Dôle-Tavaux Airport
Encyclopedia
Dole – Jura Airport , also known as Franche-Comté Regional Airport (Aéroport Régional de Franche-Comté), is an airport
serving Dole
, a commune
in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté
region
in eastern France
. The airport is located 7 km (7,000,000,000,000 nm) southwest of Dole, and southeast of Tavaux
. It was formerly known as Dole - Tavaux Airport.
The airport is used for general aviation
, and for one commercial airline service.
of 645 feet (197 m) above mean sea level. It has one paved runway
designated 05/23 which measures 2230 by 45 m (7,316.3 by 147.6 ). It also has a parallel runway with a grass
surface measuring 800 by 50 m (2,624.7 by 164 ).
the airport was used by the German Luftwaffe
during the occupation of France as an Air intelligence training facility (Luftnachrichten-Ausbildungs-Regiment 302). It was attacked by the United States Army Air Force on several occasions in the spring of 1944. After the airfield was liberated by Allied forces in early September 1944, the United States Army Air Forces
IX Engineer Command repaired the airfield and made it ready for operational use by combat units. The field was made ready by 15 September. It was known as Dole/Tavaux Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground
Y-7. Units that were assigned to the airfield were:
With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Control of the airport was returned to French civil authorities on 17 July 1945.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
serving Dole
Dole, Jura
Dole is a commune in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, of which it is a subprefecture ....
, a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in eastern France
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...
. The airport is located 7 km (7,000,000,000,000 nm) southwest of Dole, and southeast of Tavaux
Tavaux
Tavaux is a commune in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Dole – Jura Airport is located here.-Demographics:As of the census of 1999, the population was 4274.The estimate for 2004 was 4094.-References:*...
. It was formerly known as Dole - Tavaux Airport.
The airport is used for 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...
, and for one commercial airline service.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 645 feet (197 m) above mean sea level. It has one paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 05/23 which measures 2230 by 45 m (7,316.3 by 147.6 ). It also has a parallel runway with a grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
surface measuring 800 by 50 m (2,624.7 by 164 ).
History
During 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...
the airport was used by the German 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....
during the occupation of France as an Air intelligence training facility (Luftnachrichten-Ausbildungs-Regiment 302). It was attacked by the United States Army Air Force on several occasions in the spring of 1944. After the airfield was liberated by Allied forces in early September 1944, 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....
IX Engineer Command repaired the airfield and made it ready for operational use by combat units. The field was made ready by 15 September. It was known as Dole/Tavaux Airfield or 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...
Y-7. Units that were assigned to the airfield were:
- 320th Bombardment Group, 1 April-18 June 1945, B-25 MitchellB-25 MitchellThe North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
(12th AF) - 324th Fighter Group324th Fighter GroupThe 324th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with XII Air Support Command, stationed at Fliegerhorst Stuttgart-Echterdingen , Germany. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945....
, 20 September 1944-4 January 1945, P-40 Warhawk (12th AF) - 371st Fighter Group, 1 October-20 December 1944, 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...
, (9th AF)
With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Control of the airport was returned to French civil authorities on 17 July 1945.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground