Military unit
The
30e Escadre de Chasse
or
30th Hunter Escadre
(
French
:
30
e
Escadre de Chasse
) is a wing of the
Fighter Brigade
of the
French Air and Space Force
. It consists of several flying squadrons and support units.
History
[
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]
Vautour IIN of the 2/30.
A
Mirage F1
of the actual
Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen
(
French
:
Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen
) and another Mirage of the actual
Escadron de Chasse 3/30 Lorraine
(
French
:
Escadron de Chasse 3/30 Lorraine
) in 1986 armed with
Matra R530
. Both respective squadron insignias are visible on the aircraft.
F1C of the
2/30 Normandie-Niemen
at the Salon du Bourget in 1975.
Mirage F1B of the 1/30 Alsace bearing a special decoration for the 65th Anniversary (1941-2006) of the Escadron (Squadron).
Tours
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Representing the traditions of the Night Hunter Fighter Group 1/31-
Groupe de Chasse de Nuit 1/31 Lorraine
, the 30th Mixed Instruction and Night Hunter Escadre -
30
e
Escadre Mixte d'Instruction et de Chasse de Nuit
was created on 1 May 1953 on the base of Tours. Flying the
Gloster Meteor NF.11
, the latter comprised three night hunter fighter squadrons :
Escadron de Chasse de Nuit (ECN) 1/30 Loire
,
Escadron de Chasse de Nuit 2/30 Camargue
,
Escadron de Chasse de Nuit 3/30 Lorraine
. The "Camargue" possessed a couple of Meteor Mk.7 for the transformation of new pilots on the English jet.
As of 1957, the Escadre passed to Vautour IIN and became an all-weather fighter wing - the
30
e
Escadre de Chasse Tout Temps
on 1 May 1957. During the same time, the Camargue Squadron was dissolved.
At Reims on Vautour
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]
With the return from Morocco of the Hunter Fighter Pilot School (
French
:
l'Ecole de Chasse
) which left Aerial Base 708 Meknes (
French
:
Meknes
) and moved to
Tours Air Base
, the 30th Escadre moved to Reims, however the latter's squadrons were spread over three bases. Between October 1961 and July 1962, the "1/30 Loire" was attached to the
10
e
Escadre de Chasse
(
French
:
10
e
Escadre de Chasse
) at Aerial Base 110 Creil (
French
:
Creil
). The "3/30 Lorraine" garrisoned at Reims. The 2/6 Normandie-Niemen left the Aerial Base 141 Oran la Senia (
French
:
Oran la Senia
) for Aerial Base 115 Orange-Caritat (
French
:
Orange
), where the later became the
2/30 Normandie-Niemen
.
In July 1965 the "1/30 Loire", which had garrisoned at Reims since August 1962, was dissolved.
One year later the "2/30" left Orange to move to Reims.
The two squadrons of the 30
e
Escadre flew on Vautour IIN until 1973.
On Mirage F1C
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]
On 20 December 1973 the seven
Mirage F1C
arrived at Reims to equip the 2/30 Normandie-Niemen. The
30e ECTT
became then the 30e Escadre de Chasse (30e EC).
Following the dissolution of the 10
e
Escadre de Chasse and the closure of the Aerial Base of Creil in June 1985, the Hunter Fighter Squadron -
Escadron de Chasse 1/10 Valois
recently transformed on Mirage F1C garrisoned at Reims and became the "1/30 Valois".
The 30
e
EC accordingly possessed three Hunter Fighter Squadrons, each equipped with 15 single-seat Mirage F1C.
On 1 July 1988 the "3/10 Vexin" on the Aerial Base of
Djibouti
, on Mirage F1C, was attached to the 30
e
Escadre while assuming the denomination of "4/30 Vexin".
In July 1988 the "3/30" inherited pilots on the Mirage F1 from the transformation mission (until then reserved for the Fighter Hunter Squadron -
Escadron de chasse 3/5 Comtat Venaissin
(
French
:
Escadron de chasse 3/5 Comtat Venaissin
) on Aerial Base 115 Orange-Caritat). The squadron gained the enrichment of the third Escadrille (SPA 62) and Mirage F1B biplaces.
The end
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The 30
e
Escadre de Chasse was dissolved on the Aerial Base of Reims on 27 June 1994. The "1/30 Valois" was dissolved the same day, while the other three squadrons kept for a couple more years their inherited enumeration of the "30".
The recreation
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]
The 30
e
Escadre de Chasse was reformed on the Aerial Base 118 Mont-de-Marsan (
French
:
base de Mont-de-Marsan
) on 3 September 2015. The Escadre is equipped with multi-role hunters (
French
:
chasseurs
) Dassault Rafale.
Composition
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As of 9 September 2015 the 30
e
Escadre is composed of the following units:
[1]
Historic Squadrons
[
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]
Loire
[
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]
Camargue
[
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]
- Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Camargue
Lorraine
[
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]
Valois
[
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]
Vexin
[
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]
Air Bases
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Aircraft
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]
References
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]