French Air Force ALA Patch Fighter bb 2 2 EC f Escadrille SPA 65 a

French Air Force ALA Patch Escadrille SPA 65 Escadron De Chasse et de Transformation ECT 2 2 Cote D Or Fighter Squadron Flight Dijon AB Mirage III 1982 Embroidered on wool cut edge 96mm three and three quarter inches diameter.

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Following the end of WW2 Groupe de Chasse GC 2 (Fighter Group) was reactivated at Fassberg AB Friedrichshafen Germany in November 1945 equipped with Spitfire Mk IX fighter aircraft comprising I Escadron Cigognes (1 Squadron Storks) with its Escadrille (Flight) SPA 3 II Escadron Alsace with its Escadrille (Flights) 1 Strasbourg and 2 Mullhouse III Escadron Berry with its Escadrille (Flight) SPA 103 IV Escadron Ile-de-France with its Escadrille (Flights) 1 Paris and 2 Versailles with a and a support squadron Escadron de Soutien Technique Aéronautique (Technical Support Squadron) ESTA 2E 004. GC 2 lost IV Escadron Ile-de-France on 1 March 1946 and III Escadron Berry on 1 April 1946 but with its Escadrille (Flight) SPA 103 transferred to I Escadron Cigognes joining SPA 3. GC 2 deployed to Hanoi and Nha Trang Indochina in August 1946 returning to Coblence AB Friedrichshafen Germany in October 1947 and reequipped with P-47 D Thunderbolt fighters in 1948. GC 2 with its I Escadron Cigognes and II Escadron Alsace received its first jet fighters Vampire FB 5 fighter bombers in 1948 and relocated to Base Aerienne BA 102 Dijon-Longvic Air Base in July 1949.

GC 2 was redesignated 2 Escadre de Chasse on 1 October 1949 with I Escadron Cigognes renamed EC 1/2 Cigognes retaining its Escadrilles SPA 3 and SPA 103 and II Escadron Alsace renamed EC 2/2 Alsace retaining its Escadrilles 1 Strasbourg and 2 Mullhouse and with the support squadron Escadron de Soutien Technique Aéronautique (Technical Support Squadron) redesignated ESTA 2E 002. At the same time they were joined by Escadron EC 3/2 Côte d’or with SPA 31 and SPA 94 and Escadron EC 4/2 Coq gaulois with SPA 48 and SPA 62. EC 2 lost Escadron EC 4/2 Coq gaulois on 1 April 1950. EC 3/2 Côte d’or replaced SPA 31 with SPA 65 as Escadrille 1 and replaced and SPA 94 with SPA 57 as its Escadrille 2.

EC 3/2 Côte d’or was redesignated as EC 2/2 Côte d’or and EC 2/2 Alsace redesignated EC 3/2 Alsace on 1 May 1951 with each retaining it Escadrilles. 2 EC began upgrading to MD 450 Ouragan jet fighter bombers in June 1953 with the last Vampire FB 5 aircraft leaving in spring 1954 before reequipping with Mystere IV A fighter bombers in January 1956. EC 2/2 Côte d’or and its Escadrilles SPA 65 and SPA 57 was inactivated on 1 October 1957. EC 1/2 Cigognes and EC 3/2 Alsace reequipped with Mirage III C fighter aircraft in July 1961 and Mirage III B two seat training fighter aircraft in July 1962.

With the requirement to convert more pilots to the Mirage III fighter EC 2/2 Côte d’or was reactivated with its Escadrilles SPA 65 and SPA 57 at 2 EC taking on 2 ECs Mirage III B two seat training fighter aircraft in July 1962 to undertake Mirage III conversion training. With its focus on Mirage III conversion training EC 2/2 Côte d’or was redesignated Centre d’Instruction Mirage CIMIR 2/102 Côte d’or on 1 April 1966 retaining SPA 65 and SPA 57. EC 1/2 Cigognes and EC 3/2 Alsace reequipped with Mirage III E aircraft on 27 September 1968. CIMIR 2/102 Côte d’or was redesignated Escadron de Chasse et de Transformation ECT 2/2 Côte d’or on 1 November 1968.

ECT 2/2 Côte d’or upgraded to Mirage III BE two seat training variant aircraft on 23 March 1971 and added Escadrille 3 SPA 94 to its compliment on 6 October 1972. ECT 2/2 Côte d’or was awarded the Médaille de l’Aéronautique on 28 January 1974. EC 1/2 Cigognes relinquished its last Mirage III C fighters in October 1975.

ECT 2/2 Côte d’or added Mirage III R aircraft to its fleet in May 1983 to provide conversion training for reconnaissance role. EC 1/2 Cigognes and EC 3/2 Alsace reequipped with Mirage 2000 C fighter aircraft on 2 July 1984. ECT 2/2 Côte d’or added a number of Mirage 2000 B two seat fighter training aircraft on 2 July 1984 with its remaining Mirage III B BE and R aircraft relinquished on 20 June 1986. ECT 2/2 Côte d’or fully equipped with Mirage 2000 B two seat fighter training aircraft and was redesignated Escadron de Chasse EC 2/2 Côte d’or on 27 June 1986 resuming Air Defence duties but continuing to provide Mirage 2000 training to foreign pilots. EC 3/2 Alsace with its Escadrilles 1 Strasbourg and 2 Mullhouse were disbanded on 1 August 1993.

2 Escadre de Chasse itself were disbanded on 9 September 1994 but EC 1/2 Cigognes with its Escadrille SPA 3 and SPA 103 and EC 2/2 Côte d’or with SPA 65 SPA 57and SPA 94 became independent units at Dijon AB. EC 1/2 Cigognes added a third Escadrille SPA 12. Support continued to be provided by Escadron de Soutien Technique Aéronautique Technical Support Squadron ESTA 2E 002. EC 2/2 Côte d’or and EC 1/2 Cigognes began to reequip with Mirage 2000 5F fighter aircraft in 1999 completing in January 2000.

With the decision to concentrate all Mirage 2000 5 air defence aircraft in one Wing EC 2/2 Côte d’or and SPA 94 were disbanded on 7 September 2007 with SPA 57 and 65 and the Côte d’or name and traditions transferred to the newly formed Escadron d’Entraînement EE 5/2 Côte d’Or equipping with Alpha Jet aircraft to provide combat fighter weapons training. SPA 57 was based at BA 113 St Dizier with SPA 65 at BA 102 Dijon with maintainance provided by the Alphajet division of ESTA Aeronautical Technical Support Squadron 2E.002. SPA 57 relocated to join SPA 65 at Dijon in June 2008.

EE 5/2 Côte d’Or was redesignated EE 2/2 Côte d’Or on 1 September 2009.

EC 1/2 Cigognes Escadrille SPA 12 was redesignated SPA 26 on 3 September 2009 previously an EC 1/5 Vendée Escadrille that had been disbanded in 2007. EC 1/2 Cigognes relocated to BA 116 Luxeuil Air Base on 29 July 2011 and rejoined 2 EC Escadre de Chasse with its reactivation at Luxeuil AB on 3 September 2015. EE 2/2 Côte d’Or was not assigned to 2 EC remaining independent.

With the closure of BA 102 Dijon AB EE 2/2 Côte d’Or relocated to BA 120 Cazaux AB on 30 June 2014. EE 2/2 Côte d’Or with SPA 57 and 65 were assigned to the newly reformed EC 8 Escadre de Chasse on 25 August 2015 and redesignated EE 3/8 Côte d’Or in 2016.

This patch dates from 1982.