Montdidier-Fignières airfield
| Aérodrome de Montdidier-Fignières | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | LFAR | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 109 m (358 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 3 km north of Montdidier | ||
| Street | D 41 D 935 | ||
| Basic data | |||
| opening | 1939 | ||
| Runways | |||
| 05/23 | 1500 m × 50 m concrete | ||
| 09/27 | 1400 m × 50 m concrete | ||
| 16/34 | 1700 m × 50 m concrete | ||
| 09/27 | 750 m × 100 m grass | ||
The Aérodrome de Montdidier-Fignières was a military airfield in France during both world wars . It was located in what is now the Hauts-de-France region in the Somme department , essentially in the area of the communes of Fignières and Courtemanche , about three kilometers north of Montdidier . During the Second World War it served as a military airfield.
history
During both world wars there was a military airfield here .
During the First World War , the German air force already used the area at the end of August 1914 , which was used again and again by the French air force in the further course of the war and was the basis of various associations.
Just before the start of World War II , the de l'Air army returned to Montdidier. The first users were air defense units. At the beginning of September a group of bombers lay here for a few days, the GB.II. equipped with Potez 540 . French bombers did not arrive again until April and remained until the evaluation of the area after the start of the German Wehrmacht's western campaign . Both the GB.I and GB.II were located here and the other types of bombers used were the Amiot 143 and Breguet 693 .
The Luftwaffe took over the area and expanded it into an airfield with three concrete runways and various taxiways. Initially, however, Montdidier also served the Air Force as a bomber base during the Battle of Britain . The main user during this period from June 1940 to January 1941 was the I. Group of Kampfgeschwader 1 (I./KG 1) equipped with He 111H .
After the expansion, the square was not used again until June 1943, when the I. Group of Kampfgeschwader 66 (I./KG 66) arrived with their Dornier Do 217 , Ju 88S and Junkers Ju 188 . She initially stayed here until March 1944, with the 3rd season relocated to Cormeilles in February , and from here she took part in the Steinbock company . In mid-June 1944, two of the group's five squadrons, who had already given up their Do 217 at this point, returned to Montdidier. Two more seasons arrived at the end of the month and the group was moved to Eindhoven in mid-August 1944 . In mid-June, the II. Group of Kampfgeschwader 76 (II./KG 76) equipped with Ju 88A lay next to this for two weeks .
This month there were also short stays by German Bf 109G fighters. The I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 5 was stationed here for a good week from the day the Allied invasion of Normandy began .
It was not used significantly by the Allies either during the war or later.
Today only remnants of the former taxiways are preserved and the area has long been used for agriculture again, except for the small civil airfield. The operator, the local air sports club, was founded in 1947.