Lille-Marcq-en-Barœul Airport
| Aérodrome de Lille-Marcq-en-Barœul | |
|---|---|
|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | LFQA |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 21 m (69 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 6 km north of Lille |
| Street |
D 652 2 km to 
|
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1940 |
| Runways | |
| 07/25 | 838 m × 50 m grass |
| 17/35 | 850 m × 50 m grass |
The airfield Lille-Marcq-en-Barœul ( French Aérodrome de Lille-Marcq-en-Barœul ) is an airport of general aviation . It lies in the region of Hauts-de-France in the department of North mainly in the field of Bondues and Wambrechies , about six kilometers north of Lille . The airfield was used as a military airfield during the Second World War .
history
Construction of the Lille-Marcq-en-Barœul airfield began in 1938/1939. After the area was occupied by the German Wehrmacht in May 1940, the airfield was completed and became a location for the Luftwaffe , which they referred to as "Lille-Nord". Then as now it did not have a paved runway. The airfield was used intensively as a base by bombers until June 1941.
The first unit stationed here was the He 111- equipped Kampfgeschwader 53 , whose staff used the airfield between late May 1940 and mid-June 1941. In June 1940 the He 111 from Stab, II. And III lay next to it . Group of the Kampfgeschwaders 27 (Staff, II. And III./KG 27). In June / July 1940, Lille-Nord was also the base of the I. Group of the training squadron (I./LG 1) equipped with Ju 88A .
The II. (II./KG 53) and the III. Gruppe (III./KG 53) also moved to Lille-Nord in mid-July 1940, where they stayed until mid-January 1941. (The group staff of III./KG 53 was apparently quartered in Mouvaux , a few kilometers to the east , as some sources describe this community as a place of deployment. The existence of an airfield in Mouvaux is not proven in any other context.) Both groups flew their missions from here during the Battle of Britain . Between June and November, Lille was also the location of the staff of destroyer squadron 26 with some Messerschmitt Bf 110s .
Shortly before the German attack on the Soviet Union, III./KG 53 also moved to the east and only two squadrons of IV. Group (IV./KG 53), which had been in Lille-Nord since mid-March 1941, remained in the West. She stayed here until November 1941.
After a long period of rest, the airfield became a fighter base in 1943. In mid-May, two squadrons of III. Group of Jagdgeschwader 26 (III./JG 26) and the 12th squadron of the same squadron (12./JG 26) in Lille; they were equipped with Bf 109G . From the beginning of September until the start of the Allied invasion of Normandy, the next and last Luftwaffe formation was the staff of the same squadron that led some Fw 190A in the inventory.
From the end of August 1943, the airfield was also repeatedly attacked by American bombers.
After the Allies took the area, the British Royal Air Force took over the airfield, which called it Airfield B.57 Lille / Wambrechies . In September / October 1944 there was a Spitfire Mk.IX squadron , the 132nd Wing with four flying squadrons, the 66th , 127th , 331st and 332nd Squadron . (The last two squadrons were manned by Norwegian volunteers. They still form the oldest squadron of the Norwegian Air Force , the 132nd Luftving in Bodø ).
Todays use
Today the Lille-Marcq-en-Barœul airfield is a civil airfield that has only two grass runways and serves as a base for various aviation clubs.
Web links
- Homepage of the main air sports club (French)
- Aeronautical map for Lille-Marcq-en-Barœul Airport on SkyVector.com