French Naval Aviation

French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: "Aéronavale", or "Aviation navale", or more simply "l'Aéro") is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is "Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale". Born as a fusion of carrier squadrons and the naval patrol air force, the "Aéronavale" was created in 1912. The force is under the command of a flag officer officially named Admiral of Naval Aviation (ALAVIA) with his headquarters at Toulon naval base. It has a strength of around 6,800 military and civilian personnel. It operates from four airbases in Metropolitan France and several detachments in foreign countries or French overseas territories. Carrier-borne pilots of the French navy do their initial training at Salon-de-Provence Air Base after which they undergo their carrier qualification with the US Navy.
Structure.
Immediately after the end of the World War II, the "Aeronavale" only had Supermarine Seafire Mk.III (Flottille 1F) and Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bombers (Flotilles 3F et 4F).
Components.
The flight personnel of the French Navy falls into three categories: fighter aviation, fixed-wing aviation and helicopter aviation.
Operationally the French Naval Aviation has four components:
Units.
Operational squadrons are known as "Flottilles" and normally consist of 12 aircraft :
Shore-based training and transport squadrons are known as "Escadrilles de Servitude" :