Group (air force)

A group is a military aviation unit, a component of military organization and a military formation. The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches of a national defence force.

Air groups vary considerably in size and status, but generally take two forms:

During the early stages of World War I in France and Germany, the respective aviation services formed groupes and Gruppen . Beneath the level of the group was a unit of six to 16 aircraft: an escadrille or Staffel. Immediately above the French and German groups was the escadron or Geschwader. In the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), a squadron was usually composed of 18–24 aircraft.

When the Royal Air Force (RAF) was formed in 1918 from a merger of the RFC and RNAS, an officer with the rank of Group Captain (equivalent to a Colonel or Naval Captain) always commanded a group.

By World War II, the groupes of the Armée de l'Air usually comprised two escadrilles (but sometimes only one, or as many as four). French groupes were the equivalent of U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) / U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) groups (analogous to RAF wings), while a groupement was the equivalent of a RAF group (USAAC/USAAF wing). For example, in May 1940 the Groupe de Bombardement I/31, a bomber unit, was operationally part of Groupement de Bombardement 6.

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