to Moscow in early winter for de Gaulle's diplomatic visit with Stalin; one-quarter of the pilots were given leave in France, reducing it to three escadrilles. Third campaign (1945) The squadron began its third campaign (from Dopenen to Heiligenbeil) on 14 January 1945, concentrating on East Prussia. From January to May 1945 (V-E Day), it participated in the invasion of East Prussia and the siege of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). In June 1945, Joseph Stalin decreed that combatants could return home with their arms. The squadron flew to Posen on 15 June, and to Prague the following day. They were received by General de Lattre de Tassigny in Stuttgart on 17 June. On 20 June, the squadron arrived at Saint-Dizier three days later. They were welcomed at Paris–Le Bourget Airport, and their 38 Yak-3s paraded down the Champs-Élysées. WWII statistics The squadron claimed 273 enemy aircraft shot down (37 probable), with a loss of 87 aircraft and 52 pilots. About 5,240 sorties were flown, and the unit took part in 869 dogfights. It destroyed 27 trains, 22 locomotives, two E-boats, 132 trucks, and 24 staff cars. Forty-two of the squadron's pilots were killed, and 30 were flying aces. Four pilots (Marcel Albert, Marcel Lefèvre, Jacques André and Roland de la Poype) became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Forty-seven Axis planes were damaged, and eight train stations, five airfields, four garrisons and three factories were attacked. Its battle honours included Bryansk, Orel, Ielnia and Smolensk (1943); Orsha, Berezina and Niemen (1944), and Insterburg (later renamed Chernyakhovsk), Königsberg (later renamed Kaliningrad) and Pillau (now Baltiysk) in 1945. Members of the squadron received the Légion d'Honneur, the Croix de la Libération, the Médaille militaire and the Croix de Guerre (the latter with six palmes) from France, and the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Alexander Nevsky (with eleven citations between the two) from the Soviet Union. Aircraft fate The squadron was part of the French Air Force, which ordered the transfer of its aircraft to Toussus-le-Noble in early February 1946; the civilian base had a zone reserved for the air force. As training aircraft, without spare parts, the planes were gradually cannibalized. A restored specimen is at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport's Musée de l'air et de l'espace. Soviet Chief Marshal Alexander Novikov wrote, 1947 and after After postings at Bourget and Toussus-le-Noble, the regiment was assigned to Rabat-Salé Airport in Morocco