4e Escadre de Chasse

The 4^e Escadre de Chasse was formed at Alto, Corsica on May 1, 1944, and initially was composed of a single group (Groupe de Chasse II/5 (GC II/5) La Fayette), equipped with 15 Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, being joined by Groupe de Chasse II/3 (GC II/3) Dauphiné on 8 June 1944. The wing was deployed on fighter-bomber missions over Italy from May to August 1944, and from June began to supplement these missions with operations over France.^[2] In September, following the Allied invasion of Southern France the previous month, the wing moved to mainland France. It was joined by a third group, Groupe de Chasse III/3 (GC III/3) Ardennes at the end of the year.^[2]

The 4^e Escadre de Chasse left the FATac on September 1, 1991 to be attached to the Strategic Air Forces Command (FAS).

The 4^e Escadre de Chasse 4^e EC was reformed in 2015 with the following squadrons:

• Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne, EC 1/4 Gascogne
• Escadron de Chasse 2/4 La Fayette, EC 2/4 La Fayette
• Escadron de Transformation Rafale 3/4 Aquitaine, ETR 3/4 Aquitaine
• Escadron de Soutien Technique Aéronautique 15/004 Haute-Marne, ESTA 15/004 Haute-Marne

On June 24, 2016, a ceremony celebrated the departure of the 1/7 Provence towards an Aerial Base in the United Arab Emirates and the arrival of Escadron de Chasse 3/30 Lorraine to Saint Dizier.^[3] The EC 3/30 Lorraine moved to Mont-de-Marsan that summer. Nevertheless, the latter is not part of the 4^e Escadre de Chasse 4^e EC, however, constitutes the 30^e EC.

• Fighter Group (French: Groupe de Chasse) - Groupe de Chasse III/3 Ardennes (from October 31, 1944 until March 1, 1946)
• Fighter Squadron (French: Escadron de Chasse) - Escadron de Chasse 4/4 Ardennes (EC 4/4 Ardennes) (from January 1, 1950 until October 1, 1950), known as Escadron de Chasse 3/3 Ardennes at the corps of the 3^e Escadre de Chasse (3^e EC) at an Aerial Base.

• Fighter Group - Groupe de Chasse II/3 Dauphiné (from May 1, 1944 until July 1, 1947)
• Fighter Group - Groupe de Chasse I/4 Dauphiné (from July 1, 1947 until November 1, 1949)
• Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Dauphiné (from November 1, 1949 until August 26, 1993)

• Escadron de Chasse 3/4 Flandres (from January 1, 1950 until November 1, 1957)

• Groupe de Chasse II/5 La Fayette (from May 1, 1944 until July 1, 1947)
• Groupe de Chasse II/4 La Fayette (from July 1, 1947 until November 1, 1949)
• Escadron de chasse 2/4 La Fayette (from November 1, 1949 until August 26, 1993)

• Escadron de Chasse 3/4 Limousin (from August 1, 1989 until August 26, 1993)

• Groupe de Chasse I/4 Navarre (from May 1, 1944 until December 7, 1994)

During the Algerian War, three Light Support Escadrilles Aviation units (French: Escadrilles d'Aviation Légère d'Appui, (EALA)) were patronized by the 4^e Escadre de Chasse :

• EALA 5/70 (from July 1, 1956 until June 30, 1957), re-designated EALA 17/72 (from July 1, 1957 until November 30, 1959)
• EALA 7/70 (from March 1, 1956 until June 30, 1957), re-designated EALA 18/72 (from July 1, 1957 November 30, 1959)
• EALA 3/4 (from December 1, 1959 until March 30, 1962)

• Alto, Corsica (1944)
• Ambérieu (1944-1945)
• Luxeuil (1944-1945)
• Coblence then Mayence (from August 29, 1945 until August 19, 1947)
• Indochina (Hanoi, Gia Lam and Don Hoi) (from August 19, 1947 until August 26, 1948)
• Base aérienne 136 Friedrichshafen in Germany (from August 26, 1948 until March 30, 1954)
• Aerial Base at Bône (from July 1, 1956 until November 30, 1959) (EALA 5/70, then EALA 17/72)
• Aerial Base at Oued Hamimin (from March 1, 1956 until November 30, 1959) (EALA 7/70 then EALA 8/72)
• Aerial Base at Telergma (from December 1, 1959 until March 30, 1962) (EALA 3/4)
• Base aérienne 136 Bremgarten (from April 1, 1954 until June 5, 1961)
• Base Aérienne 125 Istres-Le Tubé (from June 6, 1961 until August 26, 1993)
• Base Aérienne 116 Luxeuil Saint-Sauver (from August 1, 1989 until August 26, 1993) (for the 3/4 Limousin)
• Base Aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier-Robinson (August 26, 2015 – present)