Meucon Airport
Encyclopedia
Vannes-Meucon Airport is a regional airport in France
. It supports general aviation
with no commercial airline service scheduled.
, Meucon airport was used as a Luftwaffe
military airfield during the occupation. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):
KG 100 took part in operations over England
during the Battle of Britain
(10 July–31 October 1940) JG 53, JG 51 and JG 2 were interceptor units against Allied bomber operations over Occupied Europe
Vannes was attacked on several missions by United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force
bombers during 1943.
. Subsequently, Vannes/Meucon Airport became a USAAF Ninth Air Force
combat airfield, designated as "A-33" about 29 August.
As the airport was in the rear area when repaired and opened, the Americans used it as a defensive field, stationing the 425th Night Fighter Squadron, flying P-61 Black Widow
s from 18 August though 11 September 1944 flying night air defense missions. Once the Luftwaffe threat was diminished in the area, the night fighters were moved east and it became a resupply and evacuation airfield for casualties to be treated, prior to being moved to England or the United States.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It supports general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
with no commercial airline service scheduled.
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...
, Meucon airport 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):
- Kampfgruppe 100 (KG 100) 9 August 1940-17 June 1941 Heinkel He 111Heinkel He 111The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
H (Fuselage Code 6N+) - Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) 8 June-13 August 1941 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...
E-1 - Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51) Oct 1941-January 1942 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...
E-1 - Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) 22 November 1942-October 1943 Focke-Wulf Fw 190Focke-Wulf Fw 190The 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...
A
KG 100 took part in operations 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...
during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
(10 July–31 October 1940) JG 53, JG 51 and JG 2 were interceptor units against Allied bomber operations over Occupied Europe
Vannes was attacked on several missions by 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....
bombers during 1943.
Allied use
The airport was liberated by Allied ground forces about 10 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. Almost immediately, the USAAF IX Engineering Command 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion cleared the airport of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft. Runway bomb craters were filled with gravel or various types of debris and covered by TarmacTarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
. Subsequently, Vannes/Meucon Airport became a 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....
combat airfield, designated as "A-33" about 29 August.
As the airport was in the rear area when repaired and opened, the Americans used it as a defensive field, stationing the 425th Night Fighter Squadron, flying P-61 Black Widow
P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
s from 18 August though 11 September 1944 flying night air defense missions. Once the Luftwaffe threat was diminished in the area, the night fighters were moved east and it became a resupply and evacuation airfield for casualties to be treated, prior to being moved to England or the United States.
Current
The airport was returned to French civil control after the war ended on 20 June 1945. The heavily-damaged airport required much reconstruction, and the main runway was refurbished and repaved with asphalt. Today it remains a regional civil airport. The former secondary (13/31) runway is now a concrete parking apron and still shows some asphalt patches applied over wartime bomb craters left by the Eighth Air Force. A grass runway (08/26) is of postwar vintage.See also
- Advanced Landing Ground