Crossword clues for escadrille
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1893, from French escadrille, from Spanish escuadrilla, diminutive of escuadra "square, squad, squadron," from Vulgar Latin *exquadrare, from Latin quadrare "to square" (see quadrant).
Wiktionary
n. 1 A small squadron. 2 A unit of (usually) ten or more aircraft in World War I France.
WordNet
n. a small squadron
an air force squadron typically containing six airplanes (as in France during World War I)
Wikipedia
An escadrille (literal translations: " squad" or "small squadron") is a type of military unit, most often found in the air forces of some French speaking countries. While the term is frequently translated into English as "squadron", an escadrille was originally a smaller unit (whereas the French escadron, in the context of aviation is a much larger unit, comparable in status to a naval squadron).
The first air escadrilles were formed in France before World War I, in 1912. They were initially a loosely defined group of aircraft capable of similar tasks, in most cases not more than six aeroplanes in each. During the war the escadrille became the basic independent unit of aviation within the French armed forces. An escadrille was a homogeneous unit, armed with a single type of aeroplane, with permanent flying and ground personnel attached, motorised transport and tent hangars. By mid-1915 the Armee de l'Air had grown to 119 escadrilles of 10 aircraft each: 14 of fighters, 50 of bombers and the rest reconnaissance, spotter and communications units. While escadrilles initially operated independently, during the Battle of Verdun (1916), chasseur (fighter) escadrilles were formed into larger formations, for easier coordination.
During World War II, French escadrilles usually fielded between 10 and 12 aircraft. Hence they were roughly equivalent to a German staffel, Italian gruppo or Polish eskadra (10 aircraft in 1939). This was in contrast to air squadrons of the British Commonwealth or United States, which usually had 12–18 aircraft, divided into two to four flights.
Until 1949, between one and four French escadrilles formed a groupe. Since then, however, escadrilles have been subordinate to escadrons. As such, groupes and escadrons are the equivalent of the German language terms gruppe and geschwader; and the English language terms " wing" and " group" (the definitions of which also vary from one nation to another).
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Usage examples of "escadrille".
Lafayette Escadrille are mighty kind and sociable, but there are times when a fellow gets homesick.
On this account then he would have no difficulty whatever in leading his comrade straight back to the villa in which the entire Lafayette Escadrille of American fliers was quartered.
Do you think any of the fellows of the escadrille could be up to a prank?
It had been a pretty arduous day, too, and two members of the escadrille had new honors coming to them, since they had dropped enemy planes in full view of tens of thousands of cheering spectators, after thrilling combats high in the air.
And another of the escadrille had the honor of getting above those observation balloons before a couple of them could be hastily pulled down.
Tom knew what was going to happen as soon as he saw the chief star of the Lafayette Escadrille start his favorite attack.
But the Lafayette Escadrille lost none of its members, Tom and Jack were glad to learn.
During these quiet periods the members of the American escadrille were sometimes hard pushed for ways in which to pass the time away, and amuse themselves.
A survey developed the fact that there were a number in and out of the Lafayette Escadrille who possessed a talent of some kind or other.
Great was the delight of the whole Lafayette Escadrille when this confidential news was passed about.
Edouard had recently been making runs to rendezvous with the Escadrille Americain, a flying force with seven U.
This was the headstone of Will Fairchild, the World War One ace in the Lafayette Escadrille, after whom the airport was named.
I was a kid in California my flying instructor was a guy who had flown with the Lafayette Escadrille in France.
American mercenaries during the First World War formed the Lafayette Escadrille, a pursuit squadron in the French Air Force.
Biggles realised that this was all very flimsy, yet he could find no satisfactory reason to explain why the man, a French officer, should claim to belong to an Escadrille which events suggested was not his squadron at all.