Cherbourg-Maupertus airport

Aéroport de Cherbourg-Maupertus
Characteristics
ICAO code	LFRC
IATA code	CERIUM
Coordinates	49 ° 39 '3 " N , 1 ° 28' 31" W Coordinates: 49 ° 39 '3 " N , 1 ° 28' 31" W.
Height above MSL	140 m (459 ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	11 km east of Cherbourg
Street	D 901
Basic data
operator	CCI Cherbourg
surface	225 ha
Terminals	1
Passengers	3,640 (2019)
Flight ; movements	205 (2019)
Capacity ; ( PAX per year)	150,000
Start-and runway
10/28	2445 m × 45 m concrete

The Cherbourg-Maupertus airport located between the French municipalities Gonneville and Maupertus-sur-Mer in the department Manche . It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The airport is operated by the Cherbourg Chamber of Commerce.

history

The airport was built in 1937 as a military airfield for the Armée de l'air and was opened in May 1939. After the armistice , Maupertus was also used by the German Air Force . During the Battle of Britain in July / August 1940, Ju 87B of Group I of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 lay here, and in the following February, Group II of Jagdgeschwader 54 with their Bf 109 F for a week .

Subsequently Theville , as the site has also been designated by the Air Force, a base of hunting Wing Number 2 . Its I. group (I./JG 2), equipped with the Bf 109E, lay here from March to the beginning of June 1941. Initially, the supplementary group of JG 2, including theirs, which had already been equipped with their Bf 109E in May and arrived from Cherbourg, stayed here only operational squadron, the 1st (1./Erg.Gr.JG2) until October 1941, when it was already using the Bf 109.

In the middle of the following November, the III. Group of JG 2 to Maupertus and stayed here with a short interruption as part of the Cerberus company when it operated from Koksijde until the first half of September 1942, whereby the 8th season had already moved to Brest in April 1942 . The group initially also flew the Bf 109F and converted to the Fw 190A in May 1942 .

The last air force unit lying here was the 4th Squadron of Reconnaissance Group 123 between November 1942 and the second half of February 1944 .

After Cherbourg was liberated in the course of the Allied invasion of Normandy , Maupertus became a base of the United States Army Air Forces . Airfield A.15 , as its allied code designation, was the base of the P-51 of the 363rd Fighter Group from the beginning of July until just before Christmas 1944 and in July / August also the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron , a P-61 squadron, as well in August / September of the 397th Bombardment Group with B-26 . The airfield was then returned to the French authorities.

A civil terminal was built in 1967.

Cherbourg-Querqueville military airfield

Another smaller military airfield existed before and during the Second World War a good five kilometers west-northwest of Cherbourg, located northeast of Querqueville near the old fort on the headland, which the Germans took over in June 1940.

On the one hand, during the Battle of Britain, photo reconnaissance units of the 2nd (long-range reconnaissance) squadron of reconnaissance group 123 (2nd (F) / Aufkl.Gr. 123), which lay here from July 1940 to January 1941, operated in parallel to this group in November 1940 also the 4th (F) / Aufkl.Gr.

In addition to the reconnaissance aircraft, the airfield was also a Bf 109 fighter base at the same time. Initially, only the staff of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27) was located here in July / August 1940 . In the following winter of 1940/41, "Cherbourg-West", as the airfield was also called by the Air Force, was the base of the 7th squadron of JG 77 (7./JG 77) from December to February . It was followed by the II. Group of Jagdgeschwader 54 (II./JG 54) until March 1941, and in March of that year the III. Group of the same squadron (III./JG 54).

Cherbourg naval air base during World War II

In addition, Cherbourg was also a base for German naval pilots during the war. Part of the second distress squadron was stationed in Cherbourg longest Association of Air Force, from June 1940 to December 1942. In addition, here was also between late August and late 1940, the DO18 - flying boats of the second season of the coast flyer assembly 106 . Finally, the city between September 1940 and April 1941 was still based on the fifth season of the board Fliegergruppe 196 , with Ar 196 - seaplanes equipped.

Technology at the airport

JET A1 AVGAS can be refueled at the airport. A maximum of 150,000 passengers can be handled annually on an area of 1200 m². The freight capacity is 1500 t on 1375 m².

ILS Cat I and PAPI and HI BI are available.

Flight connections

Since 2009 the airport has only been served seasonally.

Transport links

Taxis are readily available at the airport terminal. Well-known rental car companies are represented at the airport.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Bulletin statistiquetrafic aérien commercial - Année 2019. In: ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr. Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire, accessed on May 24, 2020 (French).

[statistik-1] Bulletin statistiquetrafic aérien commercial - Année 2019. In: ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr. Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire, accessed on May 24, 2020 (French).