Fighter Squadron 2/30 Normandie-Niemen

Fighter Squadron 2/30 Normandie-Niemen
Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen
Squadron insignia
Active	1942–present (as of 2023)
Country	France
Branch	French Air and Space Force
Type	Fighter aircraft
Part of	30e Escadre de Chasse
Garrison/HQ	BA 118 Mont-de-Marsan Air Base
Nickname(s)	Neu-Neu
Engagements	World War II Indochina War Algerian War (1954–1962) Battle of Orel Battle of Smolensk (1943) Battle of Orcha Battle of Vitebsk Battle of the Berezina Battle of the Niemen Battle of Insterburg Battle of Königsberg
Decorations	Legion of Honour Order of Liberation Médaille militaire Croix de Guerre Order of Alexander Nevsky Order of the Red Banner
Commanders
Notable commanders	Joseph Pouliquen Jean Tulasne Pierre Pouyade Louis Delfino
Aircraft flown
Fighter	Dassault Rafale C

Fighter Squadron 2/30 Normandie-Niemen (Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron which flies the Dassault Rafale C from BA 118 Mont-de-Marsan Air Base.^[1] During a dormant period in 2009, the squadron was equipped with Dassault Mirage F1CT fighters and stationed at the BA 132 Colmar-Meyenheim Air Base.

The Normandie-Niemen Fighter Regiment (French: Régiment de Chasse Normandie-Niémen – (Russian: Нормандия-Неман) has adopted a number of formations and designations since 1942. Originally formed as Groupe de Chasse Normandie 3 in 1942, it was re-designated as a regiment (with and without the "Niemen" designation) in 1944 and received four different squadron numbers (in 1953, 1962, 1993, and 1995) and two later regimental designations (in 2008 and 2011).

The squadron, which served on the Eastern Front of the European theatre of World War II with the 1st Air Army, is notable as one of only three units from Western Allied countries to see combat on the Eastern Front during the war and was the only Western Allied unit which fought with Soviet forces until the end of the war in Europe.^[2][3] The 3rd Fighter Group (Groupe de Chasse 3, or GC 3) in the Free French Air Forces was initially 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 of the war. The group, first commanded by Jean Tulasne, fought in three campaigns on behalf of the Soviet Union between 22 March 1943 and 9 May 1945. It destroyed 273 enemy aircraft and received a number of orders, citations and decorations from the Free French and Soviet governments, including the French Légion d'Honneur and the Soviet Order of the Red Banner. Joseph Stalin named the squadron Niemen for its participation in the Battle of the Niemen River.

In 2005, the squadron (now known as Escadron de chasse 1/30 Normandie-Niemen) flew Dassault Mirage F1CT aircraft. It was disbanded in June 2010 and re-activated the following year as a Dassault Rafale unit, with its formal reactivation on 25 June 2012 as Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen at the BA 118 Mont-de-Marsan Air Base. The squadron was reattached to the 30e Escadre de Chasse on 3 September 2015, and reformed at the BA 118 Mont-de-Marsan Air Base.