Saint-Dizier - Robinson Air Base
Encyclopedia
Saint-Dizier-Robinson Air Base is a front-line French Air Force
( (ALA) fighter base located approximately 4 km west of Saint-Dizier
in the Haute-Marne
department in northeastern France
.
B/C Fighter assigned. It was the first base of the French Air Force to be assigned the fighter. Three squadrons of EC 01.007 Provence fly the Rafale.
Some of the pre-World War II French Air Force aircraft assigned to the base were Blériot Aéronautique
, Morane-Saulnier
, Stampe
, de Havilland Tiger Moth
and Dewoitine D.520
s
, St. Dizier was used as a Luftwaffe
military airfield during the occupation. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):
JS 54 flew missions over England during the Battle of Britain
; NJS 4, NJS 1, and NJS 5 were night interceptor units which attacked Royal Air Force bomber attacks. JS 4 and JS 301 were day interceptor units that engaged American Eighth Air Force
heavy bomber units over Occupied France.
Largely due to its use as a base for Bf-109 interceptors, Saint-Dizier was 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.
A-64. It was turned over to the Ninth Air Force
for operational use on 9 October for fighter and reconnaissance units, as well as for command and control. The following known USAAF units operated from the airfield:
With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Right after the war, some captured Messerschmitt Me 262
s landed at the base, on their way to channel ports to be shipped to the United States for evaluation (Operation Lusty
). Control of the airfield was turned over to French authorities on 5 July.
In 1950/51 when as a result of the Cold War
threat of the Soviet Union
, Saint Dizier-Robinson Air Base was proposed by the United States Air Force
to become a NATO light bomber 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..
A new 8000' jet runway was laid down over the wartime 11/29 runway and the parking ramp was torn up and relaid with new concrete. Large, modern aircraft hangars were erected and a new station area built. The aircraft dispersal areas were also renewed, later in the 1970s being fitted with NATO Tab-Vee concrete shelters. A second dispersal area to the north of the main runway was also built to accommodate a second full aircraft squadron. Reconstruction was finally completed in 1956. Today, Saint Dizier - Robinson Air Base is a modern front-line NATO base.
Most wartime and pre-war buildings and structures were removed or demolished during the reconstruction. However, the remains of the pre-war 02/20 secondary runway can still be seen in aerial photography as unconnected concrete lengths lengths running NE/SW over the airfield. Also what appears to be part of wartime taxiways are now used as access roads around the airfield's perimeter.
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) fighter base located approximately 4 km west of Saint-Dizier
Saint-Dizier
Saint-Dizier is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France.It has a population of 31,000 and is a subprefecture of the department...
in the Haute-Marne
Haute-Marne
Haute-Marne is a department in the northeast of France named after the Marne River.-History:Haute-Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department in northeastern 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...
.
Squadrons (Escadron) assigned
Since 2006, BA 113 has had the Dassault RafaleDassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy...
B/C Fighter assigned. It was the first base of the French Air Force to be assigned the fighter. Three squadrons of EC 01.007 Provence fly the Rafale.
- EC 1/7 Provence
- SPA.15 Heaume d'argent,
- SPA.77 Croix de Jérusalem
- SPA.91 Aigle empiétant une tête de mort
Early Armée de l'Air use
Saint-Dizier has a long aviation history, with an early French military aircraft landing close to the city on 11 August 1910. An Armée de l'Air airdrome was established in 1913, which has been in use ever since, being used for combat operations during both 20th-Century World Wars.Some of the pre-World War II French Air Force aircraft assigned to the base were Blériot Aéronautique
Blériot Aéronautique
Blériot Aéronautique was a French aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Blériot. It also made a few cyclecars from 1921 to 1922.After Louis Blériot became famous for being the first to fly over the English Channel in 1909, he established an aircraft manufacturing company. This company really took...
, Morane-Saulnier
Morane-Saulnier
Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier is a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier and the Morane brothers, Leon and Robert...
, Stampe
Stampe
Stampe et Vertongen was a Belgian aircraft manufacturer formed in 1922 and based at Antwerp. The company specialised in design and construction of primary trainers/tourers and advanced trainers...
, de Havilland Tiger Moth
De Havilland Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
and Dewoitine D.520
Dewoitine D.520
The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the opening of World War II. Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the Armée de l'Airs most numerous fighter, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest...
s
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...
, St. Dizier 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):
- Jagdgeschwader 54 (JS 54) 29 March-1 April 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 - Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 (NJS 4) February 1942-January 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...
, 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... - Jagdgeschwader 27 (JS 4) 12 September-18 November 1943 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...
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) 4 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...
- Kampfgeschwader 101 (KG 101) 10 June-July 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-4, MistelMistelThe Mistel , also known as Beethoven-Gerät and Vati und Sohn , was a Luftwaffe composite aircraft type of bomber, that appeared late in World War II.... - Jagdgeschwader 301 (JS 301) 12–30 June 1944 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...
G
JS 54 flew missions over England 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...
; NJS 4, NJS 1, and NJS 5 were night interceptor units which attacked Royal Air Force bomber attacks. JS 4 and JS 301 were day interceptor units that engaged 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 bomber units over Occupied France.
Largely due to its use as a base for Bf-109 interceptors, Saint-Dizier was 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 use
During the Liberation of France, the airfield was sized by Allied Forces during September, 1944 and taken over by the United States Army Air Force. The IX Engineer Command repaired the war-damaged base and it was designated by the Americans as Saint-Dizier Airfield or 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...
A-64. It 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....
for operational use on 9 October for fighter and reconnaissance units, as well as for command and control. The following known USAAF units operated from the airfield:
- HQ, 100th Fighter Wing, 19 September-29 December 1944.
- 27th Fighter Group, February-March 1945, A-36 Apache (12th AF)
- 367th Fighter Group367th Fighter GroupThe 367th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with XII Tactical Air Command stationed at Seymour Johnson Field , North Carolina...
, 1 February-14 May 1945, 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... - 405th Fighter Group, 14 September 1944-9 February 1945, 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...
- 10th Reconnaissance Group, September-November 1944 (Various photo-reconnaissance aircraft)
With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Right after the war, some captured Messerschmitt Me 262
Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...
s landed at the base, on their way to channel ports to be shipped to the United States for evaluation (Operation Lusty
Operation Lusty
Operation LUSTY was the United States Army Air Forces effort to capture and evaluate German aeronautical technology during and after World War II.- Overview :During World War II, the U.S...
). Control of the airfield was turned over to French authorities on 5 July.
In 1950/51 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....
, Saint Dizier-Robinson Air Base 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 light bomber 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..
Current
The war had left Saint-Dizier airbase in ruins, littered with rubble, debris, scrap metal and charred remains of airplanes. A number of aircraft remains and unexploded German munitions had been hastily bulldozed into bomb craters, all of which needed to be removed.The station area and the hangars and aircraft mechanical shops were devastated, also with huge quantities of unexploded munitions still littering the ground. The American combat engineers had carried out considerable repair work on the runway, and constructed temporary structures for repair and maintenance of aircraft, however the personnel lived in tents as repair of the barracks was not considered a priority for aircraft operations.A new 8000' jet runway was laid down over the wartime 11/29 runway and the parking ramp was torn up and relaid with new concrete. Large, modern aircraft hangars were erected and a new station area built. The aircraft dispersal areas were also renewed, later in the 1970s being fitted with NATO Tab-Vee concrete shelters. A second dispersal area to the north of the main runway was also built to accommodate a second full aircraft squadron. Reconstruction was finally completed in 1956. Today, Saint Dizier - Robinson Air Base is a modern front-line NATO base.
Most wartime and pre-war buildings and structures were removed or demolished during the reconstruction. However, the remains of the pre-war 02/20 secondary runway can still be seen in aerial photography as unconnected concrete lengths lengths running NE/SW over the airfield. Also what appears to be part of wartime taxiways are now used as access roads around the airfield's perimeter.
See also
- List of French Air Force aircraft squadrons
- Advanced Landing Ground