French pilots endured fighting both with & against the Allies during World War 2. Possessing obsolescent aircraft at the outbreak of the war the Armee de l Air was decimated in the wake of the Blitzkrieg; however a number of fighter units still achieved creditable scores flying Curtiss Hawks Morane MS.406s & Dewoitine D.520s. Following the capitulation of France at the end of June 1940 many aces continued to fly with the now Vichy French Squadrons that were stationed in North Africa & a number of these pilots subsequently saw action against their former Allies there. Numerous French pilots also escaped to Britain & a handful achieved notable sucess with the RAF flying Hurricanes Spitfires & Tempests. In Russia the formation of the French-manned Normandie-Niemen regiment in 1943 also saw near on 40 pilots achieve ace status flying Yak fighters on the Eastern Front.