French Air Force 1940

[arctic warrior]

How would the Battle for France have fared if the Armee de l'Air had used what was at hand - not what was put into organization!

Of course a lot of other factors must be vectored in concerning organization, communications, spares availability etc.

Before my Internet days I plowed a number of books revealing numbers of French combat aircraft to having been delivered as of May 10
79 Dewoitine 520 (referred to by some as the French Spitfire)
1000 Morane Saulnier 406
631 Bloch 151-152-155
316 P-36/H-75
210 Potez 631 (night fighters)
more than 2000 fighter planes of which the majority were fitted with a mix of mg's and cannon! (no - not the P-36/H-75)

472 Lioré et Olivier 45
100 Douglas Boston
75 Martin Maryland
80+ Bloch and Potez 633
24 Farman 222
140 Potez 54 and Amiot 143
bombers of which a number are surely obsolete.

Recce aircraft designated for army cooperation numbered some 800 Bloch 200-210, Breguet 691-693-695 and Potez 63.

As the Armee de l'Air would outgun the Luftwaffe in fighters almost 2:1, but then of course a number of mostly even more obsolete AC were detailed to colonial duty how would a better French air effort affect the WWII?
As far as I've read it wasn't bad and the French actually recieved lots of planes during the battle, factory output and foreign orders mostly in the US made for 668 fighters and 463 bombers to be in the pipeline.

So much for my old figures - I have looked this up but haven't counted figures.
Others my have other figures but the main point is WI the Armee de l'Air had used its available strengh and taken out a bigger proportion of Luftwaffe than the 853 kills claimed by RAF and Armee de l'Air.

 

[Kara Iskandar]

The thing with the Armee de l'Air was that many of the planes that are counted here were really not available for operations (especially the french models, some were being sent to units without gunsight, or even MG's, this planes were not "Bons de guerre" as we say).
The French air Force was plagued by logistical and organisational (too many models) problems at the time of "Fall Gelb".
Still if the French manage to contain the germans somehow, the French Air Force is going to rely more and more on US planes (huge commands were ordered at the time), and to enjoy the benefits of a vast rearmement program (in 1941 they will surely outproduce the germans in terms of fighters...).

 

[arctic warrior]

The thing with the Armee de l'Air was that many of the planes that are counted here were really not available for operations (especially the french models, some were being sent to units without gunsight, or even MG's, this planes were not "Bons de guerre" as we say).
The French air Force was plagued by logistical and organisational (too many models) problems at the time of "Fall Gelb".
Still if the French manage to contain the germans somehow, the French Air Force is going to rely more and more on US planes (huge commands were ordered at the time), and to enjoy the benefits of a vast rearmement program (in 1941 they will surely outproduce the germans in terms of fighters...).

Yes I know of these deficiencies hence my remark on spares availability and organization and communications.
And the mulititude of types must be a quartermasters nightmare!

But overcoming these difficulties would the Armee de l'Air, if it has the men to fly those wondrous machines be able to inflict more losses to something serious on the Luftwaffe?
I am more thinking on the big lines of what happens after the Fall of France - will the Germans go on Britain if they incur greater losses in the airwar over France, etc. Not so much will the French be able to hold out a few weeks more or so.

 

[Kara Iskandar]

But overcoming these difficulties would the Armee de l'Air, if it has the men to fly those wondrous machines be able to inflict more losses to something serious on the Luftwaffe?

Considering what the French fighters did OTL, the Luftwaffe is going to suffer a lot.
With only 600 operational fighters (mainly Morane) at most, the Armée de l'Air downed around 600 german planes.
After that it's clear that a Battle over Britain is out of question. If Hitler wants to keep a offensive airforce for the soviets, better for him to keep his geschwader grounded for some months.