Everything about Squadron totally explained
A
squadron is a small
unit or formation of
cavalry,
aircraft (including
balloons), or
warships.
Army and Marines
A
cavalry squadron (
horse or
armoured), typically consists of three to five
troops.
USA
In the
United States Army, a squadron is the Cavalry equivalent of an
infantry battalion or
artillery battalion; it's used for
Armored Cavalry and
Air Cavalry units.
UK and Commonwealth
In the
British Army and many
Commonwealth armies, it's the counterpart of an infantry
company or
artillery battery. The designation is also used for company-sized units in the
Special Air Service,
Honourable Artillery Company,
Royal Engineers,
Royal Corps of Signals,
Royal Army Medical Corps and
Royal Logistic Corps, and formerly of the now defunct
Royal Corps of Transport, as well as the
Royal Marines.
Squadrons are commonly designated using letters or numbers (for example No. 1 Squadron or A Squadron). In some
British Army units it's a tradition for squadrons to also be named after an important historical battle in which the regiment has taken part. In some special cases, squadrons can also be named after a unique honour which has been bestowed on the unit (for example The
Queen's Colour Squadron of the Royal Air Force's
RAF Regiment).
France
An
escadron (the French word for squadron) is another word for a cavalry
division. For a long time, an escadron corresponded to a batallion, uniting several
companies. Since the mid 20th century, an escadron has been the equivalent of a single company.
In the cavalry (now called the "mounted arm") a
captain (3 galons, or braids) commands an escadron (what would be a "company" in the infantry) and is thus called a
chef d'escadron (with escadron in the singular). However, his superior in the hierarchy (4 galons) commands 2 escadrons and is thus called
chef d'escadrons (with escadron in the plural). There are 2 exceptions - in the Gendarmerie and Artillerie (both accounted mounted arms), such a commander (again with 4 galons) is a
chef d'escadron (singular).
Aviation
An
air force,
army aviation or
naval aviation squadron typically consists of three or four
flights, with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, depending on aircraft type and air force. In the
Imperial Japanese Army in the
Second World War, three air squadrons were assigned to each air
regiment. Some air forces (including the
Royal Air Force and
United States Air Force) also use the term for air force ground units. Multiple squadrons (typically three to ten) make up a
wing. An escadron is the equivalent unit in France's
Armée de l'Air (with an as a subsection of an escadron) and Canada's
air force.
In the
Air Training Corps of the
UK, a Squadron is a group of
cadets who parade regularly.
In the
Civil Air Patrol, a squadron is the basic administrative unit.
Navy
A naval squadron can be either a permanent battle formation or an
ad hoc grouping of warships, typically
capital ships (
battleships,
battlecruisers,
cruisers, or
aircraft carriers). In the
United States Navy, several ships of a similar type, such as submarines and destroyers, are administered as squadrons.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Squadron'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://squadron.totallyexplained.com">Squadron Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
