Athis airfield
| Athis Airfield | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |||
| Coordinates | |||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 10 km east of Epernay | ||
| Street | today's D 3 | ||
| Basic data | |||
| opening | August 10, 1944 | ||
| closure | October 4, 1945 | ||
| operator | Air Force / USAAF | ||
The airfield Athis (Engl. Athis Airfield ) was in World War II, a military airfield in France . It was located in what is now the Grand Est region in the Marne department, just under three kilometers northwest of the municipality of Athis . In addition to “Athis”, the airfield was also known by the two names “Tours-sur-Marne” and “Bisseuil”, the neighboring towns to the north-east and west.
history
In July 1944, during the Second World War, German occupation forces set up a field airfield northwest of Athis . On the northern edge of the airfield, which had previously been used for agricultural purposes, there was a wooded area in which the aircraft were parked and the other rudimentary facilities for operations were located.
In mid-August 1944 the place was the home of the II. Group of Jagdgeschwader 3 (II./JG 3) for almost two weeks , followed by the staff and III until the end of the month . Gruppe des Jagdgeschwader 76 (staff and III./JG 76), both groups were equipped with the Bf 109G .
In early September 1944 the airfield was taken by the advancing Americans. After a brief repair, Airfield A.76 , as Athis' allied code designation was, was used by the 36th Fighter Group , a P-47 unit of the Ninth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) , until the beginning of October .
Control of the site was returned to France a year later. After some time it was freed from the leftover war scrap and has been used again for agriculture ever since.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 France (with Corsica and Channel Islands) , pp 22-23 , accessed on February 15, 2015