Brétigny-sur-Orge Air Base
Encyclopedia
Brétigny-sur-Orge Air Base is a French Air Force
( (ALA) base. The base is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Brétigny-sur-Orge
; about 17 miles (27.4 km) south of Paris
.
as a French Air Force
facility.
, Brétigny was used as a Luftwaffe
military airfield during the occupation. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):
KG 51, KG 54 and KG 30 all took part in night bombing raids over England
; KG6 also to a lesser degree as fuel shortages began restricting night bomber missions; JG 1 was a day interceptor unit against Eighth Air Force
heavy bombers.
It was attacked on several occasions by heavy bombers of both the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force
during 1943 and early 1944.
combat airfield, designated as "A-48" about 29 August, only a few days after its capture from German forces.
Almost immediately, the repaired base became home to numerous combat units.
The Americans returned control of the base to the French Air Force in August 1945 and it returned to being a French military airfield.
Today, the base is a modern, fully equipped NATO base.
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
( (ALA) base. The base is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Brétigny-sur-Orge
Brétigny-sur-Orge
Brétigny-sur-Orge is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:Brétigny-sur-Orge is served by Brétigny station on Paris RER line C.Inhabitants of Brétigny-sur-Orge are known as Brétignolais....
; about 17 miles (27.4 km) south of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Units
- Integrated structure of maintenance in operational condition of the aeronautical materials of defense.
- Logistic service of the police station of air (SELOCA).
- Squadron Syderec (OVIA).
- Support of OIA (SOCRATE) and OVIA (SIMMAD, BEAD, SYDEREC)
Aircraft
The base has no permanent aircraft assigned, however runway and turnaround service is available for transient aircraft.History
Brétigny Air Base was built prior to World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a French Air Force
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
facility.
German use during World War II
Seized by the Germans in June 1940 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...
, Brétigny was used as a 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....
military airfield during the occupation. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):
- Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51) 3 November 1940-30 March 1941 Junkers Ju 88Junkers Ju 88The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
A (Fuselage Code: 9K+) - Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) 14 April-26 May 1941 Junkers Ju 88Junkers Ju 88The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
A (Fuselage Code: B3+) - Kampfgeschwader 30Kampfgeschwader 30-Service history:Formed on 15 November 1939 in Greifswald. I Gruppe formed 1 September, II Gruppe on 23 September and III Gruppe on 1 January 1940, based in Greifswald then Barth...
(KG 30) 8 June 1941-January 1942 Junkers Ju 88Junkers Ju 88The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
A (Fuselage Code: 4D+) - Kampfgeschwader 6 (KG 6) (Fuselage Code: 3E+)
- August 1942-20 March 1944 Junkers Ju 88Junkers Ju 88The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
A - 20 March-14 June 1944 Junkers Ju 188Junkers Ju 188The Junkers Ju 188 was a German Luftwaffe high-performance medium bomber built during World War II, the planned follow-on to the famed Ju 88 with better performance and payload...
A/E - 10 July-1 September 1944 Junkers Ju 88Junkers Ju 88The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
A, Junkers Ju 188Junkers Ju 188The Junkers Ju 188 was a German Luftwaffe high-performance medium bomber built during World War II, the planned follow-on to the famed Ju 88 with better performance and payload...
E - 14 July-1 September 1944 Junkers Ju 88Junkers Ju 88The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
A- Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) 5-17 August 1944 Messerschmitt Bf 109Messerschmitt Bf 109The 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
- Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) 5-17 August 1944 Messerschmitt Bf 109
KG 51, KG 54 and KG 30 all took part in night bombing raids over England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; KG6 also to a lesser degree as fuel shortages began restricting night bomber missions; JG 1 was a day interceptor unit against 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.
It was attacked on several occasions by heavy bombers of both the United States Army Air Force 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....
during 1943 and early 1944.
American use
It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 27 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. Almost immediately, the USAAF IX Engineering Command 825th Engineer Aviation Battalion began clearing the base of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft; filling bomb craters in both runways with rubble and a Pierced Steel Planking patch along with repairing operational facilities for use by American aircraft. Subsequently, Brétigny became a USAAF Ninth Air ForceNinth 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 airfield, designated as "A-48" about 29 August, only a few days after its capture from German forces.
Almost immediately, the repaired base became home to numerous combat units.
- 404th Fighter Group404th Fighter GroupThe 404th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with III Fighter Command, stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 9 November 1945....
, flew P-47 ThunderboltP-47 ThunderboltRepublic 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 29 August to 13 September 1944 - 365th Fighter Group365th Fighter GroupThe 365th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Service Forces stationed at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 22 September 1945....
flew P-47 ThunderboltP-47 ThunderboltRepublic 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 3 to 15 September 1944 - 409th Bombardment Group409th Bombardment GroupThe 409th Air Expeditionary Operations Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Mobility Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time....
flew A-20 Havocs from August to November 1944 and A-26 InvaderA-26 InvaderThe Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...
s from mid November 1944 until early February 1945 - 435th Troop Carrier Group flew C-47 SkytrainC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
s frp, 13 February until 25 June 1945 The C-47s pulled gliders in the airborne assault across the Rhine (Operation VarsityOperation VarsityOperation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
).
The Americans returned control of the base to the French Air Force in August 1945 and it returned to being a French military airfield.
Current
After the war, the base was completely rebuilt, with a new 9000' (3000m) jet runway laid down parallel to the wartime 05/23 main. The wartime runway was reduced in width, resurfaced with asphalt and reused as a taxiway. The secondary 11/29 was also refurbished, however it was closed for the past few years. Aerial photography of the base shows it recently marked with an excellent concrete surface. New hangars and support facilities were built along with a new support area.Today, the base is a modern, fully equipped NATO base.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground