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Escadrille SPA.48 was a unit of the French Air Force during World War I.[1]

Escadrille MS 48 / N 48 / SPA 48
Active	1915–1918
Country	France
Branch	French Air Service
Type	Fighter Squadron
Mascot(s)	The Crowing Rooster
Engagements	World War I

Unit history

Escadrille 48 was created on 29 March 1915 at Villacoublay near Paris, flying the Morane-Saulnier L. Active throughout the war at various locations on the Western Front, the escadrille replaced its aircraft with Nieuports in early 1915, then with SPADs at the end of 1916. By 11 November 1918 the pilots of the escadrille had logged 9,826 flying hours, with 54 confirmed and 48 probable victories, at a cost of 11 killed and 12 wounded.[2]

Commanders

Sources[2]

Name	Appointed	Notes
Captain Paul Fernand du Peuty	29 March 1915	Served as Directeur du Service Aéronautique from 20 February to 20 August 1917. Returned to the infantry to command a battalion of Zouaves in October 1917 and was killed in action on 30 March 1918.
Captain François de Thonel d'Orgeix	5 September 1915
Captain Jean Georges Fernand Matton[3]	8 October 1916	Killed in action on 10 September 1917 near Koekelare, Belgium, probably by Josef Jacobs of Jasta 7.
Captain Jacques Victor Sabattier de Vignolle[4]	12 September 1917
Lieutenant Jean-Marie Thobie	13 February 1918
Lieutenant Gilbert Sardier[5]	23 July 1918

Notable members

• Albert Achard (3 April – 29 September 1915)[2]
• René Dousinelle (13 April 1917 – October 1918)[2][6]
• Gilbert de Guingand (22 April 1917 – 22 October 1918)[7]
• Auguste Lahoulle (19 May 1916 – 4 January 1917 & 16 October 1917 – January 1918)[8]
• René Montrion (6 April 1917 – 28 June 1918 †)[9]
• Jean Navarre (1 – 24 February 1916)[2]
• Jacques Roques (2 January 1917 – November 1918)[10]
• Armand de Turenne (13 June 1916 – 12 January 1918)[2]
• Edmond Caillaux (18 February 1896 – 22 January 1943)[11]

Aircraft flown

The following aircraft were operated by the unit between 1915 and 1918.[2]

• Morane-Saulnier L
• Nieuport 10
• Nieuport 12
• Nieuport 11
• Nieuport 17 (& 23)
• SPAD S.VII

References

Bibliography

• Franks, Norman & Bailey, Frank W. (1992). Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918. London, UK: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-54-0.

Further reading

• Bailey, Frank W.; Cony, Christophe (2001). French Air Service War Chronology, 1914-1918: Day-to-Day Claims and Losses by French Fighter, Bomber and Two-Seat Pilots on the Western Front. London, UK: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-90230-434-2.
• Davilla, James J.; Soltan, Arthur M. (1997). French Aircraft of the First World War. Stratford, Connecticut: Flying Machines Press. ISBN 978-0-96371-104-5.
• Lefèbvre, Jean-Michel (October 1976). "Escadron 2/7 "Argonne" historique (2): escadrilles de traditions" [Historic Squadron 2/7 Argonne, Part 3: Ancestral Flights]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (83): 16–19. ISSN 0757-4169.
• Les escadrilles de l'aéronautique militaire française: symbolique et histoire, 1912-1920 (in French). Vincennes: Service historique de l'armée de l'air. 2004. ISBN 2-11-094692-X.

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