124:
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flight is typically composed of four aircraft, though two to six aircraft may also form an aircraft flight; along with their aircrews and ground staff. In some very specific examples, typically involving historic aircraft, a flight may contain as many as twelve aircraft, as is the case with the
694:
An alphabetic flight is an operational component of a flying or ground squadron, not an independent unit; alphabetic flights within a squadron normally have identical or similar functions, and are normally designated A, B, C, and so, on within the squadron. Flights in the USAF are generally
756:
and separation purposes, a "flight" of aircraft is simply two or more aircraft intentionally operating in close proximity to each other (typically in formation) under a designated "flight leader", without regard to military organisational hierarchy.
792:
became the basic independent unit of aviation within the French armed forces. An escadrille was a homogeneous unit, armed with a single type of aeroplane, with permanent flying and ground personnel attached, motorised transport and tent
769:(literal translations: "squad" or "small squadron") is the label given to flights in the air forces and navies of some French-speaking countries. While the term is frequently translated into English as "squadron", an
569:
On rare occasions, a flight may further be sub-divided into two sections, each containing two to three aircraft, which share ground staff with the other section, and are usually commanded by a flight lieutenant.
494:
In the case of a non-flying, or "ground flight", such as
Mechanical Transport Flight (MTF), Supply Flight, Accounts Flight, etc; no aircraft, and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel may be utilised.
514:
to describe a collection of aircraft (typically four in the early days of aviation), and dates back to around 1912. It has been suggested that the term was coined by technical sub-committee of the
581:(AAC), and other Commonwealth naval and army aviation arms also have flights. In the Fleet Air Arm, a flight could be as few as a single helicopter operating from a smaller ship.
646:
788:, in 1912. They were initially a loosely defined group of aircraft capable of similar tasks, in most cases not more than six aeroplanes in each. During the war, the
718:
In USAF flying squadrons, the term flight also designates a tactical sub-unit of a squadron consisting of two or three elements (designated "sections" in
642:
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935:(the English term is used), the third aircraft being released before reaching the target if none of the others had to be sent back earlier. The
730:, the equivalent organisational level of a flight is called a "platoon", while in U.S. Naval Aviation the flight is known as a "division".
939:(meaning chain) of three aircraft is a historic term. These terms refer to groups of aircraft only and are not used for ground units.
152:
266:
91:
726:), with each element consisting of two or three aircraft. The flight operates under the command of a designated flight leader. In
1121:
63:
44:
777:, also translated as "squadron", in the context of aviation is a much larger unit, comparable in status to a naval squadron).
1011:
542:, from where much air force terminology emanated, an aircraft flight, in the first decades of air forces, was commanded by a
70:
668:(USAF) has three types of flights: numbered, alphabetic, and aircraft (which may be designated by alpha-numerics or name).
1074:
807:
of 10 aircraft each: 14 of fighters, 50 of bombers and the rest reconnaissance, spotter and communications units. While
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units of the U.S. Air Force, a flight is composed of ten unstaffed launch facilities, remotely controlled by a staffed
727:
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110:
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741:, containing two personnel. Five of these flights make up one missile squadron. The Air Force has a total of 45
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145:
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authorised to have between 20 and 100 personnel, and are normally commanded by a company-grade officer (
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usually fielded between 10 and 12 aircraft. Hence they were roughly equivalent to a German
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mission; such as training or finance, though not large enough to warrant designation as a
8:
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927:(squadron) comprises four aircraft and can be further subdivided into twoships called
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558:(SqnLdr); a formal rank distinct from a squadron commander; equivalent to an army
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554:. More recently, however, it has become common for a flight to be led by a
123:
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The illustrated history of the air forces of World War I & World War II
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559:
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518:, which was examining the British air arrangements around the same time.
897:
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551:
443:
258:
1052:
David F. Burg; L. Edward
Purcell (31 March 2004). "29 February 1916".
931:(meaning rout, two aircraft). The tactical formation, however, is the
719:
409:
388:
848:(10 aircraft in 1939). This was in contrast to air squadrons of the
26:
909:" (the definitions of which also vary from one nation to another).
856:, which usually had 12–18 aircraft, divided into two to four
625:, or other ground systems maintenance), support roles (including
605:. These ground flights may carry out operational roles (such as
590:
302:
201:
976:
869:
794:
687:. Numbered flights are uncommon, and are usually only found in
589:
A ground flight within an air force is roughly equivalent to a
1051:
823:
were formed into larger formations, for easier coordination.
742:
652:
A flight is also a basic unit of guided missiles, such as
749:
593:
in an army, and may be commanded by a flight lieutenant,
1084:
437:(RAF). In most usages, two or more flights make up a
967:
51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
773:was originally a smaller unit (whereas the French
160:
1001:
969:Joubert de la Ferté, Air Chief Marshal Sir Philip
1108:
889:are the equivalent of the German language terms
671:A numbered flight is a unit with a unique base,
641:units), or purely administrative roles (such as
510:The use of the term "flight" originated in the
420:corps; and is usually subordinate to a larger
811:initially operated independently, during the
146:
735:Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile
703:), and/or a flight chief, usually a senior
550:in armies and other air forces, or a naval
498:The term "flight" is also a basic unit for
153:
139:
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
1020:
863:Until 1949, between one and four French
441:. Foreign languages equivalents include
122:
994:
992:
990:
538:(RAF), and the other air forces of the
521:
1109:
1042:
134:
987:
127:A flight of four RNZAF Strikemasters
49:adding citations to reliable sources
20:
659:
500:intercontinental ballistic missiles
193:
13:
901:; and the English language terms "
526:
408:within the larger structure of an
14:
1133:
1068:
912:
760:
431:Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
1094:
1006:. Galley Press. pp. 28–32.
584:
25:
36:needs additional citations for
1122:Air force units and formations
961:
637:, training and education, and
617:), engineering roles (such as
546:(FltLt), a rank equivalent to
163:Air force units and formations
1:
954:
921:(meaning swarm) as part of a
784:were formed in France before
516:Committee of Imperial Defence
1058:University Press of Kentucky
7:
942:
60:"Flight" military unit
10:
1138:
1002:Christopher Chant (1979).
505:
877:have been subordinate to
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357:
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285:
241:
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183:
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748:Under U.S. military and
705:non-commissioned officer
1117:Flights (military unit)
1079:Australian War Memorial
873:. Since then, however,
666:United States Air Force
654:surface-to-air missiles
1054:Almanac of World War I
933:twoship with hot spare
713:senior master sergeant
623:mechanical engineering
573:The Royal Navy's (RN)
433:(BBMF) of the British
128:
739:launch control center
645:, infrastructure, or
126:
16:Type of military unit
1030:"French manœuvres".
850:British Commonwealth
635:supply and logistics
619:aircraft maintenance
564:lieutenant commander
540:British Commonwealth
522:Commonwealth flights
349:Command (USAAF/USAF)
45:improve this article
1038:: 262. 3 July 1913.
797:. By mid-1915, the
754:air traffic control
724:U.S. Naval Aviation
607:air traffic control
983:. pp. 14, 15.
949:Naval air squadron
752:common usage, for
728:U.S. Army Aviation
681:Numbered Air Force
367:Numbered air force
343:Tactical air force
129:
1013:978-0-86136-792-4
981:Thames and Hudson
973:The Third Service
803:had grown to 119
745:missile flights.
707:with the rank of
631:physical training
544:flight lieutenant
426:military aircraft
397:
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328:Aviation division
275:Aviation regiment
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813:Battle of Verdun
660:American flights
611:airfield defence
303:Brigade aérienne
267:Régiment/Escadre
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1075:RAAF: Structure
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709:master sergeant
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621:, ground-based
603:warrant officer
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556:squadron leader
536:Royal Air Force
529:
527:Aircraft flight
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512:United Kingdom
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435:Royal Air Force
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1069:External links
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1060:. p. 104.
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800:Armee de l'Air
780:The first air
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761:French flights
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689:basic training
661:
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647:human resource
595:flying officer
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579:Army Air Corps
533:United Kingdom
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649:management).
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599:pilot officer
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585:Ground flight
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575:Fleet Air Arm
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362:Command (RAF)
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62: –
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56:Find sources:
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40:
39:
34:This article
32:
28:
23:
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19:
1053:
1049:(in English)
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1027:(in English)
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999:(in English)
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828:World War II
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691:facilities.
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615:firefighting
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460:
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416:service, or
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369:(USAAF/USAF)
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323:(USAAF/USAF)
321:Air Division
317:Air division
301:
298:(USAAF/USAF)
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254:(USAAF/USAF)
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81:
74:
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43:Please help
38:verification
35:
18:
979:, England:
881:. As such,
875:escadrilles
865:escadrilles
832:escadrilles
821:escadrilles
809:escadrilles
805:escadrilles
786:World War I
782:escadrilles
577:(FAA), the
461:esquadrilha
453:escuadrilla
404:is a small
1111:Categories
955:References
898:Geschwader
844:or Polish
840:, Italian
819:(fighter)
790:escadrille
771:escadrille
767:escadrille
697:lieutenant
629:, dental,
552:lieutenant
465:Portuguese
444:escadrille
259:Geschwader
194:Escadrille
71:newspapers
1077:— at the
887:escadrons
879:escadrons
867:formed a
830:, French
720:U.S. Army
562:or naval
502:(ICBMs).
414:naval air
410:air force
389:Air Force
261:(Germany)
233:(Germany)
204:(Germany)
101:July 2010
1101:Aviation
971:(1955).
943:See also
817:chasseur
815:(1916),
775:escadron
685:squadron
656:(SAMs).
473:Romanian
439:squadron
422:squadron
418:army air
374:Air army
305:(France)
269:(France)
225:(France)
223:Escadron
217:Squadron
196:(France)
1081:website
924:Staffel
919:Schwarm
905:" and "
883:groupes
858:flights
846:eskadra
837:Staffel
826:During
795:hangars
701:captain
643:finance
627:medical
591:platoon
548:captain
531:In the
506:Origins
485:Schwarm
483:), and
481:Russian
469:patrulă
457:Spanish
231:Staffel
202:Schwarm
85:scholar
1087:Portal
1010:
977:London
892:Gruppe
870:groupe
842:gruppo
489:German
449:French
402:flight
376:(USSR)
330:(USSR)
188:Flight
87:
80:
73:
66:
58:
937:Kette
929:Rotte
907:group
679:, or
677:group
639:legal
613:, or
601:, or
560:major
477:zveno
345:(RAF)
292:(RAF)
290:Group
252:Group
248:(RAF)
92:JSTOR
78:books
1008:ISBN
903:wing
895:and
885:and
743:ICBM
722:and
673:wing
664:The
424:. A
296:Wing
246:Wing
64:news
852:or
765:An
750:FAA
733:In
711:or
699:or
491:).
475:),
467:),
459:),
451:),
47:by
1113::
1056:.
1034:.
989:^
975:.
917:A
860:.
715:.
675:,
633:,
609:,
597:,
566:.
412:,
400:A
1089::
1036:5
1016:.
487:(
479:(
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154:e
147:t
140:v
114:)
108:(
103:)
99:(
89:·
82:·
75:·
68:·
41:.
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