Historical
On September 1st, 1939, the
training section of Rochefort is transformed into Exploration Squadron
2S-2, and it is the Lieutenant CHOUILLET, boss of the section which
becomes the head of the new unit. The material, coming from the
school of Hourtin, consists, at first of 3 Lioré & Olivier
LeO20, 1 LeO258 and 2 CAMS 37-11. But as of September 5, the unit
is equipped with a single type of aircraft, the CAMS 37-11.
These CAMS 37-11 are training
aircrafts and are deprived of weapons. They will therefore be progressively
armed in Rochefort, where they will receive 1 automatic weapon support
and two 50kg bomb throwers.
The two sections of the Escadrille
are divided between the bases of Saint-Nazaire, and Saint-Trojean,
on the Ile d'Oleron. The unit is responsible for surveillance missions
over the Atlantic, and the two sections are finally reunited in
Saint-Trojean from March 1940. Rejected by the German advance, the
squadron joins Hourtin, where aircraft will be abandoned and destroyed
after the departure, by the road, of the personnel.
