Douai-Brayelle Airport
| Champ d'aviation de la Brayelle | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 30 m (98 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 2 km west of Douai | ||
| Street | today's D 425 7 km to 
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| Basic data | |||
| opening | around 1909 | ||
| closure | 1950s | ||
The Champ d'aviation de la Brayelle was one of the first airfields in France . It was located in what is now the Hauts-de-France region in the Nord department, essentially in the area of Douai and the two neighboring communities Lambres-lez-Douai and Cuincy , about two kilometers west of the city center of Douai.
history
The airfield was built at the beginning of the 20th century as a works airfield for the Breguet company .
The brothers Jacques and Louis Charles Breguet joined their parents' electrical engineering company in 1902. Louis became chief engineer and in 1905 developed a wind tunnel. The Gyroplane Breguet-Richet took off for the first time on August 24, 1907, held by four people, and reached an altitude of 50 cm. The company Société des ateliers d'aviation Breguet-Richet , founded in 1908, constructed three flying machines in the winter of 1908/1909 and in the first half of July in 1909 the world's first air show took place in Brayelle, whose 14-day program included flying competitions. In the following years, aviation developed rapidly and in 1911 Breguet founded his Société Anonyme des Ateliers d'Aviation Louis Bréguet.
During the First World War it was a base for the German air force , and well-known pilots such as Boelcke , Immelmann , Udet and Richthofen were temporarily stationed here. The 25th Squadron of the British Royal Air Force used the airfield towards the end of the war.
At the end of June 1929 there was another large two-day air show here, and on March 23, 1939, Henri Mignet launched four of his Pou-du-Ciels at a memorial service .
In the 1950s, the airfield was abandoned in favor of the Vitry-en-Artois aerodrome . Part of the site became an industrial area in the vicinity of the Renault factory to the west .