Saint-Dizier-Robinson military airfield
| Base aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier-Robinson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | LFSI | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 140 m (459 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 4 km west of Saint-Dizier | ||
| Street | N 4 | ||
| Basic data | |||
| opening | August 24, 1913 | ||
| operator | Armée de l'air | ||
| Start-and runway | |||
| 11/29 | 2414 m × 45 m asphalt | ||
The Base aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier-Robinson (BA 113) is a military airport of the French Air Force ( Armée de l'air ). The base is located in the region of Champagne-Ardenne in the department of Haute-Marne about four kilometers west of the center of Saint-Dizier . She is a home base of the Dassault Rafale - multi-role combat aircraft .
history
Saint-Dizier has an aviation history of over a century; the first military aircraft landed near the city in 1910 and the airfield was built three years later. Early aircraft types that were based here were from manufacturers such as Blériot Aéronautique , Morane-Saulnier and Stampe , and de Havilland Tiger Moth and Dewoitine D.520 also flew here.
From December 1939 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was stationed in Saint-Dizier. After France's defeat in 1940 in the western campaign , the airfield in a row was airbase of the German Air Force in particular used for air defense. Between February 1942 and August 1944 different squadrons of the night fighter squadrons 4 (NJG 4) and 5 (NJG 5), which were mainly equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Dornier Do 217 and were used against air raids by the RAF Bomber Command , were located here. In March 1944, the II. Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (II./NJG 1) also moved to St. Dizier for two months before returning to St. Trond . In the fall of 1943, parts of Fighter Wing 27 (JG 27) equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 109G lay here for two months in defense against daytime attacks by the 8th Air Force . After the start of the invasion of Normandy , the JG 301, which also used the Bf 109G, and the Kampfgeschwader 101 (KG 101), which used the Junkers Ju 88A-4 " Mistel ", lay here for a few weeks . The USAAF flew air strikes with B-26 Marauder and P-47 Thunderbolt during the war , mostly parallel to the heavy bomber attacks, in order to keep German interceptors on the ground.
The Americans conquered the place in September 1944 and used what they called Airfield A-64 by associations of the 9th Air Force ; until May 1945 the P-47s of the 405th and 367th Fighter Group were stationed here. In addition, A-36 Apache from the 27th Fighter Group lay here in the spring of 1945 for a few weeks .
In the early 1950s, in view of the Cold War that had begun, the United States proposed to expand Saint-Dizier as a base for light bombers. The fundamentally repaired and expanded base was reopened in 1951.
Between 1965 and 1988 the base was the home base of the Mirage IV A of the bomber group 2/94 "Marne" as part of the Force de frappe . In addition, between 1973 and 2005 the Jagdgruppe or Squadron 1/7 "Provence" equipped with Jaguar fighter-bombers .
The Rafale has been flying in Saint-Dizier since 2005, the first squadron was the EC 1/7 at the time. Rafale was also used in the civil war in Libya in 2011 and the conflict in northern Mali in 2013 . The first mission in the latter operation was flown directly from Saint-Dizier.
Due to the reintroduction of squadrons into the French Air Force, the 4th Fighter Squadron ( 4e Escadre de chasse ) was reactivated on August 26, 2015. As a result, there was a relay swap in the summer of 2016, the EC 1/7 relocated to base 104 in the United Arab Emirates and in the following year the first part of the "La Fayette" relay was added. When the Mirage 2000N was decommissioned at its last location in Istres , it took over its designation EC 2/4 in mid-2018 (previously it was temporarily numbered 5/4) and the nuclear role.
Todays use
The main user of the base is the 4e Escadre de chasse (4e EC), reactivated in 2015, which currently (2018) has two flying squadrons of tactical multipurpose fighter aircraft, both of which are used in the nuclear role. There is also the Rafale retraining unit:
- EC 1/4 "Gascogne", squadron equipped with the Rafale , since 2009 (until 2016 as EC 1/91)
- EC 2/4 "La Fayette", operational relay equipped with the Rafale , since 2017
- ETR 3/4 "Aquitaine" retraining relay equipped with the Rafale, since 2010 (until 2016 as ETR 2/92)
- Mission support groups: Technical Group 15.004 "Haute-Marne"
Rafale B of EC 01/007
Rafale C of EC 01/007
Rafale B of the EC 01/091 with ASMP-A guided missiles
