Athis Airfield
Encyclopedia
Athis Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield which is located approximately 1 km southeast of Athis
, approximately 132 km east-northeast of Paris.
Originally a 1930s airport which was seized by the Germans during the Battle of France
, it was used by the Luftwaffe
, then by the United States Army Air Forces
during World War II. After the war, the site was abandoned and is now agricultural fields.
. During the occupation, the Germans constructed two 1700m concrete, all weather runways, aligned 05/23 and 10/28.
It was not used by the Luftwaffe
until October 1942, when Jagdgeschwader 3
(JG 3) was assigned with Messerschmitt Bf 109
G day interceptor fighters to attack the USAAF Eighth Air Force
heavy bomber fleets attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany. In August 1944, JG 3 was replaced by Jagdgeschwader 76
(JG 76), also flying Bf 109Gs until the end of the month when the Germans were removed from the area by the advancing Allied armies.
Athis came under attack by Ninth Air Force
B-26 Marauder
medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolt
s mostly with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs; unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps when Eighth Air Force
heavy bombers (B-17s, B-24s) were within interception range of the Luftwaffe aircraft assigned to the base. The attacks were timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers. Also the P-51 Mustang
fighter-escort groups of Eighth Air Force
would drop down on their return back to England and attack the base with a fighter sweep and attack any target of opportunity to be found at the airfield. The base was on flat, former agricultural fields and the Allied attacks caused considerable damage, destroying much of the base.
In addition to the airfield, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting.
It was declared operationally ready for Ninth Air Force
combat units on 8 September, only a few days after its capture from German forces, being designated as Advanced Landing Ground
"A-76 Athis Airfield" Almost immediately, the 36th Fighter Group moved in, flying P-47 Thunderbolt
s from the field until 1 October.
Once the fighters moved out, the Americans moved east and Athis airfield was turned over to French authorities on 4 October 1945.
Today all of the concrete and structures of the former airport and wartime airfield have been removed, and the land used by agriculture. Faint outlines of the runways can be seen in aerial photography, with one large triangle shaped concrete slab at the intersection of two single track concrete agricultural roads (the remains of the runways) is all that remains of the wartime air base.
A new airport, (Épernay-Plivot Airport ) was constructed just to the east of the wartime field. It has two grass runways and a small infrastructure of support buildings.
Athis
Athis may refer to:*The name of several places in France :**Athis, a commune in the Marne département**Athis-Mons, a commune in the Essonne département, a suburb of Paris, France**Gue d'Athis, a fort near Fleury-sur-Orneor:...
, approximately 132 km east-northeast of Paris.
Originally a 1930s airport which was seized by the Germans during the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, it was used by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, then by the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
during World War II. After the war, the site was abandoned and is now agricultural fields.
History
Athis was a pre-World War II airport, with some support buildings, a hangar and grass runways.German use during World War II
The airfield was seized by the Germans during the Battle of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. During the occupation, the Germans constructed two 1700m concrete, all weather runways, aligned 05/23 and 10/28.
It was not used by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
until October 1942, when Jagdgeschwader 3
Jagdgeschwader 3
Jagdgeschwader 3 Udet was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. The Geschwader operated on all the German fronts in the European Theatre of World War II. It was named after Ernst Udet in 1942.-Campaign in the West :...
(JG 3) was assigned with Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
G day interceptor fighters to attack the USAAF Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
heavy bomber fleets attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany. In August 1944, JG 3 was replaced by Jagdgeschwader 76
Jagdgeschwader 76
Jagdgeschwader 76 was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. JG 76 was first formed in 1939 in Wien-Aspern with only I. Gruppe . The Geschwader was renamed II./Jagdgeschwader 54 on 4 July 1940....
(JG 76), also flying Bf 109Gs until the end of the month when the Germans were removed from the area by the advancing Allied armies.
Athis came under attack by Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
s mostly with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs; unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps when Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
heavy bombers (B-17s, B-24s) were within interception range of the Luftwaffe aircraft assigned to the base. The attacks were timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers. Also the P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
fighter-escort groups of Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
would drop down on their return back to England and attack the base with a fighter sweep and attack any target of opportunity to be found at the airfield. The base was on flat, former agricultural fields and the Allied attacks caused considerable damage, destroying much of the base.
American use
American Army units moved though the area in early September 1944. On 4 September The IX Engineer Command 826d Engineer Aviation Battalion moved in and began a quick rehabilitation of the base so it could be used by American aircraft. Both concrete runways were so shot up and bomb cratered that they were declared to be totally unusable. Subsequently, the engineers filled the bomb craters quickly on the 10/28 SE/NW runway with rubble and whatever could be bulldozed into the bomb craters then laid down a Square-Mesh Track (SMT) surface over the patched concrete for aircraft use.In addition to the airfield, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting.
It was declared operationally ready for Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
combat units on 8 September, only a few days after its capture from German forces, being designated as Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground was the term given to the temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II in support of the invasion of Europe...
"A-76 Athis Airfield" Almost immediately, the 36th Fighter Group moved in, flying P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
s from the field until 1 October.
Once the fighters moved out, the Americans moved east and Athis airfield was turned over to French authorities on 4 October 1945.
Postwar
In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for several years. There was much unexploded ordinance at the site which needed to be removed, as well as the wreckage of German and American aircraft. Many of the buildings at the base were destroyed by the war, and although some had been repaired by the American combat engineers, most were in ruins. It was uneconomical to repair the prewar airport, and as a result, the Air Ministry sold the land, concrete runways, structures and all, out to farmers for agricultural use, sending in unexploded ordnance teams to remove the dangerous munitions.Today all of the concrete and structures of the former airport and wartime airfield have been removed, and the land used by agriculture. Faint outlines of the runways can be seen in aerial photography, with one large triangle shaped concrete slab at the intersection of two single track concrete agricultural roads (the remains of the runways) is all that remains of the wartime air base.
A new airport, (Épernay-Plivot Airport ) was constructed just to the east of the wartime field. It has two grass runways and a small infrastructure of support buildings.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground