Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne
Mirage IV at Kleine Brogel Air Base, Belgium 2005
ActiveApril 1, 1937 - present
Country France
Branch French Air and Space Force
TypeNuclear strike
RoleForce de dissuasion (Nuclear deterrence)
Part ofStrategic Air Forces
4th Escadre de Chasse
Garrison/HQBA 113 Saint-Dizier – Robinson Air Base
Aircraft flown
FighterDassault Rafale

Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne is a squadron of the French Air and Space Force. It houses the Dassault Rafale and was the second unit of the French Air and Space Force to receive the aircraft.

A Mirage IVA of the Escadron de Bombardement EB 1/91 "Gascogne" , December 1986.
Mirage IV P, Escadron de Bombardement (Bombardment Squadron) 1/91 Gascogne.

History

3rd Reconstitution and nuclear era

Mirage IV of Escadron de Bombardemenr 1/91 Gascogne in a reconnaissance mission above an oil field in flames in 1991 following the Gulf War.

On May 10, 1966, a Mirage IVA n°36 of the squadron conducted the first transatlantic flight with a combat aircraft at French reaction under the command of Commandant Dubroca and Captain Caubert in 7 hours and 40 minutes, in which three air supply aircraft reached Boston.[1]

End of the Mirage IV

On June 23, 2005, Mirage IV P n°59 conducted the last flight of Mirage IV of the squadron and the French Air Force, at the command of a commandant, operations chief of Gascogne. This equipment is displayed today on an aerial base.[2]

The Escadron de chasse 1/91 Gascogne was credited with dropping 120 bombs and conducted 368 missions in Libya during Opération Harmattan.[3]

Rafale

Rafale B322 bearing the insignia of the 1/91 Gascogne.
Rafale B322 of the 1/91 Gascogne bearing the insignia of SPA 97.

The squadron was reformed on March 31, 2009, and equipped with Rafale, the unit integrated the Strategic Air Forces. From August 31, 2015, to September 18, 2015, 15 Rafale of the Escadron de chasse 1/7 Provence, Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen, and the 1/91 Gascogne were deployed to conduct an air-to-air campaign.[4]

Unit awards

Operation Harmattan, then Unified Protector (2011)

  • EC 1/91 Gascogne obtained a cross a citation at the orders of the Aerial Army.[5]

Designations

  • Groupe de Bombardement II/19: April 1, 1937 - September 1, 1940, (GB II/19)
  • Groupe de Bombardement Léger I/19: September 1, 1940 - February 21, 1944, (GBL I/19)
  • Groupe de Bombardement Moyen I/19: February 21, 1944 - April 1946, (GBM I/19)
  • Groupe de Bombardement I/19 Gascogne: January 1951 - November 1, 1955, (GB I/19 Gascogne)
  • Groupe de Bombardement 1/91 Gascogne: September 1, 1956 - September 17, 1962, (GB 1/19 Gascogne)
  • Escadron de Bombardement 1/91 Gascogne: June 1, 1964 - July 1, 1996, (EB 1/91 Gascogne)
  • Escadron de Reconnaissance Stratégique 1/91 Gascogne: July 1, 1996 - June 23, 2005, (ERS 1/91 Gascogne)
  • Escadron de Chasse 1/91 Gascogne: March 31, 2009 - September 1, 2016, (EC 1/91 Gascogne)
  • Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne: since September 1, 2016 (EC 1/4 Gascogne)

Equipment

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ www.defense.gouv.fr http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/fil-d-actualite/10-mai-1966-premiere-traversee-transatlantique-d-un-avion-de-combat-a-reaction-francais. Retrieved September 25, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/actus-air/il-y-a-dix-ans-dernier-vol-du-mirage-iv
  3. ↑ http://lemamouth.blogspot.fr/2011/11/des-tableaux-de-chasse-eloquents.html Des tableaux de chasse éloquents, Le Mamouth
  4. ↑ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/actus-air/rafale-en-campagne-sur-l-ile-de-beaute
  5. ↑ "Attribution de Croix de la valeur militaire". Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2018.

References

  • Bailey, Frank W. & Cony, Christophe (November 2001). "L'escadrille Spa 79 durant la Grande Guerre" [Escadrille Spa 79 During the Great War]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (104): 19–24. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Bailey, Frank W. & Cony, Christophe (December 2001). "L'escadrille Spa 79 durant la Grande Guerre". Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (105): 30–35. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Bailey, Frank W. & Cony, Christophe (February 2002). "L'escadrille Spa 79 durant la Grande Guerre". Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (107): 17–24. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Grolleau, Henri-Pierre. "Rafale F3: la polyvalence", Air Fan, no 367, juin 2009, p. 37 to 40 (ISSN 0223-0038)
  • Morieult, Yves (March 2002). "Courrier des Lecteurs" [Readers' Letters]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (108): 2. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Persyn, Lionel (April 1999). "Album-photos: sur B-26 Marauder au "Gascogne"" [Photo-Album: The B-26 Marauders of "Gascogne"]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (73): 27–29. ISSN 1243-8650.
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