{{Infobox military unit |unit_name= ''Escadrille Spa.87'' |image=Lt. Destainville of Escadrille N 87 in his Nieuport 27 fighter at Lunéville airfield before departing on a flight (cropped).jpg |caption= Nieuport 27 and Nieuport 24 of the ''Escadrille N.87'', 1917. |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= |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.87''''' (also known as ''Escadrille N.87'') was a French fighter squadron active during the First World War, from March 1917 to the Armistice. They were credited with 28 confirmed victories over enemy aircraft,
==History== '''''Escadrille Spa.87''''' was founded at Lyon-Bron, France on 8 March 1917 as a Nieuport fighter squadron called ''Escadrille N.87''. It was attached to a French field army, ''VIII Armee'', until 1 July 1918.<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. 99</ref>
The squadron re-equipped with SPAD S.7<ref name=spad7/> and SPAD S.13<ref name=spad13/> fighters on 4 May 1918, and was renamed ''Escadrille Spa.87''. By the Armistice, the fighter squadron had been credited with destroying 28 enemy aircraft.<ref name=front/>
==Commanding officers== * Unknown: 8 March 1917 - 1 January 1918 * ''Capitaine'' Pierre Azire: 1 January 1918 - 30 June 1918 * Lieutenant Joseph Jochaud du Plessis: 30 June 1918 - war's end<ref name=front/>
==Notable members== * Adjutant Laurent B. Ruamps * Adjutant Lucien Gasser<ref name=front/> * Maréchal des logis William A. Wellman<ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/bodhidharma/flying_corps.html "Lafayette Flying Corps."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227120143/http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/bodhidharma/flying_corps.html |date=2009-02-27 }} ''angelfire.com''. Retrieved: September 20, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://pagesperso-orange.fr/rdisa/html/Frames/lafayette.html "The Foundation."] ''Lafayette Flying Corps Memorial Foundation'', 2002. Retrieved: September 20, 2009.</ref>
==Aircraft== * March 1918 inventory: ** Four Nieuport 24s ** Three Nieuport 27s ** Two SPAD S.7s<ref name=front/> * 4 May 1918 refitting: ** SPAD S.7<ref name=spad7>The Aerodrome website page on the SPAD S.7 [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aircraft/france/spad_vii.php] Retrieved 1 September 2020</ref> ** SPAD S.13<ref name=spad13>The Aerodrome website page on the SPAD S.13 [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aircraft/france/spad_xiii.php] Retrieved 1 September 2020</ref>
==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
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