Vitry-En-Artois Airport
Encyclopedia
Vitry-En-Artois Airportt is a regional airport in France
, located 1 miles (1.6 km) northeast of Vitry-en-Artois
; 105 miles (169 km) north-northeast of Paris
. It supports general aviation
with no commercial airline service scheduled.
It was an established airport built prior to World War II
. Seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the Battle of France
, it was used as a Luftwaffe
military airfield during the occupation. Captured by the Allies in late 1944, it was used as an Allied military airfield until the end of the war.
. As part of the Blitzkrieg
, the Germans assigned the following units to the airfield during the battle, carrying out air attacks on the defending French and British Expeditionary Force:
After the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June, the Luftwaffe moved Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53) to the airfield on 12 July. KG 53 was a Heinkel He 111
medium bomber unit that participated in the ensuing Battle of Britain
, remaining assigned to Vitry until 18 June 1941.
Later in 1941, the Germans improved the facility into a permanent Luftwaffe air base by expanding the support area with numerous maintenance shops, hangars, and laying down two 1500m concrete all-weather runways, aligned 03/21 and 09/27 (A possible third runway, aligned 13/31 is visible in aerial photography, only part of the 13 (northwest) end still remains). Numerous taxiways and dispersal aircraft parking areas were also constructed. As Vitry is located in the Pas-de-Calais, it was believed by the Germans that when the Americans and British tried to land in France to open a Second Front, the airfield would have a key role in the defense of France.
In 1943, Vitry-En-Artois became a day interceptor airfield which housed fighters to attack the USAAF Eighth Air Force
heavy bomber fleets attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):
Largely due to its use as a base for interceptors, and also as part of Operation Quicksilver
, which was designed to deceive the Germans about where the invasion of France would take place, Vitry-En-Artois was attacked several times by Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber groups in 1943 and 1944.
"B-50 Vitry Airfield".
Once the PSP runway was laid down, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums was built along with a drinkable water well being drilled and a minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting to replaced the destroyed infrastructure of the Luftwaffe base.
Once operational, The USAAF Ninth Air Force
used the base for several units from 15 September 1944 until closing the base on 18 December 1945. Known units assigned were:
Vitry was also used by RAF well known units and used again as a marshalling and assembly area for transport units for elements of the First Allied Airborne Army
during Operation Varsity
in March 1945.
With the war ended, it was also used as a storage area for surplus allied (mostly American) aircraft after the war by Air Technical Service Command.
Vitry-En-Artois was returned to French control on 18 December 1945.
Eventually the facility was cleared of all the rubble and ruins of the German air base. Concrete taxiways, parking ramps and dispersal pads were removed and turned into hardcore aggregate, eventually clearing the land which was leased to farmers for agricultural fields.
The current airport was built south of the wartime airfield along the D950. It has no connection to the wartime field. Relics of both wartime runways still exist, and single-lane agricultural roads are the remains of some of the former taxiways. The runways are still littered with bomb craters, now grown in by soil and grass and other vegetation.
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 1 miles (1.6 km) northeast of Vitry-en-Artois
Vitry-en-Artois
Vitry-en-Artois is a commune and in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Vitry-en-Artois is situated some northeast of Arras, at the junction of the N50, D39 and the D42 roads. The river Scarpe flows through the town, which is also served by the SNCF...
; 105 miles (169 km) north-northeast of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. 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.
It was an established airport built prior to 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...
. Seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the Battle of France
Battle 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...
, it 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. Captured by the Allies in late 1944, it was used as an Allied military airfield until the end of the war.
German use during World War II
A small grass airport prior to World War II, it was seized by the Germans in late May 1940. After its capture, Vitry-En-Artois was used by the Luftwaffe as combat airfield 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...
. As part of the Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
, the Germans assigned the following units to the airfield during the battle, carrying out air attacks on the defending French and British Expeditionary Force:
- Jagdgeschwader 54 (JS 54) 28 May-6 June 1940 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 - Jagdgeschwader 51 (JS 51) 1–9 June 1940 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 - Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1) 14–25 June 1940 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
After the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June, the Luftwaffe moved Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53) to the airfield on 12 July. KG 53 was a Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The 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...
medium bomber unit that participated in the ensuing 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...
, remaining assigned to Vitry until 18 June 1941.
Later in 1941, the Germans improved the facility into a permanent Luftwaffe air base by expanding the support area with numerous maintenance shops, hangars, and laying down two 1500m concrete all-weather runways, aligned 03/21 and 09/27 (A possible third runway, aligned 13/31 is visible in aerial photography, only part of the 13 (northwest) end still remains). Numerous taxiways and dispersal aircraft parking areas were also constructed. As Vitry is located in the Pas-de-Calais, it was believed by the Germans that when the Americans and British tried to land in France to open a Second Front, the airfield would have a key role in the defense of France.
In 1943, Vitry-En-Artois became a day interceptor airfield which housed fighters to attack the USAAF 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 fleets attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):
- Jagdgeschwader 2 (JS 2) August-December 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 - Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2) 22 January-6 February 1944 Messerschmitt Me 410Messerschmitt Me 410The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse was a German heavy fighter and Schnellbomber used by Luftwaffe during World War II. Though essentially a straightforward modification of the Me 210, it was designated the Me 410 to avoid association with its notoriously flawed predecessor.-Design and...
A/U - Jagdgeschwader 26 (JS 26) 21–29 August 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...
A
Largely due to its use as a base for interceptors, and also as part of Operation Quicksilver
Operation Quicksilver
Operation Quicksilver may refer to:*Operation Quicksilver , a World War II plan by the Allies that was a sub-plan of Operation Fortitude...
, which was designed to deceive the Germans about where the invasion of France would take place, Vitry-En-Artois was attacked several times by Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber groups in 1943 and 1944.
Allied use
Vitry-En-Artois was cleared of German forces in late August 1944 by elements of the Canadian 1st Army. Before withdrawing, what was not destroyed at the airfield by Allied bombing, hangars, buildings, electrical generators, water treatment and other facilities were blown up by German combat engineers. The IX Engineer Command 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion moved in about 7 September and attempted to perform a rehabilitation of the base so it could be used by Allied aircraft. However the destruction of the airport was so complete that little could be salvaged, and the engineers laid down a 5000' Pierced Steel Planking (PSP) temporary runway over one of the destroyed German concrete runways aligned roughly east-west (09/27). Once declared operational on 15 September, the airfield was designated as 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...
"B-50 Vitry Airfield".
Once the PSP runway was laid down, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums was built along with a drinkable water well being drilled and a minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting to replaced the destroyed infrastructure of the Luftwaffe base.
Once operational, The 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....
used the base for several units from 15 September 1944 until closing the base on 18 December 1945. Known units assigned were:
- 358th Fighter Group, 14 September-16 October 1944 (P-47)
- 573d Bombardment Squadron (391st Bombardment Group), 27 May-27 July 1945 (A-26)
- 572d Bombardment Squadron (391st Bombardment Group), 5 June-27 July 1945 (A-26)
- 574th Bombardment Squadron (391st Bombardment Group), 5 June-31 July 1945 (A-26)
- 575th Bombardment Squadron (391st Bombardment Group), 1 June-31 July 1945 (A-26)
Vitry was also used by RAF well known units and used again as a marshalling and assembly area for transport units for elements of the First Allied Airborne Army
First Allied Airborne Army
The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary Force and controlled all Allied airborne forces in Western...
during Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
in March 1945.
- RAF Squadron 184, 4 September-15 September 1944 (Hawker Typhoon IB)
- RAF Squadron 226 "Sussex Missions" (137th Wing), 17 October 1944-22 April 1945 (Mitchell II)
- RAF Squadron 88 (137th Wing), 17 October 1944-06 April 1945 (Douglas Boston III & IV)
- RAF Squadron 107 (137th Wing),17 October 1944-19 November 1944 (Douglas Boston III & IV)
- RAF French Squadron 342 "FAFL Groupe Lorraine" (137th Wing),17 October 1944-22 April 1945 (Douglas Boston III & IV, Mitchell II)
With the war ended, it was also used as a storage area for surplus allied (mostly American) aircraft after the war by Air Technical Service Command.
Vitry-En-Artois was returned to French control on 18 December 1945.
Postwar
In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for years. There was much unexploded ordinance at the site which needed to be removed, as well as the wreckage of German and Allied aircraft. All of the buildings at the base were destroyed by the Allied air attacks or demolition, and although some had been repaired by the American combat engineers, most were in ruins. The French Air Force wanted nothing to do with a Nazi airfield on French soil, and 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.Eventually the facility was cleared of all the rubble and ruins of the German air base. Concrete taxiways, parking ramps and dispersal pads were removed and turned into hardcore aggregate, eventually clearing the land which was leased to farmers for agricultural fields.
The current airport was built south of the wartime airfield along the D950. It has no connection to the wartime field. Relics of both wartime runways still exist, and single-lane agricultural roads are the remains of some of the former taxiways. The runways are still littered with bomb craters, now grown in by soil and grass and other vegetation.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground