Normandie-Niemen
Encyclopedia
The Normandie-Niemen Regiment was a fighter squadron, later regiment (of three squadrons) of the French Air Force
. It served on the Eastern Front
of the European Theatre of World War II
with the 1st Air Army
. The regiment is notable for being one of only two air combat units from an Allied western European country to participate on the Eastern Front during World War II, the other being the British No. 151 Wing RAF, and the only one to fight along the Soviets till the end of the war in Europe.
The unit originated in mid-1943 during World War II
. Initially the groupe comprised a group of French fighter pilots sent to aid Soviet
forces on the Eastern Front
at the suggestion of Charles de Gaulle
, leader of the Free French Forces
, who felt it important that French servicemen serve on all fronts in the war.
The unit was the GC3 (Groupe de Chasse 3 or 3rd Fighter Group) in the Free French Air Force, first commanded by Jean Tulasne. It fought in three campaigns on behalf of the Soviet Union
between 22 March 1943, and 9 May 1945, during which time it destroyed 273 enemy aircraft and received numerous orders, citations and decorations from both France
and the Soviet Union
, including the French Légion d’Honneur and the Soviet Order of the Red Banner
. Joseph Stalin
awarded the unit the name Niemen
for its participation in the Battle of the Niemen River (1944).
the unit, known as squadron 1/30, flies Dassault Mirage F1
CT planes. The squadron was dissolved in June 2010, but was reinstated in early 2011.
the USSR in June 1941, talks aimed at closer co-operation between Free France and the Soviet Union resulted in setting up a special squadron with an initial core of 12 fighter pilots and 47 ground staff for service on the Russo-German front. De Gaulle officially promulgated the Groupe de Chasse GC 3 Normandie on 1 September 1942, with Commandant Pouliquen in command. Mechanics, pilots and hardware travelled by rail and air via Tehran
(Iran
) to Baku
( the capital of Azerbaijan
). They completed a period of training on the Yakovlev Yak-7
by the end of January 1943, when Commandant Jean Tulasne took command of the groupe. The unit became operational on 22 March 1943.
The first campaign of GC 3, equipped with the Yakovlev Yak-1
fighter, lasted until 5 October, and saw combat between Polotniani-Zavod and Sloboda
/Monostirtchina. From an initial aerial victory over a Focke-Wulf Fw 190
on 5 April their tally rose dramatically and the squadron became the focus of Soviet propaganda, so much so that Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel
decreed that any French pilot captured would be executed.
Tulasne was killed in combat on 17 July, and Commandant Pierre Pouyade
took command. On 11 October de Gaulle accorded the groupe the title of Compagnon de la Libération
. By the time GC 3 relocated to Tula
on 6 November 1943, only six pilots remained from the original groupe, which had accumulated 72 aerial victories since becoming operational. In their first year on the front they claimed 86 kills (77 confirmed, 9 'probables') and 16 enemy aircraft damaged, for the loss of 25 Yak fighters.
In 1944 the groupe was expanded to become a régiment, with a fourth escadrille
joining its ranks. After completing training on the more advanced Yakovlev Yak-9
D fighter at Tula
, the expanded regiment rejoined front line operations for its second campaign. This took place around Doubrovka (in Russia) and Gross-Kalweitchen (in East Prussia, Germany)until 27 November 1944. During this campaign Joseph Stalin
ordered the regiment to style itself Normandie-Niemen in recognition of its participation in the battles to liberate the river of the same name. On 16 October, the first day of a new offensive against East Prussia
, the regiment’s pilots claimed 29 enemy aircraft destroyed without loss. By the following month the regiment found itself based in German territory. By the end of the year, Pouyade was released from command of the regiment and he, along with other veteran pilots, returned to France. He was replaced by Commandant Louis Delfino
. By the end of 1944 201 kills have been claimed.
14 January 1945 saw the Normandie-Niemen start its third campaign (from Dopenen to Heiligenbeil
), concentrating in the East Prussian part of the German Reich, until the formal announcement of victory in the east on 9 May the day after V-E Day
in Europe. The USSR expressed its gratitude to the regiment by offering 37 of the unit’s Yak-3
fighters as a gift to France. The pilots returned to a heroes' welcome in Paris on 20 June 1945.
At the end of the war, the regiment had claimed 273 enemy aircraft shot down, 37 probables, and lost 87 aircraft and 52 pilots in return. Some 5,240 sorties were flown and the unit took part in 869 dogfights. The unit also destroyed 27 trains, 22 locomotives, two Schnellboots, 132 trucks, and 24 staff cars. Forty-two of the squadron's pilots were killed and 30 reached ace status.
Four of its pilots, Marcel Albert
, Marcel Lefèvre, Jacques André and Roland de La Poype
, became Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Its battle honours included such names such as Bryansk
, Orel
, Ielnia
, Smolensk
, Königsberg
(later renamed Kaliningrad
by the Soviets), and Pillau. It received the following decorations: from France, the Légion d'Honneur
, the Croix de la Libération
, the Médaille Militaire, the Croix de guerre
with six palmes; from the USSR, it received the Order of the Red Banner
and the Order of Alexander Nevsky
, with eleven citations between the two orders.
The remaining Yak-3 fighter aircraft have now dwindled down to one which is on static display at Le Bourget's Air and Space Museum / Musée de l’air et de l’espace.
Character Lieutenant Duroc (Patrick Chauvel
) accounts his battles as Normandie-Niemen Free French fighter in Pierre Schoendoerffer
's 1992 movie Dien Bien Phu
.
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
. It served on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
of the European Theatre of World War II
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
with the 1st Air Army
1st Air Army
The 1st Air Army was an Air Army in the Soviet Air Force which served during World War II. It was formed on May 10, 1942 within the Soviet Western Front, and renamed the 26th Air Army on January 10, 1949 in the Belorussian Military District....
. The regiment is notable for being one of only two air combat units from an Allied western European country to participate on the Eastern Front during World War II, the other being the British No. 151 Wing RAF, and the only one to fight along the Soviets till the end of the war in Europe.
The unit originated in mid-1943 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Initially the groupe comprised a group of French fighter pilots sent to aid Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
forces on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
at the suggestion of Charles 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....
, leader of the 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...
, who felt it important that French servicemen serve on all fronts in the war.
The unit was the GC3 (Groupe de Chasse 3 or 3rd Fighter Group) in the Free French Air Force, first commanded by Jean Tulasne. It fought in three campaigns on behalf of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
between 22 March 1943, and 9 May 1945, during which time it destroyed 273 enemy aircraft and received numerous orders, citations and decorations from both France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, including the French Légion d’Honneur and the Soviet Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
awarded the unit the name Niemen
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
for its participation in the Battle of the Niemen River (1944).
the unit, known as squadron 1/30, flies Dassault Mirage F1
Dassault Mirage F1
The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French air-superiority fighter and attack aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation as a successor of the Mirage III family. The Mirage F1 entered service in the French Air Force in the early seventies...
CT planes. The squadron was dissolved in June 2010, but was reinstated in early 2011.
Operational history
Six months after the Germans invadedOperation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
the USSR in June 1941, talks aimed at closer co-operation between Free France and the Soviet Union resulted in setting up a special squadron with an initial core of 12 fighter pilots and 47 ground staff for service on the Russo-German front. De Gaulle officially promulgated the Groupe de Chasse GC 3 Normandie on 1 September 1942, with Commandant Pouliquen in command. Mechanics, pilots and hardware travelled by rail and air via Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
(Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
) to Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
( the capital of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
). They completed a period of training on the Yakovlev Yak-7
Yakovlev Yak-7
The Soviet Yakovlev Yak-7 was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a "heavy" fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its original training role, the Yak-7 proved to be a capable aircraft and was well liked by air crews. The Yak-7 was simpler,...
by the end of January 1943, when Commandant Jean Tulasne took command of the groupe. The unit became operational on 22 March 1943.
The first campaign of GC 3, equipped with the Yakovlev Yak-1
Yakovlev Yak-1
The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. Produced from early 1940, it was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings....
fighter, lasted until 5 October, and saw combat between Polotniani-Zavod and Sloboda
Sloboda
Sloboda was a kind of settlement in the history of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for "freedom" and may be vaguely translated as "free settlement"....
/Monostirtchina. From an initial aerial victory over a Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
on 5 April their tally rose dramatically and the squadron became the focus of Soviet propaganda, so much so that Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
decreed that any French pilot captured would be executed.
Tulasne was killed in combat on 17 July, and Commandant Pierre Pouyade
Pierre Pouyade
Pierre Pouyade was a French Air Force general and one of the commanders of the Normandie-Niemen squadron.- Early life :...
took command. On 11 October de Gaulle accorded the groupe the title of Compagnon de la Libération
Ordre de la Libération
The Ordre de la Libération is a French Order awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is an exceptional honor, the second highest after the Légion d’Honneur and only a small number of people and military units have received it, exclusively for deeds accomplished...
. By the time GC 3 relocated to Tula
Tula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
on 6 November 1943, only six pilots remained from the original groupe, which had accumulated 72 aerial victories since becoming operational. In their first year on the front they claimed 86 kills (77 confirmed, 9 'probables') and 16 enemy aircraft damaged, for the loss of 25 Yak fighters.
In 1944 the groupe was expanded to become a régiment, with a fourth escadrille
Escadrille
Escadrille is a type of military unit in numerous armed forces, notably in air forces of continental Europe. While the term is sometimes translated to English as Squadron , escadrilles of nations other than the United Kingdom and United States were usually half the size.During World War II a...
joining its ranks. After completing training on the more advanced Yakovlev Yak-9
Yakovlev Yak-9
The Yakovlev Yak-9 was a single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union in World War II and after. Fundamentally a lighter development of the Yak-7 with the same armament, it arrived at the front at the end of 1942. The Yak-9 had a lowered rear fuselage decking and all-around vision canopy...
D fighter at Tula
Tula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
, the expanded regiment rejoined front line operations for its second campaign. This took place around Doubrovka (in Russia) and Gross-Kalweitchen (in East Prussia, Germany)until 27 November 1944. During this campaign Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
ordered the regiment to style itself Normandie-Niemen in recognition of its participation in the battles to liberate the river of the same name. On 16 October, the first day of a new offensive against East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, the regiment’s pilots claimed 29 enemy aircraft destroyed without loss. By the following month the regiment found itself based in German territory. By the end of the year, Pouyade was released from command of the regiment and he, along with other veteran pilots, returned to France. He was replaced by Commandant Louis Delfino
Louis Delfino
Louis Delfino was a French fighter ace in World War II and a General in the French Air Force.Delfino was born on 15 October 1912 in Nice. As a boy, his father was killed in World War I. Delfino entered Saint-Cyr military academy in September 1931, graduated, and was promoted to second lieutenant...
. By the end of 1944 201 kills have been claimed.
14 January 1945 saw the Normandie-Niemen start its third campaign (from Dopenen to Heiligenbeil
Mamonovo
Mamonovo , prior to 1945 known by its German name Heiligenbeil, is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Population: Mamonovo is named after a Soviet Commander, Nikolai Vasilyevich Mamonov , killed in action near Pułtusk on 26 October 1944, who was posthumously given the title Hero of the Soviet...
), concentrating in the East Prussian part of the German Reich, until the formal announcement of victory in the east on 9 May the day after V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
in Europe. The USSR expressed its gratitude to the regiment by offering 37 of the unit’s Yak-3
Yakovlev Yak-3
The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft.Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by pilots and ground crew alike....
fighters as a gift to France. The pilots returned to a heroes' welcome in Paris on 20 June 1945.
At the end of the war, the regiment had claimed 273 enemy aircraft shot down, 37 probables, and lost 87 aircraft and 52 pilots in return. Some 5,240 sorties were flown and the unit took part in 869 dogfights. The unit also destroyed 27 trains, 22 locomotives, two Schnellboots, 132 trucks, and 24 staff cars. Forty-two of the squadron's pilots were killed and 30 reached ace status.
Four of its pilots, Marcel Albert
Marcel Albert
Marcel Albert was a French World War II pilot. He was born in Paris.-Background:Albert grew up in a working-class family. He became a mechanic, building gearboxes for Renault, and was accepted for pilot training in the French Armée de l'Air in May 1938...
, Marcel Lefèvre, Jacques André and Roland de La Poype
Roland de la Poype
Roland Paulze d'Ivoy de la Poype is a World War II fighter ace, member of the Normandie-Niemen fighter group that fought on the Soviet front...
, became Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Its battle honours included such names such as Bryansk
Bryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
, Orel
Oryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
, Ielnia
Yelnya
Yelnya is a town and the administrative center of Yelninsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna River from Smolensk. Population: -History:...
, Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
, Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
(later renamed Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
by the Soviets), and Pillau. It received the following decorations: from France, the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, the Croix de la Libération
Ordre de la Libération
The Ordre de la Libération is a French Order awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is an exceptional honor, the second highest after the Légion d’Honneur and only a small number of people and military units have received it, exclusively for deeds accomplished...
, the Médaille Militaire, the Croix de guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
with six palmes; from the USSR, it received the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
and the Order of Alexander Nevsky
Order of Alexander Nevsky
The Order of Alexander Nevsky is an order of merit bestowed by the Russian Federation. It is named in honour ofAlexander Nevsky's struggle with the Teutonic Knights....
, with eleven citations between the two orders.
The remaining Yak-3 fighter aircraft have now dwindled down to one which is on static display at Le Bourget's Air and Space Museum / Musée de l’air et de l’espace.
Related units
- In the Russian Federation there is a regiment, also called Normandie-Niémen (or 18-й гвардейский Витебский дважды Краснознаменный ордена Суворова второй степени истребительный полк ВВС России "Нормандия – Неман" – in Russian). It is deployed near UssuriyskUssuriyskUssuriysk is a city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located in the fertile valley of the Razdolnaya River, north of Vladivostok and about from both the Chinese border and the Pacific Ocean. Population: -Medieval history:...
, a city in the Russian Far EastRussian Far EastRussian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
, as part of the 11th Air Army11th Air ArmyThe 11th Air Army is a unit of the Russian Air Force, which was located in the Russian Far East and Pacific Coast area, and its zone of responsibility covered the Far East Military District....
. The regiment maintains the traditions of French-Soviet/Russian combat friendship.
Popular culture
The 1960 Franco-Russian film Normandie-Niemen directed by Jean Dréville and Damir Viatich-Berejnykh, relates the arrival in Russia of the first twenty pilots for intensive training and the formation of the squadron.Character Lieutenant Duroc (Patrick Chauvel
Patrick Chauvel
Patrick Chauvel has been an independent war photographer since his youth. He went through more than twenty conflicts all over the world, including the Vietnam War and the Six-Day War.He is also author of some documentary movies....
) accounts his battles as Normandie-Niemen Free French fighter in Pierre Schoendoerffer
Pierre Schoendoerffer
Pierre Schoendoerffer is a French film director, a screenwriter, a writer, a war reporter, a war cameraman, a renowned First Indochina War veteran, a cinema academician and since 2001 the President of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.-Family:...
's 1992 movie Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu (film)
Diên Biên Phu is a 1992 film written and directed by French veteran Pierre Schoendoerffer. With its huge budget, all-star cast, and realistic war scenes produced with the cooperation of the French and Vietnamese armies, Dîen Bîen Phu is regarded by many as one of the more important war movies...
.
Aircraft
-
- Yakovlev UT-2Yakovlev UT-2|-See also:...
: Basic training aircraft, used for training between 1 and 18 December 1942.
- Yakovlev UT-2
-
- Polikarpov Po-2Polikarpov Po-2The Polikarpov Po-2 served as a general-purpose Soviet biplane, nicknamed Kukuruznik for maize; thus, 'maize duster' or 'crop duster'), NATO reporting name "Mule"...
: Initially Po-2s were used for training (between 1 and 18 December 1942), later were used for liaison and courier duties.
- Polikarpov Po-2
-
- Yakovlev Yak-7Yakovlev Yak-7The Soviet Yakovlev Yak-7 was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a "heavy" fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its original training role, the Yak-7 proved to be a capable aircraft and was well liked by air crews. The Yak-7 was simpler,...
V: Advanced training aircraft used for operational training between December 1942 and January 25, 1943. These aircraft were not owned by French unit.
- Yakovlev Yak-7
-
- Yakovlev Yak-1Yakovlev Yak-1The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. Produced from early 1940, it was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings....
b: Fighter aircraft used between January 19 and March 22 for advanced and dogfight training, later used as fighter aircraft. Initially Normandie-Niemen received 6 aircraft, next 8 were sent in March 1943 and last 4 at the end of April 1943. Since June 1943 Yak-1bs were used for training of new pilots and remained in Normandie-Niemen till the end of that year.
- Yakovlev Yak-1
-
- Yakovlev Yak-9Yakovlev Yak-9The Yakovlev Yak-9 was a single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union in World War II and after. Fundamentally a lighter development of the Yak-7 with the same armament, it arrived at the front at the end of 1942. The Yak-9 had a lowered rear fuselage decking and all-around vision canopy...
D: Fighter aircraft used for training in TulaTula, RussiaTula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
between early June 1944 and late July 1944. Two Yak-9Ds were still used on September 10, 1944.along such type theirs receiving some examples of Yak-9T,tactical ground support variant in same period.
- Yakovlev Yak-9
-
- Yakovlev Yak-3Yakovlev Yak-3The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft.Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by pilots and ground crew alike....
: Main fighter aircraft of Normandie-Niemen used between end of July 1944 and May 1945. 37 Yak-3s were handed over to French Air ForceFrench Air ForceThe French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
and were used between June 1945 and April 1947.
- Yakovlev Yak-3
-
- Yakovlev Yak-6Yakovlev Yak-6|-See also:...
: Transport aircraft of Normandie-Niemen.
- Yakovlev Yak-6
Battle honor
World War II (1939–45)
- OryolOryolOryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
1943 - SmolenskSmolenskSmolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
1943 - OrshaOrshaOrsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
1944 - Berezina 1944
- Niemen 1944
- ChernyakhovskChernyakhovskChernyakhovsk is a town and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Instruch and the Angrapa Rivers, forming the Pregolya...
1945 - Battle of KönigsbergBattle of KönigsbergThe Battle of Königsberg , was one of the last operations of the East Prussian Offensive during World War II. In four days of violent urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front captured the city of Königsberg...
1945 - BaltiyskBaltiyskBaltiysk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau , is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Bay from the Gdańsk Bay. Baltiysk...
1945
See also
- No. 151 Wing RAF another Western air squadron operating on the Eastern Front.
- List of Members in Normandie-Niemen Air Unit
- History of the Armée de l'Air (1940-1945)
- French wiki on the 1960 film
- Mongolian Arat Fighter Squadron
- 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French)33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French)The 33. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Charlemagne and Charlemagne Regiment are collective names used for units of French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during World War II...
Newsreel
- Arrival of the Normandie-Niemen Regiment at Stuttgart, RETOUR DE L'ESCADRILLE NORMANDIE-NIEMEN Les Actualités Françaises – 29 June 1945), French national audiovisual institute INA.
Literature
- Normandie Niemen, Yves Courrière, Omnibus, 2004 ISBN 2-258-06171-7
- Un du Normandie-Niemen, Roger Sauvage, Poche, 1971 ISBN B0000DOP3V
- " French Eagles Soviet Heroes " ,John D. Clark, Sutton, 2005 ISBN 0-7509-4074-3