page_title: Lafayette Escadrille
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Lafayette Escadrille / World War II
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 La Fayette Escadrille was a unit constituted in 1916 under French command, made up of volunteers who fought for France during World War I. The escadrille of the Aéronautique Militaire was composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters. It was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War.
context_section_description: La Fayette Escadrille became the third flight unit (Escadrille) of the Groupe de Chasse 2/5 La Fayette.
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.
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