FP_2015_05_

44 FLYPAST May 2015

194019401940

FRENCH AIR FORCE GROUPS

1939

TITLE ABBREVIATION ROLE

Groupe de chasse GC Single-seat fi ghters

Escadrille de chasse nuit ECN Multi-seat night-

fi ghters

Groupe de bombardment GB Bombers

Groupe de bombardement d’Assaut GBA Battlefi eld support bombers

Groupe de reconnaissance GR General reconnaissance

Groupe aériens d’observation GAO Army co-operation

Défence aérienne du territoire DAT Local defence fl ights

BEGINNING

OF THE END

The Blitzkrieg crossed Holland,

Belgium, Luxembourg and into

France, with air attacks on airfields

and communications. Losses during

air combat on the first day of the

Battle of France could, however, have

been worse. Some 21 French aircraft

were shot down or put out of action

and written off as a result of air

combat, with another 13 damaged.

On the ground it was a different

story: 57 aircraft were destroyed

with another 36 suffering varying

degrees of damage. With no radar or

early warning system, the first notice

the French Air Force had of an

attack was when the bombs started

falling! Modern research has stated

that when the Germans invaded,

there were 210 French units facing

them – but of those, only 119 were

combat-ready and a mere quarter

could be brought into action.

The following day, Morane-

Saulnier MS.406, Curtiss H-75

and Bloch 152 fighters were heavily

committed, and joined two days

later by the superior Dewoitine

D.520s of GC I/3 which had

moved up from Cannes on the

Mediterranean coast.

GC II/3, GC III/3, GC III/6 and

GC II/7 quickly became operational

with the new fighter.

The first recorded combat loss of a

D.520 was on May 14 when Obfw

Johann Schmid of 1/JG 2 reported

shooting down what he thought was

an MS.406. It is believed to have

been the D.520 flown by Adjutant

André Carrier of GC I/3. The

French fighter force was flying a

sortie per aircraft per day, but the

Germans were managing four

times that.

COUNTER-STRIKES

At the same time the bombers

were also trying their utmost. The

majority, especially the ungainly

Amiot 143, were relegated to night

operations as they were vulnerable

to German fighters. Farman 222s

also carried out nocturnal raids

against targets in Germany.

Other bombers, such as the

Lioré et Olivier 451,

Amiot 354, Breguet

693 and the imported

American Martin

Above

A Potez 63.11, probably

from GR II/55, was

claimed by fl ak on May

19, 1940.

Right

A Cherbourg-based

Latécoère 298 fl oatplane

of Torpillage T2. It was

shot down by 3/JG 27

during a daylight attack

on German troops and

crash-landed at Boisjean,

May 23, 1940.

Below

An abandoned MS.406.

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