Dictionary:
squad·ron (skwŏd'rən)  |
[Italian squadrone, augmentative of squadra, squad. See squad.]
| 5min Related Video: squadron |
| Military History Companion: squadron |
Originating in 16th-century Italy as squadrone, a group of soldiers drawn up in square formation, the term squadron has application to war on the land, at sea, and in the air. It describes a subdivision of a naval fleet deployed for a particular purpose—‘the China Squadron’—or a grouping of similar vessels—‘the Battlecruiser Squadron’. It is the basic administrative and tactical grouping of air forces.
In land warfare it defined a cavalry subunit composed of two or more troops. From the 16th century the troop, a captain's command, was the basic subunit in the cavalry. Troops could be combined, initially on an ad hoc basis, under the command of one of the regiment's field officers or a senior captain, to create a more substantial grouping, the squadron. During the 19th century squadron organization became permanent in most armies. In the process troops lost their former importance, generally becoming subalterns' commands. The British army is among those which have retained the term squadron to describe subunits of armoured regiments. In the US army an Armoured Cavalry Squadron is an altogether larger and more powerful unit within the brigade-sized Armoured Cavalry Regiment.
— Richard Holmes
| US Military Dictionary: squadron |
n. 1. an operational unit in an air force consisting of two or more flights of aircraft and the personnel required to fly them.
2. a principal division of an armored or cavalry regiment, consisting of two or more troops.
3. a group of warships detached on a particular duty or under the command of a flag officer.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
| Military Dictionary: squadron |
(DOD) 1. An organization consisting of two or more divisions of ships, or two or more divisions (Navy) or flights of aircraft. It is normally but not necessarily composed of ships or aircraft of the same type. 2. The basic administrative aviation unit of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. 3. Battalion-sized ground or aviation units in US Army cavalry regiments.
| Wikipedia: Squadron |
A squadron is a small unit or formation of cavalry, armour, aircraft (including balloons), or warships.
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A cavalry squadron (horse or armoured), typically consists of four troops.
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In the United States Army, a squadron is the Cavalry equivalent of an infantry battalion or artillery battalion, it is used for Armored Cavalry and Air Cavalry units. Prior to the revisions in the US Army structure in the first decade of the last century, US Cavalry Regiments were divided into companies, and the battalion was an administrative designation used only in garrison. The reorganizations converted companies to troops and battalions to squadrons and made the squadron a tactical formation as well as an administrative one.
In the British Army and many Commonwealth armies, it is 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 (e.g. No. 1 Squadron or A Squadron). In some British Army units it is 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 (e.g. The Queen's Colour Squadron of the Royal Air Force's RAF Regiment).
An escadron (the French word for squadron) is another word for a cavalry division. For a long time, an escadron corresponded to a battalion, uniting several companies. Since the mid 20th century, an escadron has been the equivalent of a single company (typicall 13-tank strong [1]).
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).
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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 United Kingdom, a Squadron is a group of cadets who parade regularly.
In the Civil Air Patrol, a squadron is the basic administrative unit.
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.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Squadron |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - eskadron, eskadre, eskadrille
idioms:
Français (French)
n. - (GB, Mil) escadron, (Aviat, Naut) escadrille
idioms:
Deutsch (German)
n. - Schwadron, Geschwader, Bataillon, Staffel
idioms:
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ναυτική) μοίρα, (στρατ.) μοίρα, σμήνος, ουλαμός
idioms:
Italiano (Italian)
squadrone, squadriglia
idioms:
Português (Portuguese)
n. - esquadrão (m)
idioms:
Русский (Russian)
эскадрон, артиллерийский дивизион, рота, эскадра, эскадрилья, отряд, войско, сводить в эскадроны, сводить в эскадрильи
idioms:
Español (Spanish)
n. - escuadrón, escuadra, escuadrilla
idioms:
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skvadron, eskader, division, grupp, skara
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
分遣舰队, 中队, 装甲营, 骑兵大队, 连
idioms:
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 分遣艦隊, 中隊, 裝甲營, 騎兵大隊, 連
idioms:
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 기병대대, 비행중대, 조직된 단체
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 騎兵大隊, 小艦隊, 戦隊, 団体
idioms:
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) فصيل أو سريه عسكري, سرب (طائرات), فرقه (بحريه)
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - יחידה, גדוד, טייסת, שייטת, אסקדרון
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Military History Companion. The Oxford Companion to Military History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| US Military Dictionary. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Military Dictionary. US Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Words, 2003. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Squadron". Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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