Though it was equipped with a mixed bag of aircraft, it was designated as
Escadrille C 65 for its
Caudron G.IVs. It was assigned to
VII Armee of the
French Army on 24 October 1915. It was re-equipped in its entirety with
Nieuports, and was redesignated
Escadrille N 65 on 21 February 1916. In June 1916, it was consolidated into an
ad hoc Groupe de Combat that was based at
Cachy. Other
escadrilles within the
Groupe were
N3,
N37,
N62,
N73, and
N103. In early November 1916,
Escadrille N65 was reassigned into
Groupe de Combat 13.
GC 13 also contained
Escadrille N67,
Escadrille N112, and
Escadrille N.124. On 5 December 1916,
Escadrille N 65 received its first citation. As 1917 began, the
escadrille was operating a mixture of
Spad VIIs and
Nieuport 17s. On 17 March 1917, the unit was detached from
GC 13 to support
VI Armee in the
Second Battle of the Aisne. The
escadrille rejoined
GC 13 on 3 June 1917. In July, it moved to support the
1er Armee in
Flanders. It was reassigned to
II Armee on 11 August 1917. The following month, the
escadrille moved once again, to support
VI Armee. The flying unit's second citation came through on 16 November 1917, lauding them for downing 68 enemy aircraft and five
observation balloons. This second citation entitled the unit's members to the
fourragere of the
Croix de Guerre. The Summer of 1918 saw
Escadrille 65 subsumed into ever larger units.
GC 13 was consolidated into
Escadre de Combat No. 2; it in turn was assigned to
1er Division Aerienne. The
escadrille continued its valorous service. It was cited twice in September 1918, on the 10th and 19th. The unit's personnel won the right to wear the fourragere of the
Medaille Militare.
Escadrille 65 ended the war credited with 108 enemy aircraft destroyed.
Escadrille 65 continues its service in the current French Air Force. ==Commanding officers==