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Aflight is a smallmilitary unit within the larger structure of anair force,naval air service, orarmy air corps; and is usually subordinate to a largersquadron. Amilitary aircraft flight is typically composed of four aircraft, though two to six aircraft may also form an aircraft flight; along with their aircrews and ground staff. In some very specific examples, typically involving historic aircraft, a flight may contain as many as twelve aircraft, as is the case with theBattle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) of the BritishRoyal Air Force (RAF). In most usages, two or more flights make up asquadron. Foreign languages equivalents includeescadrille (French),escuadrilla (Spanish),esquadrilha (Portuguese),lanka (Ukrainian),patrulă (Romanian),zveno (Russian), andSchwarm (German).
In the case of a non-flying, or "ground flight", such as Mechanical Transport Flight (MTF), Supply Flight, Accounts Flight, etc; no aircraft, and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel may be utilised.
The term "flight" is also a basic unit forintercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The use of the term "flight" originated in theUnited Kingdom to describe a collection of aircraft (typically four in the early days of aviation), and dates back to around 1912. It has been suggested that the term was coined by technical sub-committee of theCommittee of Imperial Defence, which was examining the British air arrangements around the same time.[1]
In theUnited KingdomRoyal Air Force (RAF), and the other air forces of theBritish Commonwealth, from where much air force terminology emanated, an aircraft flight, in the first decades of air forces, was commanded by aflight lieutenant (FltLt), a rank equivalent tocaptain in armies and other air forces, or a navallieutenant. More recently, however, it has become common for a flight to be led by asquadron leader (SqnLdr); a formal rank distinct from a squadron commander; equivalent to an armymajor or navallieutenant commander.
On rare occasions, a flight may further be sub-divided into two sections, each containing two to three aircraft, which share ground staff with the other section, and are usually commanded by a flight lieutenant.
The Royal Navy's (RN)Fleet Air Arm (FAA), theArmy Air Corps (AAC), and other Commonwealth naval and army aviation arms also have flights. In the Fleet Air Arm, a flight could be as few as a single helicopter operating from a smaller ship.[citation needed]
A ground flight within an air force is roughly equivalent to aplatoon in an army, and may be commanded by a flight lieutenant,flying officer,pilot officer, orwarrant officer. These ground flights may carry out operational roles (such asair traffic control,airfield defence, orfirefighting), engineering roles (such asaircraft maintenance, ground-basedmechanical engineering, or other ground systems maintenance), support roles (includingmedical, dental,physical training,supply and logistics, training and education, andlegal units), or purely administrative roles (such asfinance, infrastructure, orhuman resource management).
A flight is also a basic unit of guided missiles, such assurface-to-air missiles (SAMs).
TheUnited States Air Force (USAF) has three types of flights: numbered, alphabetic, and aircraft (which may be designated by alpha-numerics or name).
A numbered flight is a unit with a unique base,wing,group, orNumbered Air Force mission; such as training or finance, though not large enough to warrant designation as asquadron. Numbered flights are uncommon, and are usually only found inbasic training facilities.
An alphabetic flight is an operational component of a flying or ground squadron, not an independent unit; alphabetic flights within a squadron normally have identical or similar functions, and are normally designated A, B, C, and so, on within the squadron. Flights in the USAF are generally authorised to have between 20 and 100 personnel, and are normally commanded by a company-grade officer (lieutenant orcaptain), and/or a flight chief, usually a seniornon-commissioned officer with the rank ofmaster sergeant orsenior master sergeant.
In USAF flying squadrons, the term flight also designates a tactical sub-unit of a squadron consisting of two or three elements (designated "sections" inU.S. Army andU.S. Naval Aviation), with each element consisting of two or three aircraft. The flight operates under the command of a designated flight leader. InU.S. Army Aviation, the equivalent organisational level of a flight is called a "platoon", while in U.S. Naval Aviation the flight is known as a "division".
InMinuteman intercontinental ballistic missile units of the U.S. Air Force, a flight is composed of ten unstaffed launch facilities, remotely controlled by a staffedlaunch control center, containing two personnel. Five of these flights make up one missile squadron. The Air Force has a total of 45ICBM missile flights.
Under U.S. military andFAA common usage, forair traffic control and separation purposes, a "flight" of aircraft is simply two or more aircraft intentionally operating in close proximity to each other (typically in formation) under a designated "flight leader", without regard to military organisational hierarchy.
Anescadrille (literal translations: "squad" or "small squadron") is the label given to flights in the air forces and navies of some French-speaking countries. While the term is frequently translated into English as "squadron", anescadrille was originally a smaller unit (whereas the Frenchescadron, also translated as "squadron", in the context of aviation is a much larger unit, comparable in status to a naval squadron).
The first airescadrilles were formed in France beforeWorld War I, in 1912.[2] They were initially a loosely defined group of aircraft capable of similar tasks, in most cases not more than six aeroplanes in each.[3] During the war, theescadrille became the basic independent unit of aviation within the French armed forces. Anescadrille was a homogeneous unit, armed with a single type of aeroplane, with permanent flying and ground personnel attached, motorised transport and tenthangars.[2] By mid-1915, theArmée de l'air had grown to 119escadrilles of 10 aircraft each: 14 of fighters, 50 of bombers and the rest reconnaissance, spotter and communications units.[2] Whileescadrilles initially operated independently, during theBattle of Verdun (1916),chasseur (fighter)escadrilles were formed into larger formations, for easier coordination.[4]
DuringWorld War II, Frenchescadrilles usually fielded between 10 and 12 aircraft. Hence they were roughly equivalent to a GermanStaffel, Italiangruppo or Polisheskadra (10 aircraft in 1939). This was in contrast to air squadrons of theBritish Commonwealth orUnited States, which usually had 12–18 aircraft, divided into two to four flights.
Until 1949, between one and four Frenchescadrilles formed agroupe. Since then, however,escadrilles have been subordinate toescadrons. As such,groupes andescadrons are the equivalent of the German language termsGruppe andGeschwader; and the English language terms "wing" and "group" (the definitions of which also vary from one nation to another).
ASchwarm (meaning swarm) as part of aStaffel (squadron) comprises four aircraft and can be further subdivided into twoships calledRotte (meaning rout, two aircraft). The tactical formation, however, is thetwoship with hot spare (the English term is used), the third aircraft being released before reaching the target if none of the others had to be sent back earlier. TheKette (meaning chain) of three aircraft is a historic term. These terms refer to groups of aircraft only and are not used for ground units.
