Metz-Frescaty Air Base
Encyclopedia
Metz-Frescaty Air Base is a front-line French Air Force
( (ALA) base. The base is located approximately 5 miles (8 km) south-southwest of Metz
(Département de la Moselle,Lorraine) ; about 174 miles (280 km) east of Paris
.
A military restructuring plan announced in July 2008 was to close BA 128 in 2011. The plans are to close the base and place it in reserve status (Base Interarmes).
, Metz and much of the Moselle were annexed by Germany
as part of the Treaty of Frankfurt
, and Metz became a "Garrison City" of the Imperial German Army
(Reichsheer). In the early 1900s, the German army began building a Zeppelin
field to the south-west of the city, at the present site of the airfield.
, in addition to the Zeppelins, the Luftstreitkräfte
(Imperial German Army Air Service) began stationing airplanes at the airfield, which were later used in combat over the Western Front
during the war. It became the target of French and British aircraft later in the war, starting about 1915 with the development of bomber and fighter combat aircraft. It also was the target for long-range artillery attacks.
Following the armistice with Germany
ending the First World War, the French army entered Metz in November 1918, and the airfield came under the control of the French Air Force
(Aéronautique Militaire).
Rhineland-Palatinate
. On 1 August 1920, the unit was redesignated as the 11th Aviation Bombardment Regiment (11th RAB). In 1927, the 3d Group of the 12th Aviation Regiment was also assigned, moving from Neustadt an der Weinstraße
, also in the Occupied Rhineland
.
On 31 May 1934, Frescaty Air Base received the designation of base aérienne 111 (BA 111). The 11th Wing Frescaty left in 1936 and settled in Toulouse. Two years later, the transition from GB I/38 and II/38 on Amiot 143, causes the change in mission of the 38th Wing, which became the 38th Bombardment Wing in March 1939. By the following June 38 EB is reassigned to French North Africa.
on 3 September 1939, the CAG 506 and GR II/22 (flying Bloch MB.131
reconnaissance-bombers and Potez 630
heavy twin-engined fighters) were present at Frescaty.
Frescaty Air Base was bombed by the Luftwaffe
on 10 May 1940 on the first day of the German attack in the West. After the Second Battle of Sedan
(12–15 May 1940), GR II/22 was replaced by GR I/22. Frescaty Air Base was again attacked on 14 June, and was seized by the Wehrmacht
shortly afterward.
s and later RADAR-equipped Dornier Do 217
s against the night attacks by the Royal Air Force
on German targets. In 1943, a dive bomber school, Schlachtgeschwader 103 (SG 103) was established at the base, training pilots with Arado Ar 96
advanced trainers; Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Fs, and Junkers Ju 87
s.
The school closed in February 1944; the night fighters were reassigned in May. In June, day interceptor fighters of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3) moved in with Messerschmitt Bf 109
Gs to attack American Eighth Air Force
heavy bombers. In July, Kampfgeschwader 101 (KG 101) arrived as part of the Mistel (German: Mistletoe), project, in which Junkers Ju 88A, bombers were controlled by a Messerschmitt Bf 109E, which was flown to the target by the fighter, then separated and guided, with a shaped 1,800 kg charge at the nose of the aircraft, and used as unmanned powered bomb. KG 101 flew several attacks against hardened Allied targets along the English channel coast.
These activities led to Frescaty being attacked by USAAF 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.
"Y-34 Metz".
Under American control, Metz Air Base was turned over to the Ninth Air Force
, being used as a P-47 Thunderbolt
combat fighter-bomber airfield for the rest of the war. Units which used the airfield were:
The Luftwaffe Operation Bodenplatte
(Unternehmen Bodenplatte) attacks on Metz Airfield by Jagdgeschwader 53
(JG 53) on 1 January 1945 from its base near Stuttgart (Echterdingen) with Bf 109Gs was part of the German last-ditch effort to achieve air superiority, even temporarily over the Western Front. JG 53 destroyed or damaged about 40 Thunderbolts of the 365th Fighter Group in the attack, but the damage to the airfield was quickly repaired, the destroyed aircraft moved off the ramp, and replacements arrived within a few days to continue the attack. JG 53 retreated into Czechoslovakia
and Austria
before it was finally disbanded in April 1945.
On 29 May 1945, control of Metz Airfield was returned to the French Air Force.
threat of the Soviet Union
, Metz-Frescaty was proposed by the United States Air Force
to become an interim NATO fighter base, until other airfields could be constructed. In the ongoing negotiations, the site was ultimately rejected, and reconstruction of the base continued for French Air Force requirements..
The new paved jet runway was officially opened 20 July 1951, but the first French Air Force flying units were not assigned until April 1956 when 1/9 "Limousin" left BA 139 (Lahr, West Germany) and moved to Frescaty Air Base. Construction of the facility continued until 1956. The air base was designated base aérienne 128 (BA 128) during the summer of 1956. During the past 50 years, many units have been assigned to the base, flying a wide variety of aircraft. The last combat unit was reassigned on 31 August 2004.
Today Metz-Frescaty Air Base is a fully equipped front line French Air Force Base, primarily being used for command, control and training along with electronic warfare.
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 5 miles (8 km) south-southwest of Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
(Département de la Moselle,Lorraine) ; about 174 miles (280 km) east 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...
.
A military restructuring plan announced in July 2008 was to close BA 128 in 2011. The plans are to close the base and place it in reserve status (Base Interarmes).
Major units assigned
Metz-Frescaty is primarily a command and control base.- Staff of the Combat Air Force (FAC).
- 54th Air Intelligence Wing.
- Center for Mobile Detection and Control.
- Telecommunications Group.
- Combined Transport Squadron 1/40 "Moselle". (Eurocopter AS355Eurocopter AS355The Eurocopter AS355 Ecureuil 2 is a twin-engine light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale...
; SOCATA TBMSocata TBM|-See also:-References:* Jackson, Paul. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003–2004. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2003. ISBN 0 7106 2537 5....
) - Airborne Electronic Squadron 1/54 "Dunkirk" C-160G Transall "Gabriel" ELINT aircraft
- Company regional infrastructure.
Origins
Following the defeat of France in the 1871 Franco-Prussian WarFranco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, Metz and much of the Moselle were annexed by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as part of the Treaty of Frankfurt
Treaty of Frankfurt
The Treaty of Frankfurt may refer to one of three treaties signed at Frankfurt, as follows:*Treaty of Frankfurt - Treaty between Maximilian of Austria and the envoys of King Charles VIII of France...
, and Metz became a "Garrison City" of the Imperial German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
(Reichsheer). In the early 1900s, the German army began building a Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
field to the south-west of the city, at the present site of the airfield.
World War I
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in addition to the Zeppelins, the Luftstreitkräfte
Luftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
(Imperial German Army Air Service) began stationing airplanes at the airfield, which were later used in combat over the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
during the war. It became the target of French and British aircraft later in the war, starting about 1915 with the development of bomber and fighter combat aircraft. It also was the target for long-range artillery attacks.
Following the armistice with Germany
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
ending the First World War, the French army entered Metz in November 1918, and the airfield came under the control of the 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...
(Aéronautique Militaire).
Between the wars
In 1919, the first French Air Force units moved into Frescaty Air Base, when Bombardment Group No. 1 moved in from Landau in the Occupied GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
. On 1 August 1920, the unit was redesignated as the 11th Aviation Bombardment Regiment (11th RAB). In 1927, the 3d Group of the 12th Aviation Regiment was also assigned, moving from Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Neustadt an der Weinstraße is a town located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,892 inhabitants as of 2002, it is the largest town called Neustadt.-Etymology:...
, also in the Occupied Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
.
On 31 May 1934, Frescaty Air Base received the designation of base aérienne 111 (BA 111). The 11th Wing Frescaty left in 1936 and settled in Toulouse. Two years later, the transition from GB I/38 and II/38 on Amiot 143, causes the change in mission of the 38th Wing, which became the 38th Bombardment Wing in March 1939. By the following June 38 EB is reassigned to French North Africa.
The Phony War and the Battle of France
At the outbreak of 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...
on 3 September 1939, the CAG 506 and GR II/22 (flying Bloch MB.131
Bloch MB.131
|-See also:-References:* Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft. London: Macdonald, 1967.-External links:*...
reconnaissance-bombers and Potez 630
Potez 630
The Potez 630 and its derivatives were a family of twin-engined aircraft developed for the Armée de l'Air in the late 1930s. The design was a contemporary of the British Bristol Blenheim and the German Messerschmitt Bf 110.-Design and development :...
heavy twin-engined fighters) were present at Frescaty.
Frescaty Air Base was bombed 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....
on 10 May 1940 on the first day of the German attack in the West. After the Second Battle of Sedan
Battle of Sedan (1940)
The Battle of Sedan or Second Battle of Sedan was a Second World War battle fought during the French Campaign. The battle was part of the German Wehrmacht's operational plan codenamed Fall Gelb , to encircle the Allied armies in Belgium and north-eastern France...
(12–15 May 1940), GR II/22 was replaced by GR I/22. Frescaty Air Base was again attacked on 14 June, and was seized by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
shortly afterward.
German control during World War II
Under Luftwaffe control, the airfield was initially used as a night interceptor fighter base, with Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 (NJG 4) flying Messerschmitt Bf 110Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...
s and later RADAR-equipped Dornier Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
s against the night attacks by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
on German targets. In 1943, a dive bomber school, Schlachtgeschwader 103 (SG 103) was established at the base, training pilots with Arado Ar 96
Arado Ar 96
-See also:-Bibliography:* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6....
advanced trainers; Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
Fs, and Junkers Ju 87
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...
s.
The school closed in February 1944; the night fighters were reassigned in May. In June, day interceptor fighters of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3) moved in 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...
Gs to attack American 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. In July, Kampfgeschwader 101 (KG 101) arrived as part of the Mistel (German: Mistletoe), project, in which Junkers Ju 88A, bombers were controlled by a Messerschmitt Bf 109E, which was flown to the target by the fighter, then separated and guided, with a shaped 1,800 kg charge at the nose of the aircraft, and used as unmanned powered bomb. KG 101 flew several attacks against hardened Allied targets along the English channel coast.
These activities led to Frescaty being attacked by USAAF 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.
American control
In November 1944, American Third Army forces moved into the Metz area and heavy fighting ensued between the Allies and the German forces. On 29 November the airfield was taken from German control. Combat engineers from IX Engineer command moved in with the 830th Engineering Aviation Battalion arriving on 5 December. Due to the heavy fighting in the area and extensive damage from the Allied bombing attacks on the base, much restoration work was necessary. A new 5000' Pierced Steel Planking metal runway was laid down aligned 02/20 for aircraft use, and after nearly a month the airfield was declared operationally ready on 25 December 1944 as Advanced Landing GroundAdvanced 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...
"Y-34 Metz".
Under American control, Metz Air Base was turned over to the 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....
, being used as a 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...
combat fighter-bomber airfield for the rest of the war. Units which used the airfield were:
- 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....
, 27 December 1944-30 January 1945 - 368th Fighter Group368th Fighter GroupThe 368th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the XII Tactical Air Command stationed at Fliegerhorst Straubing , Germany. It was deactivated on 20 August 1946....
, 5 January-15 April 1945 - 406th Fighter Group, 2-8 February 1945
- 371st Fighter Group371st Fighter GroupThe 371st Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Service Forces stationed at Camp Shanks , New Jersey...
, 15 February-7 April 1945
The Luftwaffe Operation Bodenplatte
Operation Bodenplatte
Operation Bodenplatte launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the Second World War. The goal of Bodenplatte was to gain air superiority during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge, to allow the German Army and...
(Unternehmen Bodenplatte) attacks on Metz Airfield by Jagdgeschwader 53
Jagdgeschwader 53
Jagdgeschwader 53 Pik-As was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. It operated in Western Europe and in the Mediterranean.Jagdgeschwader 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As" Geschwader - was one of the oldest German fighter units of World War II with its origins going back to 1937...
(JG 53) on 1 January 1945 from its base near Stuttgart (Echterdingen) with Bf 109Gs was part of the German last-ditch effort to achieve air superiority, even temporarily over the Western Front. JG 53 destroyed or damaged about 40 Thunderbolts of the 365th Fighter Group in the attack, but the damage to the airfield was quickly repaired, the destroyed aircraft moved off the ramp, and replacements arrived within a few days to continue the attack. JG 53 retreated into Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
before it was finally disbanded in April 1945.
On 29 May 1945, control of Metz Airfield was returned to the French Air Force.
Postwar
Although under French Air Force Control, the airfield was badly damaged by the war. Reconstruction began in April 1946. In 1950, when as a result of the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
threat of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Metz-Frescaty was proposed by the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
to become an interim NATO fighter base, until other airfields could be constructed. In the ongoing negotiations, the site was ultimately rejected, and reconstruction of the base continued for French Air Force requirements..
The new paved jet runway was officially opened 20 July 1951, but the first French Air Force flying units were not assigned until April 1956 when 1/9 "Limousin" left BA 139 (Lahr, West Germany) and moved to Frescaty Air Base. Construction of the facility continued until 1956. The air base was designated base aérienne 128 (BA 128) during the summer of 1956. During the past 50 years, many units have been assigned to the base, flying a wide variety of aircraft. The last combat unit was reassigned on 31 August 2004.
Today Metz-Frescaty Air Base is a fully equipped front line French Air Force Base, primarily being used for command, control and training along with electronic warfare.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground