1st Combat Helicopter Regiment

The 1st Combat Helicopter Regiment (1er Régiment d'Hélicoptères de Combat) (1er RHC) is based at Quartier La Horie (Phalsbourg).

1st Combat Helicopter Regiment
(1er Régiment d'Hélicoptères de Combat) (1er RHC)
CountryFrance
BranchFrench Army Light Aviation
Part of4th Air-Combat Brigade
Garrison/HQQuartier La Horie (Phalsbourg)
Motto(s)PRIMUS PRIMORUM
(Le premier parmi les premiers)
Website

History

The 1st Combat Helicopter Regiment was created on 1 August 1977, but traces its origins back to the 1950s. It carries the traditions of the 1st then the 21st Artillery Observation Groups which achieved particular fame during the First Indochina War, winning six citations. The 1st Aerial Artillery Observation Group was established on 20 November 1945, and became the 21st Aerial Artillery Observation Group on 1 October 1950. From 1945 to February 1946 it was stationed at Camp de Valdahon. It was dissolved on 31 December 1953.[Note 1]

That heritage is recalled by the inscription "Indochina 1946–1954" carried on the standard which was solemnly presented to the regiment on 27 June 1980. Camp de la Horie at Phalsbourg where the regiment is stationed was built on the basis of the former Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base, vacated in the 1960s by the United States Air Force. The base was constructed by French workers for the Americans in 1953. Cited in an army order, the régiment received the Croix de guerre des Théâtres d'opérations extérieures with palm on 11 July 1991. It has been awarded battle honours for Kuwait.[Note 2]

In 1990 the 1st RHC took part in Opération Daguet (Operation Brocket) in Iraq. It has also seen service in Chad, in Djibouti, in Somalia, in the former Yugoslavia, in Kosovo, in Timor, in Ivory Coast and in Afghanistan.

Organization

The regiment is divided into 3 battalions:[1]

  • The airmobile support battalion with
    • 1 aerodrome services squadron;
    • 1 command and logistics squadron;
    • 1 defense and protection squadron of reservists.
  • The reconnaissance and attack helicopter battalion with:
  • The maneuver and assault helicopter battalion with:

Commanding officers
Chef de Corps Date
Colonel Baffeleuf Georges 1 August 1977 – 24 August 1978
Lieutenant-colonel Martini André 25 August 1978 – 23 June 1981
Lieutenant-colonel Pfister Alain 24 June 1981 – 15 November 1981 (+)
Chef de bataillon Durand François 16 November 1981 – 11 January 1982
Lieutenant-colonel Archambeaud Hugues 12 January 1982 – 21 June 1984
Lieutenant-colonel Morvan Marcel 22 June 1984 – 25 June 1986
Lieutenant-colonel Davout d'Auerstaedt Armel 26 June 1986 – 29 June 1988
Lieutenant-colonel Massou Michel 30 June 1988 – 28 June 1990
Lieutenant-colonel Hotier Jean-Luc 29 June 1990 – 25 June 1992
Lieutenant-colonel Le Neven Roch 26 June 1992 – 30 June 1994
Lieutenant-colonel Foudriat Michel 1 July 1994 – 30 June 1996
Lieutenant-colonel Tanguy Patrick 1 July 1996 – 30 June 1998
Lieutenant-colonel Brastel Hugues 1 July 1998 – 30 June 2000
Lieutenant-colonel Lefebvre Patrick 1 July 2000 – 25 June 2002
Lieutenant-colonel Guichard Pascal 26 June 2002 – 30 June 2004
Lieutenant-colonel Grintchenko Michel 1 July 2004 – 30 June 2006
Lieutenant-colonel Auriault Hervé 1 July 2006 – 31 July 2008
Colonel Bayle Alain 1 August 2008 – 31 May 2010
Colonel De Laforcade Thibault 1 June 2010 –

Notes
  1. 1° Groupe aérien d'observation d'artillerie – 1st GAOA – 21st GAOA. Mis sur pied au camp de Valdahon le 20 novembre 1945, embarque à Marseille le 1 Décember on the "Boissevin" . It arrived at Saïgon on 18 December. Devant faire mouvement sur le Tonkin, a détachement est embarqué au Cap-Saint-Jacques, on the French aircraft carrier Béarn and arrived en baie d'Along on 7 March 1946. Le 10, le détachement s'installe à Cat Bi, l'aérodrome d'Haiphong, et perçoit son premier Morane 500. Au 1 May la situation du 1st GAOA was as follows: the 1st escadrille was stationed à Tourane with four Morane, the 2nd escadrille à Seno avec quatre Morane, and the 3rd escadrille at Haiphong with four Morane. Cette dernière s'installe à Hanoï. Les effets du décret du 3 mars 1952, créant officiellement l'ALOA.
  2. Koweït 1990–1991"Edition Chronologique n° 45 du 29 octobre 2010".Le Ministère de la Défense instruction n°1515/DEF/EMA/OL/2 du 23 septembre 1983, modifiée, sur les filiations et l'héritage des traditions des unités; décision n°010318/DEF/CAB/SDBG/CPAG du 15 juillet 2008 portant création d'une commission des emblèmes. Art. 1. L'incription "Koweït 1990–1991" est attribuée aux flags et standards formations des armées énumérated below. 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment, 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment, 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment, 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment, 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, 11th Marine Artillery Regiment, 4th Régiment de dragon, 1st Spahi Regiment, 6th Command and Support Régiment, 1st R.H.C, 3rd R.H.C, as well as formations of the French Air Force (5th, 7th, 11th de Chasse, 11th Reconnaissance, 61e, 62e de Transport). Le présent arrêté sera publié au bulletin officiel des armées, Hervé Morin.

References
  1. "1st Combat Helicopter Regiment". French Army. Retrieved 30 November 2016.

Official website

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