Ambérieu-en-Bugey military airfield
| Base aérienne 278 Ambérieu-en-Bugey | |
|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | LFXA |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 251 m (823 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 3 km northwest of Ambérieu-en-Bugey |
| Street |
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| Basic data | |
| opening | 1944 |
| operator | Armée de l'Air |
| Runways | |
| 01/19 | 2000 m × 30 m asphalt |
| 02/20 | 800 m × 100 m grass |
The Base aérienne 278 Ambérieu-en-Bugey (BA 278) is a military airport of the French Air Force . The base is located in the region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes in the Ain department in the field of Ambérieu-en-Bugey and the neighboring communities of Chateau-Gaillard and Ambronay , about three kilometers northwest of Ambérieu-en-Bugey. The base is used for storage and maintenance of on-board equipment for military aircraft.
history
The start of the airfield dates back to the late summer of 1944, when a field airfield was created here after the area was liberated from the German Wehrmacht by the Allies . Airfield Y.5 , its allied code name, was built by the US Army Engineering Command for the Twelfth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).
The first user was the P-40 equipped 324th Fighter Group in September 1944 . After their departure, the airfield was operated as a logistics base for transport aircraft by the 1st Air Service Squadron . At the end of the war the Americans began to withdraw and the airfield was handed over to the French on May 29, 1945.
After 1945, the airfield became a depot and maintenance facility for aircraft of the French Air Force ( Entrepôt de l'Armée de l'Air ) under the designation EAA 11-601. The name of the unit was changed several times in the following years, since 1959 it has been run as Atelier de révision de l'armée de l'air n ° 624 (ARAA 624).
In 1966, the range of tasks of the ARAA 624 changed. The basis at Ambérieu was the maintenance of on-board equipment for aircraft, initially telecommunications equipment. Other devices such as measuring instruments and ejection seats were added later, and in 2008 the ARAA 624 became the Atelier industriel de l'aéronautique .
Todays use
In addition to the workshop operation Atelier industriel de l'aéronautique, there are several other logistics associations. Two D140R and some gliders are operated by the "CMP 22.535".