Abbeville-Drucat Airport
| Aérodrome de Abbeville-Drucat | |||
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | LFOI | ||
| IATA code | XAB | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 67 m (220 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 4 km north of Abbeville | ||
| Street |
D 1001 1 km to 
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| Basic data | |||
| opening | 1922 | ||
| operator | AE2AB on behalf of the CCI Abbeville | ||
| Start-and runway | |||
| 02/20 | 1250 m × 23 m asphalt | ||
The Aérodrome de Abbeville-Drucat is an airport of general aviation , it is in the region of Hauts-de-France in the department Somme and today mainly in the field of Buigny-Saint-Maclou about four kilometers north of Abbeville . In the past, the area extended further east to the area of the eponymous place Drucat . The airfield was used as a military airfield during the Second World War .
Today it is used for general aviation ; in addition to the paved runway, it also has two grass runways.
history
Abbeville-Drucat airfield existed before the beginning of the Second World War. After the outbreak of war it served as a military airfield. He first served in the British Expeditionary Forces in 1940 . Here was a part of the 607th Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) with Gloster Gladiator -Doppeldeckern and the 151st Squadron , equipped with fighter aircraft of the type Hawker Hurricane .
In June 1940, it occupied the German Wehrmacht , and he became an air base of the Air Force . The airfield was expanded by Germans, it received, among other things, three concrete runways. The main users were again between 1940 and 1943 hunting associations, initially during the Battle of Britain between June and September 1940 the II. Group of Destroyer Squadron 76 (II./ZG 76) equipped with Bf 110C .
The following winter, Abbeville was the home of Stab, I. and II. Group of Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26), all three of which were equipped with the Bf 109E , between early December 1940 and early February 1941 . The crews of JG 26 earned themselves the nickname "Abbeville Boys", although the entire squadron was never permanently stationed in Abbeville.
Between the beginning of April and May 1941, Bf 110C / D were again lying here, this time in the role of fighter-bombers . These first formed the test group 210 until the end of April, which flew the Bf 109E in addition to the Bf 110, and then the I. Group of the Schnellkampfgeschwader 210 (I./SKG210).
After a short break, the Luftwaffe's last main user was the II. Group of Jagdgeschwader 2 (II./JG 2), equipped with Bf 109E / F, from mid-June to the end of December 1941 .
At the beginning of September 1944 Abbeville was liberated by Polish troops and the airfield was initially only used sporadically by the Allies after repair work. Between March and May 1945, the 61st Troop Carrier Group of the Ninth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was stationed here, but their flying squadrons remained in England for Operation Varsity . After the end of the war, the airfield was abandoned.
Today a large part of the former airfield area is used for other purposes, although the three concrete runways can still be seen from the air. Part of the westernmost and previously longer and wider runway 02/20 was paved and is still used today for general aviation. There are also two grass slopes.