Laon-Athies Air Base
Encyclopedia
Laon-Athies Air Base is an abandoned military airfield, which is located near the city of Laon
in the Aisne
department of France
.
Its history begins before World War II
, when it was originally a grass civil airdrome. During the German occupation of France (1940–1944), the Luftwaffe
developed the airdrome into a major military airfield, basing a variety of planes at the airfield, as well as using it as a maintenance and supply depot. Attacked frequently by Allied Air Forces, the Luftwaffe base was seized by Allied Ground Forces in September 1944 and was used as a Fighter and bomber base by the United States Army Air Force until the end of the war.
Closed after the war, the airfield was rebuilt in the 1950s as a NATO Dispersed Operating Base for United States Air Force
units in France to disperse their forces to in case of a war with the Warsaw Pact
. The base was never used, and was abandoned by 1967.
, most likely with some hangars, a terminal, control tower and grass runways.
, Athies was used as a Luftwaffe
military airfield during the occupation. The Germans improved the facility by expanding the support area with numerous maintenance shops, hangars, and laying down two 1600m concrete all-weather runways, aligned 17/35 and 08/26. Numerous taxiways and dispersal aircraft parking areas were also constructed.
Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):
In addition, from wartime USAAF records, the Luftwaffe established a maintenance repair and supply depot at Athies. The airfield was initially used as a bomber base for night bomber operations by He-111s and Ju-88s, attacking targets in England
until late 1943. With Luftwaffe bomber activities ending, Athies became a night interceptor base against Royal Air Force bombers flying over Occupied France on their way to targets in Germany. It appears that SG 4, a Fw-190F/G unit, was brought to Athies from the Eastern Front, where it was a dive-bomber unit. The airfield was attacked on several occasions by Eighth Air Force heavy bombers in 1943 and 1944.
It was declared operationally ready for combat units on 9 September, only a few days after its capture from German forces, being designated as Advanced Landing Ground
"A-69 Laon/Athies Airfield". Although operationally usable, Athies was a wrecked base from the Allied air attacks and what was blown up by the Germans as they withdrew. The Americans made due with what could be repaired, and moved in what equipment was necessary to conduct combat operations. Many buildings of masonry construction had been made useless, their contents consisting of nothing but wreckage.
Under American control, Ninth Air Force
used the base for several units from 7 September 1944 until closing the base in July 1945. Known units assigned were:
With each combat group having three fully equipped squadrons, the airfield at Laon-Athies became one of the busiest American bases on the continent. With the war ended, Laon/Athies airfield was closed on 23 May 1945 and turned over to the French Air Ministry.
threat of the Soviet Union
, the air base at Laon-Athies was offered to the United States Air Force
by the French Air Ministry as part of their NATO commitment to establish a modern Air Force Base at the site. The high cost of breaking the agricultural leases, and also the high costs of removing the concrete German runways and other facilities led to its rejection as a site for a full air base. However NATO faced several problems when attempting to solve the air power survival equation. Planning for a Warsaw Pact
first strike survival in both conventional and nuclear wars had to be considered. The main air bases were built on small parcels of land with very limited dispersal space. It was decided to use Laon-Athies as an emergency "backup" airfield, consisting of a "bare bones" facility of a runway with minimal facilities intended for use by all NATO air forces to disperse their aircraft in case of war.
Beginning about 1954, French demolition companies returned to Laon-Athies and began demolishing the German structures and removing the wreckage of the World War II air base. French Army Explosive demolition teams were brought in to safely remove unexploded ordinance remaining from the war and the site was prepared for construction. A modern all-weather concrete NATO jet runway was laid down aligned 02/20, with taxiways and dispersal areas for three fighter squadrons. The dispersals were designed in a circular marguerite system of hardstands which could be revetted later with earth for added aircraft protection. Typically the margueriete consisted of fifteen to eighteen hardstands, with each hardstand capable of parking one or two aircraft, allowing the planes to be spaced approximately 150 feet (50 m) apart. Each squadron was assigned to a separate hangar/hardstand complex.
Other than the occasional touch-and-go landing of NATO (USAF) aircraft, Laon-Athies Air Base was never used. With the French withdrawal from the integrated military component of NATO in 1967, the base was abandoned.
, near the city of Laon
, northeast of the D977 interchange. Today, the former airport and military air base is used for agriculture. The NATO runway, dispersals and taxiways remain in place, and although deteriorated after 40 years of abandonment, they are most likely usable for emergency aircraft landings. All three marguerites and their dispersal pads remain, some removed, but most in reasonable condition.
The removal of the wartime base in the early 1950s was very complete. The only remaining features of Athies wartime past are the two German-built concrete runways, still largely intact. Also taxiways built by the Germans remain as single-track agricultural roads. It is suspected that many former wartime buildings and structures are in the wooded area to the southeast of the airfield, including the bomb dump, however that cannot be discerned from aerial photography due to the extensive tree canopy. Several wartime runways can be seen in the wooded area, probably leading to dispersals, revetments and other abandoned concrete structures.
Laon
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...
in the Aisne
Aisne
Aisne is a department in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River.- History :Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardie, and Champagne.Most of the old...
department of 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...
.
Its history begins before World War II
World 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...
, when it was originally a grass civil airdrome. During the German occupation of France (1940–1944), 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....
developed the airdrome into a major military airfield, basing a variety of planes at the airfield, as well as using it as a maintenance and supply depot. Attacked frequently by Allied Air Forces, the Luftwaffe base was seized by Allied Ground Forces in September 1944 and was used as a Fighter and bomber base by the United States Army Air Force until the end of the war.
Closed after the war, the airfield was rebuilt in the 1950s as a NATO Dispersed Operating Base for 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...
units in France to disperse their forces to in case of a war with the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
. The base was never used, and was abandoned by 1967.
History
Athies appears to have been an airport 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...
, most likely with some hangars, a terminal, control tower and grass runways.
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...
, Athies 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. The Germans improved the facility by expanding the support area with numerous maintenance shops, hangars, and laying down two 1600m concrete all-weather runways, aligned 17/35 and 08/26. Numerous taxiways and dispersal aircraft parking areas were also constructed.
Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):
- Kampfgeschwader 4 (KG 4) July 1941-January 1942 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: F8+) - Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2) 30 September 1941-25 November 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: 1G+) - Kampfgeschwader 76 (KG 76) 15 July-25 November 1943 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: F1+)
- 2/Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (2/NJG 2) August-September 1943 Dornier Do 217Dornier Do 217The 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...
(Fuselage code: 4R+) - 3/Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 (3/NJG 4) August-September 1943 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: G9+) - Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) 23 December 1943-6 April 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 (Fuselage code: 2F+)
- Schlachtgeschwader 4 (SG 4) December 1943-February 1944 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...
F/G - Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJS 1) March-May 1944 Messerschmitt Bf 110Messerschmitt Bf 110The 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...
- Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 (NJS 5) May-August 1944 Messerschmitt Bf 110Messerschmitt Bf 110The 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...
In addition, from wartime USAAF records, the Luftwaffe established a maintenance repair and supply depot at Athies. The airfield was initially used as a bomber base for night bomber operations by He-111s and Ju-88s, attacking targets in 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...
until late 1943. With Luftwaffe bomber activities ending, Athies became a night interceptor base against Royal Air Force bombers flying over Occupied France on their way to targets in Germany. It appears that SG 4, a Fw-190F/G unit, was brought to Athies from the Eastern Front, where it was a dive-bomber unit. The airfield was attacked on several occasions by Eighth Air Force heavy bombers in 1943 and 1944.
American use
During the Liberation of France, the Luftwaffe abandoned the base airfield at the end of August, sending in demolition teams to blow up hangars, buildings, electrical generators, water treatment and other facilities. It was sized by Allied Ground Forces in early September, and turned over to the United States Army Air Force. The IX Engineer Command 820th Engineer Aviation Battalion moved in about 7 September and began a quick rehabilitation of the base so it could be used by American aircraft.It was declared operationally ready for combat units on 9 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-69 Laon/Athies Airfield". Although operationally usable, Athies was a wrecked base from the Allied air attacks and what was blown up by the Germans as they withdrew. The Americans made due with what could be repaired, and moved in what equipment was necessary to conduct combat operations. Many buildings of masonry construction had been made useless, their contents consisting of nothing but wreckage.
Under American control, 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....
used the base for several units from 7 September 1944 until closing the base in July 1945. Known units assigned were:
- 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....
, 11 September-2 October 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...
s - 323d Bombardment Group, 13 October 1944-February 1945, B-26 MarauderB-26 MarauderThe 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....
s - 416th Bombardment Group, February-May 1945, A-20 Havocs
With each combat group having three fully equipped squadrons, the airfield at Laon-Athies became one of the busiest American bases on the continent. With the war ended, Laon/Athies airfield was closed on 23 May 1945 and turned over to the French Air Ministry.
Postwar use
In French control after the war, the base sat abandoned for several years. There was much unexploded ordnance 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. Also, the French Air Force wanted nothing to do with a Nazi airfield on French soil. As a result, the Air Ministry leased the land, concrete runways, structures and all, out to farmers for agricultural use, sending in unexploded ordnance teams to remove the dangerous munitions.NATO use
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....
, the air base at Laon-Athies was offered to 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...
by the French Air Ministry as part of their NATO commitment to establish a modern Air Force Base at the site. The high cost of breaking the agricultural leases, and also the high costs of removing the concrete German runways and other facilities led to its rejection as a site for a full air base. However NATO faced several problems when attempting to solve the air power survival equation. Planning for a Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
first strike survival in both conventional and nuclear wars had to be considered. The main air bases were built on small parcels of land with very limited dispersal space. It was decided to use Laon-Athies as an emergency "backup" airfield, consisting of a "bare bones" facility of a runway with minimal facilities intended for use by all NATO air forces to disperse their aircraft in case of war.
Beginning about 1954, French demolition companies returned to Laon-Athies and began demolishing the German structures and removing the wreckage of the World War II air base. French Army Explosive demolition teams were brought in to safely remove unexploded ordinance remaining from the war and the site was prepared for construction. A modern all-weather concrete NATO jet runway was laid down aligned 02/20, with taxiways and dispersal areas for three fighter squadrons. The dispersals were designed in a circular marguerite system of hardstands which could be revetted later with earth for added aircraft protection. Typically the margueriete consisted of fifteen to eighteen hardstands, with each hardstand capable of parking one or two aircraft, allowing the planes to be spaced approximately 150 feet (50 m) apart. Each squadron was assigned to a separate hangar/hardstand complex.
Other than the occasional touch-and-go landing of NATO (USAF) aircraft, Laon-Athies Air Base was never used. With the French withdrawal from the integrated military component of NATO in 1967, the base was abandoned.
Current
Laon-Athies Air Base is to the east of the A26 autorouteA26 autoroute
The A26 is a long French motorway connecting Calais and Troyes. It is also known as the Autoroute des Anglais as it is the main route from the Dover-Calais ferries and the Channel Tunnel to most parts of France and often contains large numbers of British cars, particularly during the summer...
, near the city of Laon
Laon
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...
, northeast of the D977 interchange. Today, the former airport and military air base is used for agriculture. The NATO runway, dispersals and taxiways remain in place, and although deteriorated after 40 years of abandonment, they are most likely usable for emergency aircraft landings. All three marguerites and their dispersal pads remain, some removed, but most in reasonable condition.
The removal of the wartime base in the early 1950s was very complete. The only remaining features of Athies wartime past are the two German-built concrete runways, still largely intact. Also taxiways built by the Germans remain as single-track agricultural roads. It is suspected that many former wartime buildings and structures are in the wooded area to the southeast of the airfield, including the bomb dump, however that cannot be discerned from aerial photography due to the extensive tree canopy. Several wartime runways can be seen in the wooded area, probably leading to dispersals, revetments and other abandoned concrete structures.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground