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Site in French
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This
site is dedicated to the French Air Force in 1939-40. You
will find several chapters that will describe this French
Aviation so often criticized and unjustly accused of being
partly responsible for the disaster experienced by the French
Army.
This site is composed of 630 pages in French, and is fully
available in English. Here is the detail of the content :
The
units of the Air Force are divided by geographical zones :
you will find here the detail of this division
78
of the major French planes are described here : features,
history, photos, list of aircrafts,...
119
squadrons of all arms are listed. You will also find a
section on the Squadron Badges
To
date, 3543 pilots and crew members are present in
my lists. They are arranged in alphabetical order
and by Weapon. The list is completed regularly but
will probably never be exhaustive ...
This
heading, added in June 2020, lists the non-flying
personnel of the Squadrons: Mechanics of course, but
also administrative, logistics, health,... personnel.
Shadow fighters, about whom so little is said, yet
they have their place on this site. They have played
an essential role in enabling the Pilots and Crews
to accomplish their missions.1592 men are listed in
this section.
In
this chapter, are presented some uniforms, equipment,
helmets, parachutes, and grades in force in the Air
Force in 1939-1940
You
will find here the 2447 citations published in the
Official Journal for feats of arms between September
1, 1939 and the Armistice of June 1940. They are
classified by Weapons and in alphabetical order.
The
"Markings" and "Organization" rubrics remain to
be built
You
will find here an overview of the aircrafts used by the different
belgian, Axis (Germany and Italy) or Allied (Great Britain,
Belgium, Holland) : 26 foreign aircrafts are presented in these
pages.
I
wanted to trace here the different locations of the 144
Air Force Squadrons. You can see, over time, the movement
of units pushed south to the Armistice.
Here
you will find the results of the French victories. This
balance sheet is still discussed, since, according to
sources, the figures oscillate between 350 and 1000 victories
... For my part, I recorded 687.5 Victories sure and 273
probable
I
have drawn in these pages, a report of the losses of
the French units: Killed, wounded or prisoners to illustrate
if necessary the heavy tribute paid by the French crews
Here
will be briefly presented, the French aircraft manufacturers,
which will never really meet the needs of the French Aviation
in full change. These will be destabilized by the multitude
of rearmament plans and recent nationalizations. They will however
provide some great achievements, but the events will unfortunately
prevent them from demonstrating their qualities.
The
page that should allow not to get lost in the 630 pages
of the Site ...
Some
interesting links on the period 1939 / 1940. To consume
without moderation.
You
will find here the main publications on the French Aviation
in 1939-40 : Magazines, books, comics and advertisements
of epochs. This section is to be completed over time.
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