August 29th, 1941
Alger - General Houdemon presents to the National Defense Council the new organization of the Armée de l'Air, developed after the first phases of the Battle of Crete:
After the battle of Crete (July 20th to August 13th 1941), the Armée de l'Air was restructured according to a new order of battle, presented on August 29th by General Houdemon to the National Defense Council.
Most of the Groups were integrated into Squadrons. The normal staffing of a fighter, reconnaissance or cooperation group, was 24 aircraft (and as many crews), divided into two Squadrons; for a bomber group, there were theoretically 15 aircraft (although some had up to 20). The groups often had 2 to 5 planes in reserve (without assigned crew), intended to replace the destroyed or damaged aircraft. For a normal mission, a CG sent 8 planes (2 elements in "diamond"), 16 planes in case of "maximum" effort. A GB normally participated in a mission with 9 planes (3 elements of 3 planes).
The units under operational command of the Armée del'Air now included a significant number of units in the colors of France's "small allies".
Note - B = Belgian, T = Czechoslovakian, P = Polish, Y= Yugoslavian.
Fighter Command
1st Fighter Squadron (GC I/1, II/1, III/1) Spitfire V England (NAF Oct. 41)
2nd Fighter Squadron (GC I/2, II/2, III/2) Hawk 81 NAF
4th Fighter Squadron (GC I/4, II/4, III/4) Hawk-81 NAF and Malta
5th Fighter Squadron (GC I/5, II/5, III/5) Hawk-81 Crete
6th Fighter Squadron (GC I/6, II/6, III/6) Hawk-81 Crete and Dodecanese
7th Fighter Squadron (GC I/7, II/7, III/7) Hawk-81 NAF
39th Fighter Squadron (GC I/39, IV/39) Hawk-81 Dodecanese
40th Fighter Squadron (GC I/40, II/40, III/40) Hawk-75 A4 Indochina
10th Fighter Squadron (P) (GC I/10, II/10, III/10) D520M / Hawk-81 NAF
41st Fighter Squadron (B) (GC I/41, II/41, III/41) Hawk-81 NAF
GC I/9 (T) Hawk-75 A4 NAF
13th Fighter Squadron:
(I/13, II/13) Glenn M-167 and DB-73 Crete and Dodecanese
(III/13, IV/13) Beaufighter IF NAF
Total: 34 Fighter Groups (including 27 French and 7 Allied): 30 on single-engine and 4 on twin-engine aircraft. 18 CGs deployed in NAF within the ZOA NAF (Zone d'Opérations Aériennes d'Afrique Française du Nord), 10 in Crete and Dodecanese within the MedOr AOA (Eastern Mediterranean AOA), 3 in Great Britain, 3 in Indochina.
The 1st Fighter Squadron was created in Great Britain with Spitfire Mk.V and familiarization flights and some operations over the English Channel, it was transferred to NAF . It was then active over Tunis and Malta, alternating with the 4th EC.
The 3rd EC, after its exploits in Corsica, which pushed the resistance of the men and machines to its limits, was put in rest. After a well-deserved rest period, its personnel were partly assigned to the 39th Mixed Squadron, reorganized as a real Fighter Squadron in the Dodecanese; the others were distributed among different units to spread their experience. Its D-520s and derivatives were assigned to the Poles of the 10th EC. It should be noted that at the end of the battle of Crete, the Armée de l'Air still had 115 Dewoitine D-520 fighters and derivatives.
The 40th Fighter Squadron was created from GCs dispersed from Lebanon to Indochina and equipped with Hawk-75 A4s put in reserve when the Hawk-81s arrived.
The 13th Fighter Squadron was then divided into two ECs, the 13th and the 8th, the first one going to 3 CGs with the new Lockheed mod.322 (Lightning E/F) and the other organized around 3 night CGs on Beaufighter IF. Until then, Martin 167s and Douglas DB-73s (A20Cs) were used as interim long-range fighters. The navigator-bomber position was replaced by 4 x 7.5 mm on the M-167 and by 2 x 20 mm Hispano on the DB-73. Thereafter, radar-equipped Beaufighters were slowly provided by Great Britain for the night defense of NAF.
Apart from the Spitfire Mk.V, the Hawk-81A2 was at the end of August 1941 the most recent French fighter. The Hawk-87s (P-40Es) delivered from the beginning of October went first to the 4th and 7th Fighter Squadrons.
At the end of 1941, the latter replaced the 5th Fighter Squadron in Crete.
The NA-73 Mustang (Allison-powered) began to be delivered in November 1941. The first unit to be converted was the 2nd Fighter Squadron, which then replaced the 6th Fighter Squadron in Crete and the Dodecanese in early 1942. The 6th Fighter Squadron was re-equipped with NA-73s from January to March 1942.
The first P-38 E/F Lightning was not delivered before 1942. The GC I/13 and II/13 were re-equipped at the end of the year.
The 170 P-39s purchased in 1940 were delivered from July 1941, but were quickly judged unfit for the role of air superiority fighters. They were used to build two Yugoslavian fighter groups, and then were passed on to the Cooperation, Combat and Support Aviation groups (G-ACCS, former GAO), taking over the Martin-167s used in NA.
The equipment of the Fighter Command was therefore clearly unsatisfactory at the end of 1941. It was to remain so until the introduction of the NA-89/P-51B developed for French needs (with a Packard V-1650-1 engine) in June 1942.
Bomber Command
The Bombardment Squadrons were reorganized with 3 GB each.
The LeO-451s of the 11th, 12th and 31st EBs, used but still valiant, had been upgraded to 458 standard in the first half of 1941, thanks to the 700 Wright engines delivered in the second half of 1940. These three squadrons had taken over the aircraft of the 23rd and 25th EB.
The very efficient Douglas DB-73 (A-20C) became the standard light bomber, re-equipping the 23rd and 25th EB. The GB II/61, on DB-7, was disbanded.
The 32nd EB, 34th EB, 63rd EB and GB I-61, still flying the Glenn-Martin M-167, were also disbanded, their crews leaving to join the ranks of the triple squadrons. The Martin-167s still having the most potential, notably the recently arrived aircraft, some of which were new, were sent to Indochina to form the 62nd EB. The others were grouped in cooperation groups (assault) or reconnaissance groups.
The heavy bombers were grouped in the 60th EB (Heavy), deployed in Rhodes and Crete for "Coronation/Couronnement". A GB was deployed in NAF for operational training.
11th Bombardment Squadron (GB I/11, II/11, III/11) LeO-458 NAF
12th Bombardment Squadron (GB I/12, II/12, III/12) LeO-458 Crete
19th Bombardment Squadron (GB I/19, II/19, III/19) DB-73 Crete and Dodecanese
21st Bombardment Squadron (GB I/21, II/21, III/21)* DB7A/73 NAF
23rd Bombardment Squadron (GB I/23, II/23, III/23) DB7A/73 NAF
25th Bombardment Squadron (GB I/25, II/25, III/25) DB-73 NAF and Malta
31st Bombardment Squadron (P) (GB I/31, II/31, III/31) LeO-458 NAF and Malta
42nd Bombardment Squadron (B) (GB 1/41, II/41, III/41) DB7A NAF
54th Bombardment and Assault Squadron (GB I, II and III/54) Glenn M-167 Crete and Dodecanese
62nd Bombardment Squadron (GB I/62, II/62, III/62) Glenn M-167 Indochina
60th Heavy Bombardment Squadron
(GB I/60, II/60, III/60) Consolidated 32 Crete and Rhodes
(GB IV/60) Consolidated 32 NAF
* The GB III/21 (T) was composed only of Czechoslovakian crews.
Total: 31 GB (24 French, 3 Polish, 3 Belgian and one Czechoslovak), including 27 on light and medium bombers.
19 WBCs deployed in the NAF ZOA, 9 in the MedOr ZOA and 3 in Indochina.
The equipment of the Bombardment Command was much better at the end of 1941 than that of the Fighter Command. In 1942, with the delivery of B-25s, the Armée de l'Air was able to replace the LeO-458, while the DB-73 would completely replace the DB-7A. The Heavy Bombardment Squadron would be reinforced with deliveries of Consolidated mod.37s (B-24Ds) and the build-up of the strategic force based on Rhodes and Crete would accelerate from the beginning of 1942.
Reconnaissance
33rd Reconnaissance Squadron - (I/33) Amiot 351/354 NAF and Malta
- (II/33) Bloch 174/5 Crete and Dodecanese
- (III/33) Martin 167 NAF and Malta
The Amiot 351/4 were to be replaced by a variant of the B-25, but not before spring 42. The Bloch 174/175 were re-engined before being replaced by the reconnaissance variant of the Lockheed's twin-engine fighter.
A small number of Mosquitos were purchased from the British to replace the Martin-167 reconnaissance aircraft.
Cooperation, Combat and Support Aviation
22nd ACCS Squadron: (I/22, II/22) Martin 167 NAF
(III/22)* Potez 63/11 Lebanon and Syria
(IV/22) Vultee Vengeance NAF
* The GACCS III/22 (T) was composed only of Czechoslovakian crews.
52nd ACCS Squadron: (I/52, II/52) Potez 63/11 and Wirraway Indochina
The former GAO, previously in charge of tactical reconnaissance, were thoroughly reorganized. The artillery adjustment was entrusted to the brand new Aviation Légère de l'Armée de Terre (ALAT). But above all, among the lessons of the Greek Campaign was the need for specialized air units operating in support to the Army's mobile units. These formations were named Air Cooperation and Close-Support (ACCS). A dozen groups were planned, but their number had to be reduced due to the lack of crews of the Bombardment Command, despite the addition of Czechoslovak, Yugoslav, Belgian and Polish pilots.
The initial idea was to equip these groups with dive bombers, like the German StuGrp. The deliveries of Vultee Vengeance were slow at first, however, forcing the ACCS to equip itself with a variety of aircraft. In early 1942, II/22 was to be re-equipped with Martin 167s, and the other three Groups of the 22nd ACCS Squadron with a mix of Vengeance and P-39s.
