Chartres-Champhol Airport
| Aérodrome de Chartres metropolis | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | LFOR |
| IATA code | QTJ |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 15 m (49 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 3 km east of Chartes |
| Street |
D 910 ,
|
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1909 |
| operator | Chartres Metropolis (City) |
| Runways | |
| 10/28 | 840 m × 25 m asphalt |
| 10L / 28R | 900 m × 100 m grass |
The Aérodrome de Chartres metropolis until September 13, 2012 Aérodrome de Chartres-Champhol is an airport of general aviation . He is in the Region Center-Val de Loire in the department of Eure-et-Loir about three kilometers east of Chartres and partly in the field of Champhol . Today's airfield is part of a former military airfield , the former Base aérienne 122 Chartres-Champhol (BA 122), which existed until 1997.
After it was closed, a small part of the base was used as a depot by the armed forces medical service until 2013.
history
The airfield was built from 1909. During the First World War , a flight training center for the French armed forces was located here, although civilian use was still possible.
In the interwar period, the airfield continued to serve as a military airfield and was a night bomber base between 1923 and 1936. This was where the 22nd Regiment Aérien de bombardement de nuit (RABN) lay with Amiot 143 and later Bloch MB.131 . A fighter squadron, the 6e Escadre de Chasse , was then stationed here.
After the outbreak of World War II , pilots were trained again in the Center d'Instruction de la Chasse in 1939/1940 and was the target of a German air raid in early June 1940. During the subsequent German occupation of France, the airfield was used by the German Air Force itself.
The II. Group of Kampfgeschwader 54 (II./KG 55) was in Chartres from late July 1940 to mid-June 1941 and took part in the Battle of Britain during this time .
The following user was the staff of Kampfgeschwader 100 (S./KG 100) with its He 111H , which was re-established here between the end of November 1941 and mid-April 1942. From the beginning there was another He 111H unit, the Lehr & Erprobungskommando 100. This unit was renamed and structured several times and flew before its withdrawal from Chartres in June 1943, at that time as I. Group of Kampfgeschwader 66 (I./KG 66 ), also Do 217 and Ju 88A .
As the year progressed, Jagdgeschwader 105 (JG 105) flew here from the beginning of September 1943 and stayed here until mid-March 1944. The airfield was bombed several times by the Allies in 1943/44.
When the Allied invasion of Normandy began, there was a Ju 88A squadron , the 5th squadron of Kampfgeschwaders 6 (5./KG 6). This had arrived shortly before in Chartres and operated from here until mid-July 1944. Immediately after the start of the invasion, Bf 109Gs , which were also used as close-up reconnaissance aircraft, were relocated to Chartres. These belonged to the staff and 1st squadron of the local reconnaissance group 13 (S. and 1./NAGr 13) and operated here until August. In addition, at the end of June, the 3rd squadron of local reconnaissance group 14 (3./NAGr. 14) was relocated to Chartres, where the NAGr. 13 was subordinated.
Also in the Chartres area was the III. Jagdgeschwader 3 group (III./JG 3), which also used the Bf 109G. However, it used a field airfield southeast of Chartres' and was withdrawn in mid-August 1944.
After the US Army took the airfield at the end of August 1944, Airfield A.40 , as its Allied code designation was, was used by the Ninth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAAF) after a brief repair . The 368th Fighter Group with its P-47 was located here until mid-September and then the B-26 of the 323d Bombardment Group until mid-October 1944 . Later in the spring of 1945 Chartres was a USAAF transport air base and was returned to France in June 1945.
Chartres subsequently became a transport aviation base of the Armée de l'air as Base aérienne 122 (BA 122) , on which the transport aviation group GT 3/61 was based between December 1945 and the summer of 1953, including the C-47 and Ju 52 3 / m flew. Military aviation use was discontinued on October 1, 1953, not least due to the proximity of the city center with its world-famous cathedral.
The non-aviation military use of a larger part of the area continued until the end of the 20th century. BA 122 was dissolved in 1997 and the last state land was sold to the municipality in 2013.
Todays use
The former military area will be completely redesigned as part of the conversion. Only on the northern edge of the former military airfield are there still three former hangars that are used by companies today. The current airfield of the city of Chartres was built on one part.
In addition, a new headquarters for the local fire brigade and the "L'Odyssée" sports complex were built here. As a result of the closure of the medical depot, an exhibition center and a shopping center will be added. Later, up to 4,000 residential units are to be built here.
Web links
Chartres Metropole website with information about the airport (in French)
- Aeronautical map for Chartres-Champhol on SkyVector.com