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Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne

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Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne
Mirage IV at Kleine Brogel Air Base, Belgium 2005
ActiveApril 1, 1937 – present
CountryFrance
BranchFrench 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.

Mirage IV A, Escadron de Bombardement EB 1/91 "Gascogne", 1986
Mirage IV P, Escadron de Bombardement 1/91 Gascogne

History

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3rd Reconstitution and nuclear era

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Mirage IV of Escadron de Bombardement 1/91 Gascogne above an oil field in flames, 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

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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 aircraft was at Creil Airbase (BA110) (closed in 2016) but not on public display.[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

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Rafale B (serial 322) bearing the insignia of the 1/91 Gascogne
Rafale B (serial 322) 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

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Operation Harmattan, then Unified Protector (2011)

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

Designations

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  • 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

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See also

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Notes

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  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. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ http://lemamouth.blogspot.fr/2011/11/des-tableaux-de-chasse-eloquents.html Des tableaux de chasse éloquents, Le Mamouth
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Attribution de Croix de la valeur militaire". Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2018.

References

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  • 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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