Group (military aviation unit)

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:

"Groups" of the United States Air Force (USAF), groupes of the French Armée de l'air, gruppen of the German Luftwaffe, "Marine Aircraft Groups" of United States Marine Corps Aviation, a handful of air groups in the United States Navy (USN) not yet renamed as "wings" (e.g., tactical air control group, etc.), and air groups of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and some other naval air services usually follow this pattern.

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 to 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.

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