{{Short description|WWI French Air Force unit (1917–18)}} {{Infobox military unit |unit_name= ''Escadrille Spa.154'' |image= |caption= |dates= 1917–1918 |country= {{flag|France}} |allegiance= |branch= 15px French Air Service |type= Fighter Squadron |role= |size= |command_structure= |garrison= |garrison_label= Home station |nickname= |patron= |motto= |colors= |colors_label= Branch color |march= |mascot= |equipment= |equipment_label= |battles= |anniversaries= |decorations= |battle_honours=Mentioned in dispatches |commander1= |commander1_label= |commander2= |commander2_label= |commander3= |commander3_label= |notable_commanders= |identification_symbol= |identification_symbol_label= |identification_symbol_2= |identification_symbol_2_label= |identification_symbol_3= |identification_symbol_3_label= |identification_symbol_4= |identification_symbol_4_label= }} {{Use American English|date=September 2020}}
'''''Escadrille Spa.154''''' (originally ''Escadrille N.154'') was a French fighter squadron active from July 1917 through the 11 November 1918 Armistice. It spent most of 1918 as a constituent of larger offensive units. At war's end, it was credited with 63 aerial victories, including at least 19 observation balloons.
==History==
Founded as ''Escadrille N.154'' on 11 July 1917 because it was originally equipped with Nieuport fighters at Matigny, France, the squadron originally served ''III Armee''. It was temporarily subsumed into a makeshift ''Groupe de Combat''. On 1 August, this ad hoc unit was dissolved, and the constituent squadrons moved into another ''Groupe'' supporting ''III Armee''. In December, the squadron was refitted with SPADs and renamed '''''Escadrille Spa.154'''''.<ref name=front>''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 106</ref>
On 22 January 1918, the ''escadrille'' was shifted to ''V Armee''; then it was merged into ''Groupe de Combat 11'' as a replacement for ''Escadrille SPA.48''. On 27 February, ''Groupe de Combat 11'' was one of the units concentrated into ''Escadre de Combat No. 2''.<ref name=front/>
''Escadrille Spa.154'' would operate as part of a larger force for the remainder of the war. ''Groupe de Combat 11'' would be shifted to support of several different French field armies during the fighting leading up to the Armistice. On 20 August 1918, ''Escadrille Spa.154'' was Mentioned in dispatches for having downed 17 German airplanes and 19 observation balloons. By war's end on 11 November 1918, the squadron was credited with a score of 63 aerial victories.<ref name=front/>
==Commanding officers== * Lieutenant Raoul Augereau: 11 July 1917<ref name=front/> - 25 March 1918 * Lieutenant Auguste Lahoulle: 25 March 1918 - wounded in action 5 July 1918<ref name=front/><ref name=front2>''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 181</ref> * ''Sous lieutenant'' Michel Coiffard: 15 July 1918 - died of wounds 28 October 1918 * Lieutenant Charles Nuville: 6 November 1918<ref name=front3>''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 200</ref>
==Notable members== * Lieutenant Auguste Lahoulle<ref>The Aerodrome website page on Lahoulle [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/lahoulle.php] Retrieved 22 August 2020</ref> * ''Sous lieutenant'' (later Lieutenant colonel) Théophile Henri Condemine<ref>The Aerodrome website page on Condemine [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/condemine.php] Retrieved 22 August 2020</ref> * ''Sous lieutenant'' Paul Barbreau:<ref>The Aerodrome website page on Barbreau [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/barbreau.php] Retrieved 22 August 2020</ref> * ''Sous lieutenant'' Michel Coiffard<ref>The Aerodrome website page on Coiffard [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/coiffard.php] Retrieved 22 August 2020</ref> * ''Sous lieutenant'' Jacques Ehrlich<ref>The Aerodrome website page on Ehrlich [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/ehrlich.php] Retrieved 22 August 2020</ref> * ''Sous Lieutenant'' Robert Waddington<ref>The Aerodrome website page on Waddington [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/waddington2.php] Retrieved 22 August 2020</ref> * Adjutant Paul Petit<ref>The Aerodrome website page on Petit [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/petit.php] retrieved 22 August 2020</ref> * ''Maréchal des logis'' Xavier Moissinac<ref>The Aerodrome website page on Moissinac [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/moissinac.php] Retrieved 22 August 2020</ref><ref name=front/>
==Aircraft== * Nieuport fighters: 11 July 1917 - December 1917 * SPAD fighters: December 1917 onwards<ref name=front/>
==End notes== {{reflist}}
==References== * Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank (1993). ''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'' London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-948817-54-0}}.
{{wwi-air}}
Category:Fighter squadrons of the French Air and Space Force Category:Military units and formations established in 1917 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Category:Military units and formations of France in World War I Category:Military aviation units and formations in World War I