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EC 2/10 'Seine' Fighter Squadron
owns two escadrilles. The first, also always known as 'Cercle de
Chasse de Paris' originated during 1934 as CARCP (Regional
Fighter Air Circle of Paris) to become, in 1937, the ERC I/561 (Regional
Fighter Escadrille)and, from 1st January 1938, the first
escadrille of GARC I/561(Regional Air Fighter Group). The second
escadrille of EC 2/10 is SPA 76 which was created as C 76 in
November 1916; flying Caudrons was next N 76 with Bébé
Nieuports and SPA 76 when receiving SPAD in 1917 to work with the
5th Army. The unit was disbanded in February 1919 to come back on
1st January 1938 as second escadrille of GARC I/561. The pair so
was linked and from here their aircraft never had the eagle with
a pennant of SPA 76 as said about picture 30.
With the war they respectively became 3rd and 4th escadrille
constituting the Fighter Squadron GC III/10.
The story of modern 10th Fighter Wing is so tortuous and
complicated that I am forced to limit me to tell that it came to
existence on 1st April 1951 as an active reserve unit and this
from centers devoted to training of active reservists existing at
Rabat in Morocco and Villacoublay near Paris. The Villacoublay
center gave Squadrons 1 and 2/10 while the one of Rabat provided
elements becoming 3/10 devoted to training and calibration duties.
Aircraft alloted were Republic P-47s and Morane-Saulnier MS-472
Vanneau two-seaters. From 1954 to 1972 the squadron ( it really
became EC 2/10 'Seine' during March 1955 with traditions exposed
above) flew Vampires (1954-1956), Dassault Mystère II Cs (1955-1957),
Dassault Mystère IV As (1957-1959), Dassault Super Mystère B2 (1959-1968),
Dassault Mirage III Cs (1969-1985), the 10th Fighter Wing being
disbanded on 27 June 1985.
