page_title: Escadron de Chasse 2/4 La Fayette
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Escadron de Chasse 2/4 La Fayette / History
caption_attribution_description: 12 Curtiss P-40F Warhawk fighters on 9 January 1943 in Casablanca during a ceremony which officially transferred these former USAAF 33rd Fighter Group P-40s to the French in North Africa. In reality, these aircraft had been handed over to the Armee de l'Air on 25 November 1942. The recceiving French unit was Groupe de Chasse GC II/5, better known as the Lafayette Escadrille. Note the Curtiss Hawk 75 and at least two Dewoitine D.520s inside the hangar, still wearing Vichy-French identification stripes. A Douglas C-47 Skytrain is visible in the background. Official caption: "Line-up of 13 P-40 United States Warhawks which Americans recently presented to the Fighting French air forces at an airport somewhere in North Africa on behalf of the people of the United States."
context_page_description: The Fighter Squadron 2/4 La Fayette is a fighter unit of the French Air Force. It is currently stationed at Saint-Dizier Air Base, and is equipped with the Dassault Rafale C. The squadron has a long history dating back to the First World War, and has seen service in the Second World War, the French Indochina War and Algeria. It is now a nuclear strike squadron.
context_section_description: The squadron inherited the traditions of the Lafayette Escadrille (French: Escadrille La Fayette) of the First World War. The group was established in 1933 as the Groupe de Chasse II/5 La Fayette (GC II/5). 
  During the Battle of France, GC II/5 was equipped with American-built Curtiss H-75 fighters. The aircraft of the unit were painted with the same insignia depicting Chief Sitting Bull chosen by the American volunteers of the Lafayette Escadrille during the First World War before the entry of their country into the conflict. 
  Following the Armistice of 22 June 1940, the pilots and their aircraft were sent across the Mediterranean to French Algeria, under the control of Vichy France. On 9 November 1942, during Operation Torch, the Anglo-American landings in North Africa, these pilots flew against the landings. After the Army of Africa joined Free France, the group was reequipped with American Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters on 25 November. Retaining the Lafayette designation, GC II/5, under the command of Constantin Rozanoff, flew missions against Axis troops in Tunisia in 1942 and 1943.  
  
  In addition to Rozanoff, noted pilots Pierre Houzé, André-Armand Legrand, Jean Gisclon and Pierre Delachenal served with the unit.
caption: Black and white pictorial of 12 Fighters (French: Chasseurs) of the U.S.AAF aligned on an aerodrome in front of an official group. The ceremony marked the official transfer of 12 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk to the Groupe de Chasse 2/5, at Casablanca, on January 9 1943.
exif: {"Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.10.14", "Image DateTime": "2020:03:29 17:43:08", "Image ExifOffset": "136", "Thumbnail ImageWidth": "256", "Thumbnail ImageLength": "201", "Thumbnail BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail PhotometricInterpretation": "6", "Thumbnail SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "262", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "12111", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB"}