History of the Armée de l'Air (1909-1942)

The Armée de l'Air (literally, "army of the air") is the name used for the French Air Force in its native language since it was made independent of the Army in 1933. This article deals exclusively with the history of the French air force from its earliest beginnings until its destruction after the occupation of France. French naval aviation, the Aéronautique Navale is covered elsewhere.

During the first decade of the 20th century France was at the forefront of aviation progress, with pioneers such as Louis Blériot, Henri Farman, Gabriel Voisin, Édouard Nieuport and Louis Béchereau and this led to early interest in aircraft by the military. The French defeat during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 was still very fresh, and France expected to face Germany again. From December 1909, the French Department of War began to send individuals from all branches of the army, especially engineering and artillery, to undergo flying training at civilian schools as “pupil-pilots” (élèves-pilotes) such as at Reims and Bron. In March 1910, the Établissement Militaire d'Aviation (EMA) was created to conduct experiments with aircraft and on 22 October 1910 the Aéronautique Militaire was formed as a branch of the Army under the command of General Pierre Roques Although they would have to wait until mid-1911 the first military aviation brevets to be awarded to army pilots and 29 March 1912 for the law officially establishing the Aéronautique Militaire to be passed.

Training of military pilots was the same as civilian pilots until 1910 when the General Staff introduced the military pilot license. Military pilot badge N°1 was issued to Lieutenant Charles de Tricornot de Rose following training at the Blériot Flying School in Pau, in southwest of France, where the Wright Brothers had established the first aviation school the year before.

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