air Force: 1941–74 (2 vol. 1975)
- Vennesson, Pascal. "Institution and airpower: The making of the French air force." Journal of Strategic Studies 18#1 (1995): 36–67.
- Young, Robert J. In Command of France: French Foreign Policy and Military Planning, 1933–1940 (Harvard Univ Pr, 1978)
In French
- Duluc, André (September 1979). "Eleve-pilote de reconnaissance dans la débacle de 1940" [A Student Reconnaissance Pilot during the Debacle of 1940]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (118): 23. ISSN 0757-4169.
- Ehrengardt, Christian-Jacques (2000), La chasse française: le GC II/4, in Aéro-Journal magazine, edition #16 (December 2000 – January 2001), Aéro-Editions SARL, Fleurance, pp. 60–63 (print edition in French)
- Ehrengardt, Christian-Jacques (2004), Casablanca: 8 novembre 1942: les Américains débarquent, in Aéro-Journal magazine, edition #35 (February–March 2004), Aéro-Editions SARL, Fleurance, pp. 4–31 (print edition in French)
- Mihaly, Edouard (August 1979). "Groupe Aerien d'Observation 507 (1)" [507th Observation Group, Part 1]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (117): 20–23. ISSN 0757-4169.
- Mihaly, Edouard (September 1979). "Groupe Aerien d'Observation 507 (2)" [507th Observation Group, Part 2]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (118): 20–22. ISSN 0757-4169.
- Olivier, Jean-Marc, (ed.), Histoire de l'armée de l'air et des forces aériennes françaises du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours [History of the French Air Force since the 18th century to the present], Toulouse, Privat, 2014, 552 p.
- Osché, Philippe (2000), “Mécano aux Cigognes”, in Aéro-Journal magazine, edition #13 (June–July 2000), Aéro-Editions SARL, Fleurance, pp. 51–56 (print edition in French)
External links
- Acepilots.com article on the Lafayette Escadrille
- Acepilots.com article on Raoul Lufbery
- City of Rheims web site A comprehensive history of aviation as pertains to the city of Rheims (in French)
- Official Government of France Defense Department Website pages detailing the history of the Armée de l'Air to 1914 (in French)
- Official Government of France Defense Department Website pages detailing the history of the Armée de l'Air from 1914 to 1918 (in French)
- Official Government of France Defense Department Website pages detailing the history of the Armée de l'Air from 1918 to 1939 (in French)
- SLHADA (Société Lyonnaise d’Histoire et de Documentation Aéronautique) website SLHADA is a Lyons-based society dealing with the history of the city and its aviation roots in particular (in French)
- Spartacus (UK-based) – a web site for schools
- WWI Aircraft Profile Gallery: France An Illustrated History of World War I