The Free French Naval Air Service (Aéronavale française libre) was the air arm of Free French Naval Forces during the Second World War.

The Free French Naval Air Service supported Free French Naval and Allied forces in overseas fronts (North Africa, Middle East, etc.) and later supported the Free French Navy during Allied

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 advances into French territory after the Battle of Normandy

Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

.

The markings of the Free French Naval Air Service were regular French roundels overpainted with an anchor on the fuselage, and the French tricolor on the rudder.

It operated all the French naval aircraft, seaplanes and flying boats, that escaped from German-occupied France after the Battle of France

Battle of France

In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

, together with naval aircraft from the French colonies that declared allegiance to de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

's Free French Forces

Free French Forces

The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...

, and aircraft donated by the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Americans

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It carried out Marine patrols and operations against Axis forces in France during 1944-45. It formed the basis for the postwar French Naval Air Service.

Aircraft of the Free French Naval Air Service

• Breguet 521 Bizerte
  Breguet 521
  |-See also:-References:*Jackson, Robert, The Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, Paragon, 2002. ISBN 0-75258-130-9-External links:* *...
  
  
• C.A.M.S. 55.10
• Latécoère 298
  Latécoère 298
  -References:* Green, William; War planes of the Second World War - Floatplanes - Volume six; MacDonald; ISBN 0-356-01450-9-External links:* http://avia.russian.ee/air/france/latecoere_l-298.php...
  
  
• Latécoère 611
  Latécoère 611
  |-See also:-External links:*...
  
  
• Lioré et Olivier LeO H-47
• Loire 130M
• Mureaux-Besson MB 411
• Potez-CAMS 141
  Potez-CAMS 141
  -External links:**...
  
  
• Douglas A-24B
  SBD Dauntless
  The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas during World War II. The SBD was the United States Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver...
  
  
• Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC
  Hawker Hurricane
  The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...