Florennes military airfield
| Base aérienne de Florennes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | EBFS | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 285 m (935 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 3 km southeast of Florennes | ||
| Street | N97 | ||
| Basic data | |||
| opening | 1942 | ||
| operator | Belg. Air Force | ||
| Runways | |||
| 08L / 26R | 3388 m × 45 m asphalt | ||
| 08R / 26L | 2250 m × 45 m asphalt | ||
The Base aérienne de Florennes is a military airfield of the Belgian air component . The base is in the Wallonia region in the province of Namur near Florennes . Alongside Kleine Brogel, it is one of two combat aircraft bases in Belgium.
history
During the Second World War there was no airfield between St. Trond and Laon that the German Air Force could use. Therefore, the established Organization Todt new at Florennes air base , which was put into service the 1,942th The new air base had a total of three runways by mid-1943.
Between September 1942 and August 1944, the I. Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 (I./NJG 4) was located here to ward off attacks by the RAF Bomber Command . Up to three squadrons were located here, equipped with the Bf 110 , the Do 217 and the Ju 88 . In addition, between November 1943 and April 1944, a squadron of FW 190 day fighters was used to repel bomb attacks by the 8th US Air Force .
The USAAF bombed the area for the first time in April 1944 and after the US Army took the area in early September 1944, Airfield A.78 , the allied code name for the airfield, was used by the USAAF as a base between October 1944 and September 1945 continued to be used by fighter and light bomber groups.
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After the war Beauvechain became the home base of the two Spitfire XIV squadrons of the 161st Squadron ( 161st Wing ), the 1st and 2nd Squadron, in February 1948, the squadron was renamed the 2nd Wing . Between 1950 and 1960 the 3rd squadron also belonged to the squadron.
The beginning of the operation of jet fighters in the form of the F-84E / G began in June 1951 and 1955 the first F-84F arrived.
In 1971 the 42nd squadron, equipped with Mirage 5 BR reconnaissance aircraft, came to the squadron instead of the 1st squadron, and it lasted until 1993. The 2nd squadron also flew the Mirage 5.
Shortly before the end of the Cold War , cruise missiles were stationed between 1984 and 1985, for which the 485th Tactical Missile Wing (485th TMW) was set up by the United States Air Force .
The 2nd Squadron of the 1st Squadron was the first to convert to the F-16A / B in late 1988 , and the 1st Squadron returned from Bierset the following year . In the same year the NATO Tactical Leadership Program (TLP) was established . The 350th Squadron joined the 1st Squadron in 1996 and the 2nd Squadron was disbanded in 2001.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the operation of unmanned drones started and after 20 years in Florennes, the TLP relocated to Albacete in 2009 .
Todays use
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The base currently (2012) houses the following associations:
- 2nd Tactical Squadron ( 2nd Wing Tactique ), equipped with two squadrons (1st and 350th) F-16A / B MLU (since 1989)
- 80th Unmanned Aircraft Squadron ( 80th UAV Squadron ) equipped with RQ-5B Hunter (from 2002/2003)
- F-16 Solo Display Team
