Lunéville-Croismare Airport
Encyclopedia
Lunéville-Croismare Airport . is an airport in France
, located approximately 3 km east-southeast of Lunéville
in the Meurthe-et-Moselle
department. The airport is used for general aviation
, with no commercial airline service.
as all-weather temporary field built by the United States Army Air Forces
XII Engineer Command during December 1944 after German forces were removed from the area. It was built on a graded surface using Pierced Steel Planking for runways and parking areas, as well as for dispersal sites. In addition, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting. The airfield was known as Lunéville Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground
Y-2.
It was turned over for operational use by Twelfth Air Force on 25 December. The 324th Fighter Group
flew P-40 Warhawks from the airfield from January though May 1945.
With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Control of the airfield was turned over to French authorities on 29 May 1945.
In 1950-1951 when as a result of the Cold War
threat of the Soviet Union
, the airfield at Lunéville was proposed by the United States Air Force
to become a NATO fighter air base as part of a NATO commitment to establish a modern Air Force Base at the site. In the ongoing negotiations, the site was ultimately rejected..
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...
, located approximately 3 km east-southeast of Lunéville
Lunéville
Lunéville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and lies on the Meurthe River.-History:...
in the Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the Lorraine region of France, named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers.- History :Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French...
department. 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...
, with no commercial airline service.
History
The air base was constructed 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...
as all-weather temporary field built by 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....
XII Engineer Command during December 1944 after German forces were removed from the area. It was built on a graded surface using Pierced Steel Planking for runways and parking areas, as well as for dispersal sites. In addition, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting. The airfield was known as Lunéville 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-2.
It was turned over for operational use by Twelfth Air Force on 25 December. The 324th Fighter Group
324th Fighter Group
The 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....
flew P-40 Warhawks from the airfield from January though May 1945.
With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Control of the airfield was turned over to French authorities on 29 May 1945.
In 1950-1951 when as a result of the Cold War
Cold 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 airfield at Lunéville 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 a NATO fighter air base as part of a NATO commitment to establish a modern Air Force Base at the site. In the ongoing negotiations, the site was ultimately rejected..
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground