The Aviation Magazine – No. 75 – 2021-10 to 12

Page 178

BASE AÉRIENNE

T

he roots of the 2/5 Île-de-France fighter squadron go back to World War II. On 20 October 1941, by order of General de Gaulle the "Air Marine" Fighter Group was established in England and the "Free French Air Forces (FAFL)" were born! In November 1941, the first Free French Squadron was created at Turnhouse in Scotland as the No. 340 Free French Squadron

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of the Royal Air Force. The squadron consisted of two flights – A Flight Paris and B Flight Versailles equipped with different versions of the Spitfire (Mk.II and Mk.IX and later on the Mk.XIV). On 6 June 1944, French pilots in their Spitfires, showing black & white invasion stripes on their wings provided fighter cover in the skies of Normandy during "Operation Overlord"


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