Squadron

Squadrons are groupings of aircraft, naval vessels or armoured fighting vehicles.

• An air force squadron typically consists of three or four flights,with 12 to 24 aircraft, depending on aircraft type and air force.
• An armoured squadron typically consists of four or five troops. In the United States Army, a squadron is the Armor Branch equivalent of a battalion of infantry or artillery; in the British Army, it is the counterpart of an infantry company or an artillery battery.
• Naval squadrons are of two types: aviation and surface (or vessels).

A naval vessel squadron is a more ad hoc grouping. The only requirement for a grouping of ships to be a squadron, is that at least two must be 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.

World War II

Squadrons in WWII:

Imperial Army of Japan

Three Japanese air squadrons were assigned to each air regiment.

See also:

• military science
• military unit